A Lens on Nature
Four ace photographers and their wildlife refuge photos

Written By

Wait! Think before you aim that camera at a national wildlife refuge. It may be habit-forming. That was true for four standout nature photographers 鈥� each hooked on prowling a favorite refuge in hopes of locking eyes with a bird or fox, capturing light and color, and probing the mystery of our animal natures.

All four photographers 鈥� April Allyson Abel at Prime Hook Refuge, Delaware; Quincey Banks at Eufaula Refuge, Alabama; Marvin De Jong at Bosque del Apache Refuge, New Mexico; and Mia McPherson at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah 鈥� found ample photo opportunities on refuges.

Sandhill cranes fly out at sunrise at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.

鈥淲hy are national wildlife refuges great places to take wildlife photos?鈥� asks De Jong. 鈥淭he obvious answer is because there鈥檚 wildlife there. There鈥檚 an emphasis on wildlife. But it鈥檚 more than that. You frequently have good access to animals and birds. You have a wildlife trail or a road. That鈥檚 the great thing about Bosque del Apache Refuge. You can stand on the road and have sandhill cranes being themselves just 15 yards away.鈥�

Adds McPherson, 鈥淲ildlife refuges are just amazing. That鈥檚 where the habitat is. It鈥檚 refuges鈥� job to manage [the habitat]鈥nd they do an excellent job of it.鈥�

National wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are part of Americas鈥� rich natural heritage. They have been so since 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the鈥疷.S. Fish and Wildlife Service鈥� for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

Learn more about national wildlife refuge
on Pelican Island, Florida.

National wildlife refuges offer chances to see an almost unparalleled array of wildlife, including many of the nation鈥檚 most beloved and spectacular species. Wildlife photography brings individuals and families close to nature, which research has shown to be physically and emotionally beneficial. Find a refuge near you. 

April Allyson Abel

Sunrise is reflected in Slaughter Creek on a spring morning at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.

If you want to see the world as the late photographer April Abel did, rise early. You want to beat the sun to Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge on the Delaware coast so you鈥檙e in place when the light show begins. 鈥淭here are two kinds of people in this world,鈥� Abel used to say. 鈥淭here鈥檚 the kind who say, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e gonna shoot at sunrise again?鈥� and the kind who say, 鈥楥an I come with you?鈥欌€�

On a frosty March morning, she would patrol the bank of a refuge impoundment in a thermal vest and jeans (no jacket, no gloves) and train her lens on the herons and avocets feeding in the shallows. A heron snags an eel, shakes it, then downs it. 鈥淕ot it,鈥� said Abel, like a sportscaster offering color commentary on a play. 鈥淣ow a little sip of water to finish it off.鈥�

She would keep shooting as the sun rises through the clouds, turning the indigo sky to purple and orange. The refuge, she said, 鈥渋s just so beautiful, and the still water makes a mirror for the birds.鈥�

Abel took up digital photography at age 40 after a life change, spending a year documenting the seasons at Prime Hook marsh. She worked freelance as a writer and photographer. Her stories and photos appeared in local newspapers and magazines, and she began racking up photo prizes. She worked as exhibits coordinator for Delaware State Parks until shortly before her death in 2019.

A she took at Prime Hook shows a heron about to close its open bill on a tiny fish, for a moment suspended in midair. 鈥淚 watched the heron fishing for about 10, 15 minutes. It caught one fish after another, tossing them back like a kid eating popcorn. I kept shooting frame after frame, and this one showed the fish perfectly balanced mid-air, about to be eaten.鈥�

When it was too cold in winter for even her to shoot, Abel would change tactics. She would 鈥渟pend time learning about bird species and habitat. So you learn what to anticipate in the way of bird behavior and can get a better shot.鈥�

Quincey Banks

Mayflies in leaves at Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama and Georgia.

Some 20 years ago, Quincey Banks was photographing his son in Eufaula, Alabama, when the toddler balked. 鈥淗e started saying 鈥榥o鈥� when I was trying to take pictures of him running around the house. So the next best thing was to go take pictures of stuff I saw outside,鈥� says Banks.

He began taking his camera when he went hunting. Then, to get , he built a floating blind of Styrofoam covered with brush. Launching it before dawn, he waited beneath it, wet and shivering with cold.

