Phil Hilson Photography

05/31/2026

We arrived just after this osprey had successfully caught a fish. Over the next hour and a half, we watched it perch, reposition, and eventually fly to a favorite snag with its meal.

05/31/2026

My wife and I arrived just after this osprey had successfully caught a fish. Over the next hour and a half, we watched it perch, reposition, and eventually fly to a favorite snag with its meal. I thought it might fly off and bring the remnants to its mate, but it literally ate the entire fish.

05/30/2026

The Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101)

17.5 hours of imaging have finally come together in this image of the Tulip Nebula, located about 6,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

The glowing red hydrogen clouds are being energized by a hot young star near the center of the nebula. Dark lanes of dust carve through the gas, creating the intricate structures that give this object its tulip-like appearance.

One of the challenges of this project was bringing out the faint nebulosity while preserving the rich star field that surrounds it. Cygnus is one of the most crowded regions of the Milky Way, and the field is packed with countless stars stretching deep into our galaxy.

Telescopes: Askar PHQ130
Astrocamera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro Optolong L-eNhance filter
ZWO AM5 mount
Processed in PixInsight and Photoshop.

Every photon in this image began its journey thousands of years ago, long before any telescope existed to record it.

Tonight, it finally arrived.

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

Today’s contribution to my “first sightings of spring” collection.
A Common Yellowthroat, a Black-headed Grosbeak, and the Gray Catbird. Spring migration is underway and every outing now feels like opening day.

05/27/2026

The star of today’s show and a first photo for me is the Marsh Wren. This little acrobat never sat still for long, bouncing through cattails with it’s tail cocked skyward and singing far louder than his size would suggest.

05/26/2026

Today’s spring excursion brought two more first spring sightings for me. An Eastern Kingbird and the Western Wood-Pewee.

Also making appearances today were an American Goldfinch, a female Bullock’s Oriole and of course, my favorite a Northern Yellow Warbler

05/26/2026

One of my favorite arrivals is the Green-tailed Towhee, flashing that rusty cap and olive tail through the sagebrush, always seeming full of personality. And today, a Least flycatcher added to the excitement as well.