Waxwings and the Vanishing Moon - Jim Block Photography

I finally photographed Bohemian Waxwings this winter. Also a total lunar eclipse — the last one until June 26, 2029 for the Upper Valley — featured a vanishing Blood Moon. Wandering the Upper Valley photographing structures, patterns, colors, skaters, and sledders provided some late winter joy.

Bohemian Waxwings

Bohemian Waxwings in Etna no less. Out for a walk with Jann we saw them near the library on a late, dark afternoon, but after our walk they were gone. The next morning they were back and the sun was out. They feasted for 20 minutes before vanishing.

It was a challenge to frame them in front of the blue sky.

Most of the time they were tangled in the branches of a small tree.

Pigging out and flying.

Beautiful birds which differ from Cedar Waxwings by their red butts (rufous undertail coverts).

George Revisited

In my previous blog I showed photos of a Barred Owl that Ted Levin named George. I paid a second visit to Ted’s yard the follow day after those photos were taken. After seven minutes into a cold hour of watching George do almost nothing, the owl looked up, staring at the sky. Why?

We looked and saw two adult bald eagles circling high overhead. No doubt they were the Quechee/VINS pair since we were only 2 miles from the nest, as the crow or raptor flies.

Then 51 minutes after arriving, the quiet cold was suddenly disturbed by a gust of wind which created a tornado of snow moving rapidly up from the valley to our north. In a few seconds, it engulfed the owl and apparently caused it to fly. But it only flew 3 or 4 feet to a neighboring branch. The flight lasted one second.

Two days later I visited VINS and snapped a photo of a Snowy Owl through a wire mesh with a short lens. I could not resist moving it to Ted’s yard.

Total Lunar Eclipse

The Total Lunar Eclipse of March 3, 2026 was either a bust or a spectacular varnishing act, depending on your timing or point of view. I photographed the moon before the start of the eclipse.

And then 10 minutes into the eclipse.

Seven minutes later the moon looked like this.

Forty-five minutes after the start of the eclipse the shaded part of the moon took on the traditional blood red hue.

Twelve minute later it was still promising, though the sky was definitely brightening

But as the sky lightened, the moon started to fade.

Just like the Cheshire cat whose face faded slowly until only a smile remained.

Just before the onset of totality only a small, faint crescent was visible.

The photo below was taken at the beginning of totality. Anyone who would have slept late and gone out to see the blood moon after the start of totality would have seen … nothing. They would not be able to find the moon. A hint of it is only visible below because of some agressive processing.

I was photographing from near the same spot where I photographed the Northern Lights January 20, 2026. Here is the view forty-five minutes after the start of the eclipse. The bright “star” to the left of the moon is Venus.

Four minutes before totality, the moon was just barely visible. You might be able to spot it a bit to the right of center.

Of course folks living farther west where the sun came up later could have seen the blood moon.

Here is a sequence of twelve photos from March 3.

On the night of September 27-28, 2015, a lunar eclipse coincided with a “super moon”. I did not travel to find a lighthouse, covered bridge, or barn to put in the foreground. Instead I decided to try something different in our backyard when I realized that at full eclipse the moon would be so dark the Milky Way would be visible. The background image here with the Milky Way is a 3-shot panorama. The bright “star” on the left is actually the moon at full eclipse. It is bright because it is overexposed in the photos that were exposed for the Milky Way. The superimposed “blood moon” photo was taken at about the same time.

Blood Moon and Milky Way