As many of you know, I love sunrises and love to photograph them, and you may have noticed most are over water. From our location on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, on the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, we only have winter sunrises from the south. Occasionally I will take the Bird Barge out…

Owls Talking to Us Patty and I were out at Ward Bayou the next morning, at the end of the road before sunrise. What a delight! There were at least four owls calling from the heavy canopy of the huge Live Oaks. We could not see them, but we could certainly hear them. Turn your…

August 12, 2026 Barred Owl Anyone who’s spent time with me in the field or followed MY VIEW, knows how I feel about owls — there is simply nothing quite like coming across one. Yesterday morning Patty and I headed out to Ward Bayou, a little later than usual and already hot. We’d seen plenty…

A few weeks ago a storm was moving just off the coast — it’s been dry here again and we were hoping it would come ashore, but all it brought us was wind. Whenever there’s an offshore storm, or one pushing up from the south, Patty wants to drive the coast watching for birds driven…

Goodbye July 2026 – “It’s already a three-shirt morning.” Some days the conditions are just right — hot and humid, heavy low clouds, the wind gone still. On mornings like this you can feel the quiet and almost touch the moisture in the air. It feels like stepping back in time.  Click any image to…

July 28, 2026 Patty came home from Alaska, exhausted, but feeling fine, but a few days later — whether it was the plane rides, the airports, or a crowded eye appointment after she got back — she came down with a miserable summer cold. One of those where you are miserable one day, the next…

July 21, 2026 On Tuesday, Patty and I went to Ward Bayou again, with her chair on the back. When you first enter Ward Bayou, you’re headed due east, and on a bright morning you can’t see a thing. It’s tough driving to the end of the road because Patty hears birds and wants to…

July 20, 2026 I rarely go birding without Patty but she was in Alaska birding and I needed to get out of the house and use my camera. I arrived at Ward Bayou at daylight, and it started with a young hawk who seemed genuinely curious about me — cooperative in a way that made…

July 7, 2026 Tuesday morning, after an oatmeal breakfast, Patty and I headed out to Ward Bayou one last time before her trip. We wanted to see if the gates had opened and the flooding had subsided. Sure enough — it was gorgeous out there. Plenty of water, but the road was clear, and the…

July 2, 2026 It is pretty cool to be able to quietly sit in ones own back yard and be visited by such beautiful fellow creatures! Click any image to view full size and browse the gallery. “Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.” Gary Snyder Return to MY VIEW Home Page

June 26, 2026 These images are from in and around Claypoint Park on Back Bay Boulevard, where a Bronzed Cowbird had been spotted. We didn’t find it — yet — but we had plenty of other residents to admire. From Claypoint Park, we headed to Old Beaver Pond and were treated to a family of…

A few random shots over these couple of days between storms, each is identified as well as the location. Click any image to view full size and browse the gallery. “I drifted into a summer-napunder the hot shade of Julyserenaded by a cicadae lullabyto drowsy-warm dreamsof distant thunder…” Terri Guillemets, Summer-nap