The animals of Williamsburg, and Virginia, have long been a special interest of mine. I have an extensive history of working with Virginia animals both as an animal welfare activist and also as a wildlife rehabilitator where over the years I raised hundreds of orphans for eventual release back to the wild - baby birds of all kinds, raccoons, squirrels, fawns, you name it. For thirteen years I was fortunate to be President of the Board of Directors of the Williamsburg Area Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (S.P.C.A.) which had a very strong presence in the Williamsburg community as a voice for the animals.

I hope you enjoy these animal portraits of some of my more favorite four-footed or feathered friends.

It was one of those hazy, lazy days of summer when the only good thing to do was sit by a cooling pond and watch the world go by. These little guys came swimming by and suddenly went 'bottoms up' to make me laugh, right in front of my camera.

CLICK!

Leicester longwool sheep are also part of Colonial Williamsburg's rare breed program. This baby happened to climb up on 'Dad" while he was prone. I was there...of course....when Dad suddenly stood up.

CLICK!

This family of Barred owls in upper James City County kept me busy for weeks while I documented their habits leading up to the day the juveniles fledged.

This shot was taken around midnight with a tripod-mounted 300mm f2.8 telephoto on an F5, with 3 remotely-triggered strobes attached to nearby trees.

The owls were used to me by then, as was the little red fox who watched me take this shot from a few feet away.

Rustle, rustle...

A male Eastern Bluebird takes a turn at feeding a juvenile still in a nest box. This was a classic mid-air lunch!

They were used to me - I set up a presence (including a tripod) about 50 feet from the nest box as soon as I realized that a family was in the making. They became accostumed to me eventually.

I sat there every day for hours on end. Luckily it was in my backyard which made it quite convenient.

I encountered this mating pair of Canada Geese early one foggy morning on the way to Yorktown via the Colonial Parkway.

I got just this one shot off - the KACHINK of my Nikon F5 broke the silence of the pond and triggered flight.

It's funny, I travel that route often and never since have I seen a single bird or animal on that log, let alone something that was photogenic!

Very few people get to see these wonderous creatures so close up. I raised this orphaned Eastern cottontail who was a mere two and a half inches tall at the time this photograph was taken. Within twenty-four hours he was already too wild to 'sit' for such a portrait!

A real 'Beatrix Potter' presence, this one was.

HOPPITY HOP HOP

There is nothing cuter than baby squirrels, in this case two tiny Eastern Grey Squirrels. They were orphaned and in rehabilitative care and were docile enough to pose for me in this wine goblet.

Remember to leave them some food this winter, too!

Brrrrrrr!

'Cat Patches' was my constant companion for eighteen years, and she didn't seem to mind being in front of my lens; that is, of course, if an offering of baked chicken from the Fresh Market suddenly appeared following the shooting session.

A little garlic didn't hurt, either.

MEOW.

This juvenile raccoon seemed to know that I that was taking his photograph! He posed for me for nearly half an hour, taking a quick break every few minutes during his tree-top antics to check to see if I was still here. CLICK!

I was still there, of course.

White-tailed deer have a rough time of it in rapidly developing residential areas.

This one was still unstable on his feet, having just been born but a day or two earlier. He was about as big as a minute as you can see from the size of the weeds at his feet!

Some tourists picked up the fawn thinking that it had been abandoned by its mother. While they thought they were doing a good deed by 'rescuing' it, its mother was probably standing in the shadows nearby. It is better to leave wild babies where you found them. This one survived but not all do when they are taken from their nursing mothers.

Cat Chessie, curled up in front of a warm fire.

Shhhhhh...

I raised this little flying squirrel along with two of his siblings - such a treat that was.

They are nocturnal, and therefore they are rare to see in the wild.

Once they were ready for release I transported them to an idyllic spot deep in an old-growth forest where they had the best chance for survival. The City of Williamsburg owns the property which was not scheduled for development since it was part of the Waller Mill Reservoir watershed. Access to a water source is vital in any successful release.

SWISH! SWISH!

Iggy is an Iguana, once owned by V. Pedigo of Williamsburg. Such a marvelous creature he was! He died of old age not so long ago.

Most Iguanas get too big or their owners become apathetic – and consequentially many of these pets are eventually abandoned as too difficult to care for.

Iggy, though, was beloved.

An unlikely pair, eh?

Wouldn't it be nice if the world were so accommodating?

Cat Chessie was basking in the sun on her favorite window sill when along came a house guest who was being hand-reared for release back to the wild. The 'guest' is a juvenile Bluebird who was practicing swooping and flying at the time. Chessie was not the least bit concerned about this ump-teenth animal vsitor in our household (yawn).

This was a Kodak moment if I ever saw one.

CHIRP!

At maturity House Wrens are 4-5 inches in length

They produce two or even three broods per season with an average of six young per nest

See the partially open eye? It won't be long before the fledge...