Daybreak at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge

Daybreak in nature is always a special time for me, no matter where I am on the planet. It is a time of awakening. Tishomingo NWR is gorgeous at daybreak.

Daybreak at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge – Nikon D810, f10, 1/160, ISO 500, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm, natural light

The clouds to the east late last week helped to make the sunrise colorful after my drive to the refuge in the dark. Sharing the moment, even over the phone, made it feel even more special.

The reflections of the clouds and sky on the water were wonderful. That doesn’t even take into account the birds I could hear waking up and singing. A nearby Eastern Phoebe, Indigo Bunting, and a drumming woodpecker were creating music for my ears.

Tishomingo NWR at daybreak – Nikon D810, f10, 1/250, ISO 500, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 55mm, natural light

This photo was taken one frame after the first image; I just zoomed in a bit to catch the bright glow under the clouds. It is the same view, just a different perspective created with my lens.

But look closely at the first image again.

Keep looking.

Do you see the stylistic Great Blue Heron I see in that cloud formation? It appears to have its bill open to squawk!

My mom would have seen it too. She would have called me and told me she saw it if I didn’t mention it when I wrote my post.

That is called Pareidolia (pronounced “par-i-DOH-lee-a”), and it is a brain phenomenon in which a person sees something significant in a random image or pattern.

I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot lately. At this time last year, she was in hospice care, her body was shutting down, and she would not live much longer. I was lucky to have my mom for as long as I did, but I still wish she were here to see the bird in the clouds I saw on my last trip to Tishomingo NWR.

Life is good, though sometimes it is hard.

Mia

Click here to see more of my landscape photos of Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge.