Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • The black-crowned night heron is one of the most elusive species of heron in North America, and can be found throughout most of the world on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Active primarily at night and nearly invisible during the day, these ambush hunters fish the water's edge for fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, mussels, clams, small rodents and anything else they can overpower. This one was found stalking its prey in the early evening in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Black-crowned Night Heron
  • The black-crowned night heron is one of the most elusive species of heron in North America, and can be found throughout most of the world on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Active primarily at night and nearly invisible during the day, these ambush hunters fish the water's edge for fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, mussels, clams, small rodents and anything else they can overpower. This one was found stalking its prey in the early evening in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Black-crowned Night Heron
  • This strikingly beautiful member of the tyrant flycatcher bird family was seen protecting its territory and small family group of four individuals in a tree overlooking a pond in the Warm Springs State Wildlife Management Area near Anaconda, Montana. Eastern kingbirds are known for their aggression towards other birds and other animals and will often dive-bomb intruders, like this one did to me while getting this photograph.
    Eastern Kingbird-1
  • The black-crowned night heron is one of the most elusive species of heron in North America, and can be found throughout most of the world on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Active primarily at night and nearly invisible during the day, these ambush hunters fish the water's edge for fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, mussels, clams, small rodents and anything else they can overpower. This one was found stalking its prey in the early evening in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Black-crowned Night Heron
  • The black-crowned night heron is one of the most elusive species of heron in North America, and can be found throughout most of the world on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Active primarily at night and nearly invisible during the day, these ambush hunters fish the water's edge for fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, mussels, clams, small rodents and anything else they can overpower. This one was found stalking its prey in the early evening in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Black-crowned Night Heron
  • Eastern kingbird seen in the Big Cypress National Preserve. It kept landing near us and seemed to want to be photographed!
    Eastern Kingbird
  • This strikingly beautiful member of the tyrant flycatcher bird family was seen protecting its territory and small family group of four individuals in a tree overlooking a pond in the Warm Springs State Wildlife Management Area near Anaconda, Montana. Eastern kingbirds are known for their aggression towards other birds and other animals and will often dive-bomb intruders, like this one did to me while getting this photograph.
    Eastern Kingbird-2
  • The black-crowned night heron is one of the most elusive species of heron in North America, and can be found throughout most of the world on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Active primarily at night and nearly invisible during the day, these ambush hunters fish the water's edge for fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, mussels, clams, small rodents and anything else they can overpower. This one was found stalking its prey in the early evening in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Black-crowned Night Heron
  • One of many bald eagles actively hunting over Lower Klamath Lake on a sunny late winter day in Northern California.
    Bald Eagle
  • Recently, the western scrub jay was split into two distinct species: the California scrub jay (which is a brighter blue and is found in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest) and the Woodhouse's scrub jay (which is a duller blue and found in more interior regions away from the coast.) Much like any jay or other corvid, these often loud and very inquisitive birds will eat just about anything they can overpower or steal. These California scrub jays are easy to recognize from their neighboring cousins by the distinct blue "collar" around the neck. This one was found screeching in a maple tree in Southern King County, Washington on a chilly afternoon.
    California Scrub Jay
  • Recently, the western scrub jay was split into two distinct species: the California scrub jay (which is a brighter blue and is found in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest) and the Woodhouse's scrub jay (which is a duller blue and found in more interior regions away from the coast.) Much like any jay or other corvid, these often loud and very inquisitive birds will eat just about anything they can overpower or steal. These California scrub jays are easy to recognize from their neighboring cousins by the distinct blue "collar" around the neck. This one was found screeching in a maple tree in Southern King County, Washington on a chilly afternoon.
    California Scrub Jay
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • Also known as the Mexican grackle, the great-tailed grackle is a member of the new world blackbird family (Icteridae) and is very common from the American Great Plains, the American Southwest and all of Mexico south to also include all of Central America. This glossy blue/black male was first noticed making an awful commotion with a number of other males and females in a tree in rural Van Horn, Texas.
    Great-tailed Grackle
  • The California gull is a medium-sized, common migratory gull found across most of the western half of North America. Primarily feeding on fish, insects and eggs, it is a well-known scavenger of trash and garbage. It breeds far inland as far as Colorado north to Canada's Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, but it always returns to the Pacific Coast in the winter. This one was among many found in Los Angeles, California near Del Rey Lagoon on a warm, sunny springtime afternoon.
