Wings and Wonders: Adventures in Wildlife Photography with Dan Jordan

Tales from the journey, stunning captures of a Wild Turkey and Eastern Meadowlark

Authored by Dan Jordan, showcasing a recent close encounter with a Cooper’s Hawk

I stepped away from the everyday grind of the 9-5 life and became a dedicated wildlife photographer just two years past. This change allows me the joy of exploring the country in quest of distinctive species, striking backgrounds, and interactions among animals or between various species and myself.

Traveling suits me well as I have a passion for driving. I even purchased a rugged off-road vehicle to satisfy my urge to “explore the wild.” Roaming across the country offers me fantastic chances, but I’ve found that our local area, which includes WNY and NWPA, is abundant in wildlife and photographic possibilities on its own. More than I previously believed, I capture some breathtaking images within a hundred-mile area of my residence in Allegany, NY. My focus is on bald eagle photography, and many of my bald eagle captures occur within just a few miles from home.

In this series, I’ll present images and tales sourced from this 100-mile vicinity (give or take) and hopefully inspire readers to “get out there” themselves to discover firsthand what nature presents to us right here at home.

With that in mind, my initial anecdote concerns a recent visit to Presque Isle State Park, located near Erie, PA (just about hitting that hundred-mile mark). I traveled to PISP hoping to spot the elusive snowy owl, which I unfortunately did not find. As I navigated through the park, I noticed a wild turkey on the path. I cautiously approached, desiring to obtain some close-up shots. Little did I expect……

A bit of background is needed before I proceed with this tale. Over the previous few years, I’ve experienced some extraordinary close encounters with wildlife. Turkey species (among others) often appear undisturbed by my presence. There have been instances where an entire flock of Benjamin Franklin’s candidate for our national bird trekked down a trail with me, completely encircling my position. I’ve had a tom turkey peck my lens, seemingly requesting a portrait. Odd, bizarre experiences, and I struggle to account for any of this.

Anyway, as I approached the turkey at PISP, it sprinted toward my Bronco. I moved ahead slowly, trying to ‘outpace’ the bird for eye-level photographs. However, the turkey had different plans. It dashed beside the Bronco at the same speed I was driving. Whenever I halted, the turkey would stand on its toes, extend its neck, and peer into my vehicle. Due to fear, primarily, I could not exit the vehicle. Turkeys are sizable birds, and memories of a viral video featuring a postal worker being ‘attacked’ by turkeys filled my mind.

Fortunately, I carry several lenses during wildlife excursions. Capturing an image of a turkey peering through my Bronco’s window necessitated leaning back toward the passenger seat as far as possible and utilizing the widest lens I possessed. The outcome was this image. Frankly, I doubt I will ever find myself that close to a turkey beak again, and I actually hope not, as this encounter was rather unsettling, if not outright frightening.

Someone remarked that I was positioned so closely that I could count the feathers on its head. Indeed, I could have, but opted not to.

I also captured a shot of the turkey sprinting alongside as I attempted to drive away. While it may not be as dramatic or sharp as the close-up photo, it depicts the turkey ‘clucking’ at me as it ran (sounding quite similar to a chicken clucking). My vehicle was moving, the turkey was racing alongside, bobbing its head as it went, and I was balancing the camera outside the window with one hand. These elements combined to create a blurry image. I am rather astonished the photo is as clear as it turned out, to be honest.

The majority of my wildlife tales and images center around bald eagles or other avian species, hence the title of this column. While I certainly do not confine myself to birds, the chances to photograph them greatly surpass those with any other kinds of animals.

Let me share another brief tale with you in this article. A couple of years ago, I captured images of a western meadowlark in Utah but had never encountered an eastern meadowlark. Last summer, I was granted access to a property where they had been seen, yet I still did not spot one. I made a promise to photograph one before the year concluded.

A few weeks after, I observed two of them in the Town of Allegany, within a short span. The first encounter was thrilling, but the second led to yet another amusing ‘tale’. I was driving from my residence towards Olean via a back road route (a common choice for me!). I noticed

A meadowlark perched on a wire, yet there were no spots to pull off the roadway. Thus, as I am often known to do, I jumped into the ditch to avoid obstructing traffic. Not giving a thought to how I would emerge from the ditch is my standard “worry about that later” approach to handling wildlife encounters (and the reason I purchased the Bronco).

As I snapped pictures of the meadowlark, who was driving along the road toward me but my wife. Observing my vehicle at a peculiar angle in the ditch, her sole reaction was to shake her head as she passed by. Not concerned that I had crashed, or how I might free myself from the predicament I found myself in, she knew, instinctively, that I had intentionally driven into the ditch.

In any case, I managed to obtain some remarkable images of the splendid eastern meadowlark, which had evaded me for my whole life until 2024. Here is one of the photographs from that meeting.

I typically prefer not to include artificial items in my wildlife images, but due to my prolonged dry spell in spotting an eastern meadowlark, I am glad to share this photo of a bird on a wire. And for those worried about whether I extricated myself from the ditch, yes, both my vehicle and I have survived to photograph another day.

I intend to submit more in this series of stories regarding my local wildlife encounters in the future. If you have any inquiries or feedback for me, or even suggestions, feel free to reach me at [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in my artistry.

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