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Joshua J Cotten | Bird, Insect, & Wildlife Photography

@cottencaptureswildlife

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Bird, Insect, & Wildlife Photography
Canon R7 + RF 200-800 & Canon 7D

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Welcome!

I’m Josh Cotten and I created this account to share my photography. I mainly capture wildlife in nature, specifically birds and insects, from various parks and preserves. I am based in Tennessee, but from Texas and we often travel to Florida and Louisiana.

Gear: I use the Canon R7 + RF 200-800, but also have a Canon 7D with various lenses as my secondary camera.

I am especially drawn to warblers, hummingbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and reptiles, but will typically shoot anything that comes into my field of view, except people.

I hope you enjoy my photos as much as I enjoy taking them. Thank you for following me.

#wildlifephotography
#birdphotography
#naturephotography
#wildlife_perfection
#birdsofinstagram by @cottencaptureswildlife

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7 months ago

One of my favorite things about walking the jetties in Port Aransas is looking down into the water for green sea turtles. We seem to find them just about every time, and I still get excited every time one appears.

This one was especially fun to watch. It would swim in toward the jetties to feed on the algae, hang around for a while, and then head back toward deeper water before eventually making its way in again.

No matter how many times we find them here, watching a green sea turtle swim by this close never gets old.

#GreenSeaTurtle #SeaTurtle #WildlifePhotography #TexasWildlife #PortAransas

Cotten Captures: Green Sea Turtle • Port Aransas taken in Port Aransas Jetties by @cottencaptureswildlife

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11 hours ago

I could watch Sandwich Terns fish for hours.

At Packery Channel, they were riding the wind above the water, scanning for fish before suddenly dropping into a dive. And I love that I caught both sides of the hunt—one coming out of the water with a fish firmly in its beak, and another where you can actually see the fish getting away.

Sometimes you get the catch. Sometimes the fish wins.

#SandwichTern #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #BirdsInFlight #TexasBirds

Cotten Captures: Sandwich Tern • Packery Channel Park taken in Packery Channel Park by @cottencaptureswildlife

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a day ago

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2 days ago

There are some birds that seem to demand your attention the moment you spot them, and the Red-headed Woodpecker is definitely one of them.

That brilliant red head against the crisp black and white body is hard to miss among the trees. I always love getting a chance to photograph these guys, and this one gave me a couple of beautiful looks at Herb Parsons Lake just outside Memphis.

#RedHeadedWoodpecker #Woodpecker #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #TennesseeBirds

Cotten Captures: Red-headed Woodpecker • Herb Parsons Lake taken in Herb Parsons Lake by @cottencaptureswildlife

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3 days ago

The light was fading fast, but there was still just enough left to catch that iridescent green.

That's one of my favorite things about photographing Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Depending on the light and the angle, feathers that can look almost ordinary one moment suddenly flash with color the next.

I caught this one in flight in Memphis just before the light disappeared.

#RubyThroatedHummingbird #Hummingbird #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #MemphisWildlife

Cotten Captures: Ruby-throated Hummingbird • Memphis taken in Memphis, Tennessee by @cottencaptureswildlife

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4 days ago

Sometimes it pays to just grab the camera and walk outside.

I was visiting my parents in Corpus Christi and decided to walk over to the park next to their house to see what I could find. It didn't take long before I spotted this Golden-fronted Woodpecker working its way along a tree.

Then it came away with a bug.

You never really know what you're going to find when you head outside with a camera, and that's a big part of why I enjoy doing it.

#GoldenFrontedWoodpecker #Woodpecker #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #TexasBirds

Cotten Captures: Golden-fronted Woodpecker • Corpus Christi taken in Corpus Christi, TX by @cottencaptureswildlife

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5 days ago

Some birds grab your attention with bright colors. Others make you look a little closer.

This Eastern Wood-Pewee was perched quietly among the branches at Oso Bay Wetlands in Corpus Christi. Flycatchers like this will often use an open perch as a lookout, darting out to catch insects before returning to settle in again.

Not the flashiest bird I've photographed, but I really like the simple, understated look of this one.

#EasternWoodPewee #Flycatcher #BirdPhotography #WildlifePhotography #TexasBirds

Cotten Captures: Eastern Wood-Pewee • Oso Bay Wetlands taken in Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve and Learning Center by @cottencaptureswildlife

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6 days ago

Reddish Egrets may be some of my favorite birds to watch while they're fishing. Instead of patiently waiting for a meal to come within reach, they turn the hunt into something that almost looks like a dance.

They'll run through the shallows, throw their wings in different directions and make sudden turns as they chase fish through the water. This white-morph Reddish Egret put on quite a show at Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat.

#ReddishEgret #WildlifePhotography #BirdPhotography #Shorebirds #TexasBirds

Cotten Captures: Reddish Egret • Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat taken in Corpus Christi, TX by @cottencaptureswildlife

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7 days ago

It always amazes me how much precision there is behind all that speed.

This Ruby-throated Hummingbird was working its way through the flowers in Memphis, hovering just long enough to line up that tiny bill with an equally tiny bloom. Moments like this happen in an instant, which makes freezing one of them in a photograph that much more rewarding.

#RubyThroatedHummingbird #Hummingbird #WildlifePhotography #BirdPhotography #Memphis

Cotten Captures: Ruby-throated Hummingbird • Memphis, Tennessee taken in Memphis, Tennessee by @cottencaptureswildlife

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8 days ago

That bill is hard to miss.

Marbled Godwits are impressive shorebirds, with incredibly long, slightly upturned bills that they use to probe into mud and shallow water for food. Watching one walk through the shallows also gives you a good look at just how long those legs and toes really are.

I photographed these two making their way through the quiet water at Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat on Mustang Island.

#MarbledGodwit #Shorebirds #TexasBirding #WildlifePhotography #MustangIsland

Cotten Captures: Marbled Godwit • Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat, Corpus Christi, Texas taken in Corpus Christi, TX by @cottencaptureswildlife

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9 days ago

There’s something about Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks that always makes me smile. Between those bright red bills, bold white eye rings, and long necks, they have a look all their own.

I found this pair together in the shallow wetlands along Laguna Shores in Corpus Christi. They seemed perfectly content just hanging out side by side while I grabbed a few photos.

#BlackBelliedWhistlingDuck #Waterfowl #TexasBirding #WildlifePhotography #CorpusChristi

Cotten Captures: Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks • Laguna Shores, Corpus Christi, Texas taken in Laguna Shores by @cottencaptureswildlife

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10 days ago