The discomfort paid off. 鈥淵ou go from spooking the birds to having them within 30 or 40 feet. And for a wildlife photographer, to get a wild animal such as a wood duck within 30 feet, that鈥檚 nirvana. I mean that鈥檚 just crazy. From that point on, I was hooked. 鈥� I didn鈥檛 care about anything except photographing those birds.鈥�

For Banks, nature photography is about 鈥渂eing outside and seeing what God made. Every time I go out and do nature photography, there鈥檚 always something different to see.鈥�

He likes Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge for its wide range of habitats and species, from wading birds to bobcats. 鈥淭he refuge has so many different land types within that 11,000-acre area that I can photograph almost any type of animal that I might see in Alabama.鈥�

He tells beginning photographers: 鈥淟earn as much about the animal you鈥檙e trying to photograph as you possibly can. A good nature photographer is also a good naturalist. 鈥f you know how the animal is gonna act, or where it鈥檚 gonna be, it鈥檚 easier to be prepared to get that photograph when it happens.鈥�

Snow geese fly at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.

Marvin De Jong
What does Marvin De Jong like most about wildlife photography?

鈥淚t鈥檚 satisfying. It鈥檚 challenging. Birds are especially challenging because they don鈥檛 just sit and look at you. It鈥檚 a lot more exciting than wedding photography.鈥�

鈥淢y first priority is to get an animal in [a photo],鈥� he says. 鈥淚 like a photo to tell a story. It鈥檚 good if there鈥檚 some action. If I can get a green heron catching a minnow that tells you a little story about the bird. If I can get the bird singing with its mouth open, taking off, landing,鈥� he says, that heightens a viewer鈥檚 interest.

De Jong turned to photography in retirement. He and his wife were already volunteering at wildlife refuges such as Santa Ana in Texas and Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. 鈥淚 like the outdoors. I like birds. They sort of came together.鈥�

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is his favorite refuge for wildlife photography. 鈥淚 like things to be in the air. Flying birds are better than birds standing out in the water. And New Mexico is a great place for some of best sunrises and sunsets I鈥檝e ever seen. The cranes fly out in the morning and fly back in the evening, so that鈥檚 when you鈥檙e going to be out there.鈥�

Quick thinking helped him snag a . He鈥檇 just stepped out of the car when suddenly 鈥渢here was this bobcat. Unfortunately, the camera鈥檚 in the car. So I opened the car door and of course immediately you get the noise alerting you the keys are in the ignition鈥 grabbed the camera, and I had it on the bobcat, but he was going away, so I was gonna get a butt shot. And so I said, 鈥楬ey, cat.鈥� He turned and looked at me, and that鈥檚 when I got the shot.鈥�

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to get the eyes of the animal. If you don鈥檛 have the eyes, you don鈥檛 have a photo.鈥�

A snowy egret at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah.

Mia McPherson
Utah resident Mia McPherson took up bird and nature photography in 2004 to heal from a personal loss and illness. Snapping nature photos was a natural extension of activities she loved.

鈥淚 like to be out in nature, listen to the birds, be exposed to different types of habitats,鈥� says McPherson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quiet. It鈥檚 peaceful. I just relax and enjoy myself.鈥� She honed her skill enough that two of her photos were chosen for a National Geographic pocket guide to birds of North America.

Nature photography isn鈥檛 easy. 鈥淵ou have to have a lot of patience,鈥� says McPherson. 鈥淵ou can sit for an hour or two waiting for a particular bird behavior. Thirty seconds one way or another could make the different between a good shot and a great shot. Dealing with the elements is an issue, too. In summer, it gets very hot and buggy. In the winter, it gets extremely cold. Making sure you don鈥檛 get stuck in a snowbank: that鈥檚 a challenge, too.鈥�

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, an hour and a half from her home, is among her favorite places to shoot.

鈥淭hey have a spectacular auto tour route where you can drive around the water impoundment area and see all kinds of birds from short eared owls and northern harriers to waterfowl and shorebirds.

鈥淚n summer it鈥檚 inundated with nesting shorebirds. One of the most spectacular sights is watching American white pelicans feed. In winter, the calls of thousands and thousands of tundra swans echo all over the place. It鈥檚 a magical sound.鈥�

A shows two western grebes skating across water at Bear River Refuge. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 called rushing and that鈥檚 their courtship display.鈥� The birds go through a preliminary ritual 鈥渟o you can say, okay, okay, there鈥檚 going to be a rush now. But it鈥檚 definitely a challenge to get the photo because this routine they go through doesn鈥檛 always end in rushing. So you have to wait and wait and wait. And hopefully they will rush, but they don鈥檛 always. A car might come by or a raptor fly over, and that ends it for them.鈥�

Tips on wildlife photography

Story Tags

Photography
Wildlife refuges
Wildlife viewing

Recreational Activities