    California Gull
  • Often seen diving to depths of more than 40 feet (suspected at going even deeper to 150 feet or more), the Brandt's cormorant is found along North America's Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Gulf of California in Mexico where it hunts for fish above the ocean floor. It is often associated with sea lions. This one was seen near Los Angeles' Del Rey Lagoon on a sunny California spring morning.
    Brandt's Cormorant
  • Often seen diving to depths of more than 40 feet (suspected at going even deeper to 150 feet or more), the Brandt's cormorant is found along North America's Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Gulf of California in Mexico where it hunts for fish above the ocean floor. It is often associated with sea lions. This one was seen near Los Angeles' Del Rey Lagoon on a sunny California spring morning.
    Brandt's Cormorant
  • A close-up of a massive gaggle of Aleutian cackling geese in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge between Tacoma & Olympia, Washington. Until 2004 the cackling goose was considered same species as the Canada goose, but is the size of a duck, has a very short bill, and has a much higher-pitched honk. The Aleutian cackling goose subspecies breeds in northern Alaska and Canada in the tundra near water, and travels south to California in winter. Making a comeback from near extinction, it has now been removed from the endangered species list.
    Aleutian Cackling Geese
  • A pair of baby Great Egrets standing on a branch with their nest deep in a Florida swamp.
    Baby Great Egrets with Nest
  • Canada goose photographed on 1/18/2010 next to a pond in Southern Alabama. I couldn't have asked for better natural lighting!
    Alabama Canada Goose
  • White pelican competing for space with two cormorants on a submerged branch on Sanibel Island. As you can imagine... the pelican won!
    White Pelican with Cormorants
  • A large herring gull with a group of Forsters' terns - all in winter plumage on Fernandina Beach, Florida.
    The Real Snowbirds!
  • An osprey with a fresh mullet photographed while landing in a pine tree in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
    Osprey with Fresh Mullet
  • A pair of white ibis scavenging for insects and worms beneath the lawn of a local city park in Titusville, Florida.
    Pair of White Ibis
  • A pair of baby wood storks with parent standing on a branch with their nest deep in a Florida swamp.
    Baby Wood Storks with Nest
  • The uncommon and coldwater-loving American dipper is a secretive dark bird often found perched on exposed rocks in fast-moving mountain streaks and rivers. I've personally seen them in Colorado in the summertime, the Pacific Northwest in the springtime and even in Banff National Park in the middle of January with temperatures around -20°F! What's particular about this strange little songbird is that it can actually  walk underwater, thanks to its incredibly strong toes and feet. This was one actively dipping its head under the water catching small aquatic insects on the edge of the Cle Elum River in Washington State on a very chilly fall morning.
    American Dipper
  • These strikingly beautiful songbirds are favorite among just about every birdwatcher in North America, and the world. Not only are they fun to watch enormous numbers of them attack fruit-laden trees at peak ripeness, they are also one of the few North American species of birds that specialize in eating only fruit. This one was found in the Warm Springs State Wildlife Management Area near Anaconda, Montana.
    Cedar Waxwing
  • A reddish egret hunts for fish and crustaceans on Bunche Beach in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Reddish Egret
  • This common North American shorebird was found very far from where its summer nesting grounds in the Alaskan tundra. I found and photographed this western sandpiper at the southern tip of the Florida Everglades on a late winter day within sight of the Florida Keys! Sometimes these birds will spend the winter much further south in Central America.
    Western Sandpiper
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Eastern kingbird seen in the Big Cypress National Preserve. It kept landing near us and seemed to want to be photographed!
    Eastern Kingbird
  • Eastern kingbird seen in the Big Cypress National Preserve. It kept landing near us and seemed to want to be photographed!
    Eastern Kingbird
  • A reddish egret hunts for fish and crustaceans
    Reddish Egret
  • The Pacific wren is a very small songbird with a very loud, beautiful voice and a confusing history. As taxonomy gets better and better with our better understanding of genetics as it applies to wildlife, the Pacific wren was once considered the same species as the winter wren of the east coast. Although they do look very similar, it has been determined that they are indeed a separate species. This little wren was found singing its heart out about halfway up Cougar Mountain just outside of Seattle, Washington on a typically rainy spring day.
