I shoot hundreds of assignments a year, and occasionally there are a few days that what I shoot seems to have an unintentional theme. I had one of those days a few weeks ago.
In the morning, I had an assignment to cover WWII-era veterans being flown to an air show at Travis AFB via a restored Lockheed PV-2D Harpoon bomber. I got shots of the vets boarding the plane at the Stockton Field Aviation Museum at the Stockton Metro Airport then headed to the north end of the airport. As I waited along Ruggles Frontage Road and Arch Road for the twin-engine plane to take off, a burrowing owl stood atop a post of the chain link fence surrounding the airport. With a long lens, I moved in closer and got shots of the little owl as it surveyed all in its field of view.
Later that day I went to Great Valley School where they were having their 12th annual Ag Day. The event was designed to give students a small taste of farm life. There were several stations set up for the kids to learn about farm equipment and calf roping, etc. One of the big hits was that they got to pet farm animals. Well, there were mostly just chickens and doves (along with a reluctant goat).
I walked over to another station set up in a classroom, and what did I see? More birds. Falconer Karl Kerster displayed 4 falcons (3 peregrine falcons and an aplomado falcon).
I didn’t see any more of our fine feathered friends for the rest of the day, but it already had been a day for the birds.
