I’ve launched a new website (http://www.dfghailsonphotography.com) through which my nature photographs may be viewed and purchased. I hope you’ll visit, like what you see, and return often to see what’s new.  I’ve also opened new Twitter (https://twitter.com/hailsonphoto) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dfghailsonphotography) accounts.

I have been blessed in being able to spend delight-filled days recording, through my camera’s lens, glorious natural wonders from the majestic Grand Canyon to the hoodoo-filled Bryce Amphitheater, from the lush and soul-soothing Everglades to the barren salt flats of Death Valley’s Badwater Basin, from the sanderling-bedecked white sand beaches of Topsail Island to the other-worldly cinder gardens and lava fields of the Craters of the Moon. Along the way, my love of wildlife and wild places has deepened into a more fervent advocacy and my love of photography has developed into a passion.  I pray the images you find on all of these pages–images of sacred places, wildlife, wilderness, roadscapes, waterscapes, kitsch and sundry–will speak to your heart and mind and elevate your spirit. [Photos: D.F.G. Hailson]

“The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan considers Little Blue Herons a species of High Concern owing to declining populations. Habitat loss and human-caused changes in local water dynamics pose the most serious threats to regional populations. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act as well as state wildlife laws protect herons from harassment, killing, or collecting. However, Little Blue Herons that forage at fish hatcheries are vulnerable to illegal shooting; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and some states issue permits to legally shoot them. Like all waterbirds, Little Blue Herons are vulnerable to changes in water quality. Birds that eat prey from flooded agricultural fields and drainage ditches risk contamination by pesticides and heavy metals. Human disturbance has also been shown to harm colonial breeding bird populations, causing adults to abandon nests, eggs and chicks to die, and other impacts. Closing wading-bird colonies to human disturbance during the breeding season can help protect Little Blue Herons.” Source: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology [Photo: D.F.G. Hailson]