    Pacific Wren
  • This tiny little songbird is constantly on the move. At four and a quarter inches in length, this fast-moving blue-gray gnatcatcher is very common in eastern North American and parts of the Southwest where it forages in high trees for insects. Unusual for what we hear about wildlife and the state of habitat destruction these days, the total number of blue-gray gnatcatchers are on the rise. Not only are they becoming more numerous, they are also extending their range into places they've never been seen before. I was lucky enough to catch this one during it's 2-3 second rest in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
  • A blue jay pauses briefly in the Florida Everglades just west of Homestead.
    Blue Jay
  • Not commonly seen in southern Florida, the black-throated blue warbler is native to Eastern Canada down to the Carolinas, and is one of the few blue-colored birds in the Southeast. It is usually only seen while it is migrating south to the Caribbean or Central America where it spends its winters. This one was photographed in the Big Cypress National Preserve of SW Florida on a brisk fall morning.
    Black-throated Blue Warbler
  • A pair if white ibises search the shallows of the Sweetwater Strand for aquatic insects and other invertebrates in SW Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve.
    White Ibises
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • A raft of surf scoters drifts by on Washington's Hood Canal on a brisk late afternoon. A type of large diving sea duck, the drakes (males) have beautifully bright orange and white bills with a black spot while typical in most ducks, the hens (females) have a rather drab coloration by comparison. Surf scoters can be found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, where they typically breed in the tundra of Alaska and Northern Canada, and are very occasionally seen on the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes and even the British Isles.
    Surf Scoters
  • A raft of surf scoters drifts by on Washington's Hood Canal on a brisk late afternoon. A type of large diving sea duck, the drakes (males) have beautifully bright orange and white bills with a black spot while typical in most ducks, the hens (females) have a rather drab coloration by comparison. Surf scoters can be found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, where they typically breed in the tundra of Alaska and Northern Canada, and are very occasionally seen on the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes and even the British Isles.
    Surf Scoters
  • A trio of black-necked stilts wading through the salt marshes of North Florida's St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in search of juvenile fish and small crustaceans, just outside of Tallahassee on the Gulf Coast.
    A Trio of Black-necked Stilts
  • A busy  female mallard takes a break from showing her eight bundled ducklings how to find and eat peamouth minnow eggs from a shaded tiny creek in Bellevue, Washington on a warm spring afternoon.
    Mallard Family
  • A red-breasted nutchatch perches in a maple tree on a warm spring Pacific Northwest day in Kent, Washington.
    Red-breasted Nutchatch
  • A red-breasted nutchatch perches in a maple tree on a warm spring Pacific Northwest day in Kent, Washington.
    Red-breasted Nutchatch
  • A red-breasted nutchatch perches in a maple tree on a warm spring Pacific Northwest day in Kent, Washington.
    Red-breasted Nutchatch
  • Also known as the Mexican grackle, the great-tailed grackle is a member of the new world blackbird family (Icteridae) and is very common from the American Great Plains, the American Southwest and all of Mexico south to also include all of Central America. This glossy blue/black male was first noticed making an awful commotion with a number of other males and females in a tree in rural Van Horn, Texas.
    Great-tailed Grackle
  • Also known as the Mexican grackle, the great-tailed grackle is a member of the new world blackbird family (Icteridae) and is very common from the American Great Plains, the American Southwest and all of Mexico south to also include all of Central America. This glossy blue/black male was first noticed making an awful commotion with a number of other males and females in a tree in rural Van Horn, Texas.
    Great-tailed Grackle
  • Also known as the Mexican grackle, the great-tailed grackle is a member of the new world blackbird family (Icteridae) and is very common from the American Great Plains, the American Southwest and all of Mexico south to also include all of Central America. This brown/black female was first noticed making an awful commotion with a number of other males and females in a tree in rural Van Horn, Texas.
    Great-tailed Grackle
  • The California gull is a medium-sized, common migratory gull found across most of the western half of North America. Primarily feeding on fish, insects and eggs, it is a well-known scavenger of trash and garbage. It breeds far inland as far as Colorado north to Canada's Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, but it always returns to the Pacific Coast in the winter. This one was among many found in Los Angeles, California near Del Rey Lagoon on a warm, sunny springtime afternoon.
    California Gull
  • The California gull is a medium-sized, common migratory gull found across most of the western half of North America. Primarily feeding on fish, insects and eggs, it is a well-known scavenger of trash and garbage. It breeds far inland as far as Colorado north to Canada's Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, but it always returns to the Pacific Coast in the winter. This one was among many found in Los Angeles, California near Del Rey Lagoon on a warm, sunny springtime afternoon.
    California Gull
  • The California gull is a medium-sized, common migratory gull found across most of the western half of North America. Primarily feeding on fish, insects and eggs, it is a well-known scavenger of trash and garbage. It breeds far inland as far as Colorado north to Canada's Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, but it always returns to the Pacific Coast in the winter. This one was among many found in Los Angeles, California near Del Rey Lagoon on a warm, sunny springtime afternoon.
    California Gull
  • Smallest of all the world's loon species, this red-throated loon in non-breeding plumage found here close to the Del Rey Lagoon in Los Angeles, California winters regularly in California and south, but will spend most of its life in the arctic where it breeds.
    Red-throated Loon
  • Smallest of all the world's loon species, this red-throated loon in non-breeding plumage found here close to the Del Rey Lagoon in Los Angeles, California winters regularly in California and south, but will spend most of its life in the arctic where it breeds.
    Red-throated Loon
  • Close-up of a very curious glaucous-winged gull photographed above Ruby Beach on Washington's Pacific Coast, just south from Forks.
    Glaucous-winged Gull
  • The brown pelican is one of eight species of pelicans found around the world, and is also the smallest. This one was photographed on the St. Joseph Peninsula of Florida's northern Gulf Coast.
    Brown Pelican
  • A wild male California quail hunts for seeds and insects in a disturbed field outside of Yakima, WA in Cowiche Canyon. Although it is California's state bird, this native quail is found from Canada to Mexico along the West Coast in dry, arid habitats.
    California Quail
  • A great blue heron catches a northwestern garter snake in the wetlands in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Olympia, Washington on a beautiful springtime afternoon.
    Great Blue Heron - Dinner for One
  • An attractive female hooded merganser swims in one of the many ponds and pools of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge between Olympia and Tacoma, Washington.
    Hooded Merganser
  • The American coot is a very common water bird found throught North America. Often found among ducks, it is actually not a duck at all, but a member of the rail family. This one was photographed near the base of the Nisqually River as it joins Washington's Puget Sound.
    American Coot
  • This (possibly hybrid) glaucous-winged gull was seen on the shore of the Puget Sound as it bathes and splashed in a shallow pool. This noisy large gull has a large bill with a bright red spot - characteristics helpful in distinguishing it from other similar-looking gulls.
    Glaucous-winged Gull
  • A trio of green-winged teals (two males and a female) seen swimming at the base of the Nisqually River. These smallest of the Pacific Northwest's ducks were photographed in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge at the southern tip of the Puget Sound.
    Green-winged Teals
  • A female hooded merganser swims apart from the group in a pond in Medina Washington.
    Female Hooded Merganser
  • A male hooded merganser shows off his head-crest in a small pond in Medina, Washington.
    Hooded Merganser
  • A male hooded merganser shakes his wings in a small pond in Medina, Washington.
    Hooded Merganser
  • Three of the ten "first year" whooping cranes flying to their wintering grounds in St. Marks - part of the extensive efforts of Operation Migration.
    Whooping Cranes in Flight!
  • Mallard duck photographed in Tallahassee, Florida.
    Mallard Duck
  • A Muscovy duck at Lake Ella at sunset in midtown Tallahassee, Florida.
    Muscovy Sunset
  • The world's smallest species of pelican - our own native brown pelican in flight over Anna Maria Island in Manatee County, Florida.
    Brown Pelican
  • A brown pelican on Sanibel Island is caught with its mouth open just before lunging headfirst into the water where it was scooping out the trapped baitfish.
    Brown Pelican
  • A Florida favorite! A brown pelican in winter plumage flying over Eagle Harbor on the St. Joseph Peninsula on the Gulf Coast.
    Brown Pelican
  • A willet works its way around the tidal pools of Eagle Harbor at low tide on a cold winter day on the Florida Panhandle.
    Willet
  • A ruddy turnstone taking advantage of the low tide and devouring the easily accessible clams with relish in Panama City, Florida. Incredibly, these little birds live and breed in the Arctic, and travel an incredible distance for the winter.
    Ruddy Turnstone
  • Male pileated woodpecker in a melaleuca tree in Fort Myers, Florida. The male has red feathers on the cheeks and from the crown of the head to the beak.
    Pileated Woodpecker
  • The smallest American woodpecker, it is just as quick and unpredictable as its larger cousins, and can be maddening to photograph!
    Downy Woodpecker
  • A rare close-up of an unusual but very common water bird, in its winter plumage!
    Pied-Billed Grebe
  • Female bufflehead duck swimming in a pond near Wakulla Beach in North Florida.
    Bufflehead
  • This stunning woodpecker was drilling a series of holes in a stand of slash pines in Wakulla County, Florida.
    Red-headed Woodpecker
  • A Canada goose on Lake Seminole, on the Florida-Georgia border.
    Canada Goose
  • A pair of pileated woodpeckers in Fort Myers, Florida. One cannot mistake them for anything else in the wild. When drumming on trees, it literally sounds like a jackhammer!
    Pileated Woodpecker
  • A rare close-up of a red-headed woodpecker along the Gulf Coast of North Florida.
    Red-headed Woodpecker
  • A pair of Canada geese photographed in Southern Alabama. I couldn't have asked for better natural lighting!
    Alabama Canada Geese
  • Downy Woodpecker hunted down and photographed in the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida. It is very difficult to follow any bird in the swamps!
    Downy Woodpecker
  • Female pileated woodpecker in a melaleuca tree in Fort Myers. This huge woodpecker is often seen in forests and woodlands all over Florida.
    Pilated Woodpecker
  • One of america's most endangered birds..... this image is featured in the National Audubon Society's 2011 Calendar.
    Whooping Crane
  • With a beak that is anything but common, this common moorhen is catching fish and insects in the floating vegetation at Wakulla Springs, in North Florida.
    Common Moorhen
  • A beautiful snowy egret prowls the surf during the golden hour of a South Lido Beach, Florida late afternoon.
    Snowy Egret
  • A fuzzy-headed juvenile green heron at the edge of a lake in Central Tallahassee, Florida.
    Juvenile Green Heron
  • A juvenile green heron blends in perfectly against the cypress knees at the edge of a Florida lake.
    Juvenile Green Heron
  • A great blue heron at dawn looking over the salt marshes of the St. Marks National Wildlife refuge in North Florida ona cold winter morning.
    Great Blue Heron
  • A great egret stands on the edge of a brackish pond at dawn on a chilly winter morning in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
    Great Egret
  • This secretive member of the heron family blends in with its environment so well that it is usually overlooked.
    American Bittern
  • Great blue heron in breeding plumage photographed on Merritt Island near the Kennedy Space Center in Central Florida.
    Great Blue Heron
  • The beautiful and multi-hued green heron in the Florida Everglades National Park.
    Green Heron
  • Great blue heron portrait in the Florida Everglades.
    Great Blue Heron
  • Great blue heron close-up shot with tongue sticking out in the Florida Everglades. Who knew herons had such long tongues?
    Great Blue Heron
  • The rare reddish egret standing on a branch in a backwater estuary on Sanibel Island.
    Reddish Egret
  • Common in California and the upper Atlantic Coast, these terns on occasion will migrate across the mainland to the Gulf of Mexico in winter - as was the case with this tern.
    Sandwich Tern in Flight
  • Close-up of a night-crowned night heron. A very noisy bird, but one of the most beautiful of our native herons.
    Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
  • A sandwich tern in winter plumage resting on the sand on South Lido Beach on SW Florida's Gulf Coast. Easily identified by the yellow tip on the bill.
    Sandwich Tern
  • Yellow crowned night heron hunting fiddler crabs on Sanibel Island, Florida.
    Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
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