outdoor photography

Crested Caracara This morning I drove out to Brumley Rd looking for birds to add to my year list.  Top on my list were Summer Tanager (missed), Red-eyed Vireo (found), and Yellow-throated Vireo (found). But perhaps the best moment of the morning was when this Crested Caracara flew up on a fence post.  It was so close, I pretty much could only get the whole bird in the frame when its head was facing to the left.  So this is just about a full frame shot.  I cropped a little bit of the barbed wire from the bottom of the frame, but that's about it.

Prothonotary Warbler June Challenge is officially over. During last year's June Challenge, I logged 80 species for Seminole County; this year I ended up with 96, including a Graylag Goose, which is not the FOS list. I was hoping to hit 100 species, but I really didn't expect that to be possible.  I was away in MD and VA for a week, and even if I were here the whole month, I thought I'd have to get pretty lucky to hit the century mark.  So I'm extremely happy with 96.  I added 17 species that I didn't find last year, so I'm pretty happy about that too. Downy Woodpecker I've shown pictures of most of these birds in previous posts from this month, though for this post I used photos of these birds in different poses, so they aren't the exact same images. Limpkin Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Crested Caracara Eastern Meadowlark Carolina Chickadee In the list below, I put an asterisk (*) by birds I didn't see la...

Crested Caracara Why did the Crested Caracara cross the road? I really don't know, but I'm pretty glad it did. I drove to Brumley Rd this morning, and on the way into the area, I saw two on the top of a distant tree.  Then, on my way out, I only saw one.  I started to drive off and then I saw the second in the grass on the other side of the road near someone's yard.  It was pretty close to the road, and I thought maybe if I drive slow enough, I might be able to get close enough from some good photos.  As I was slowly approaching, the first flew over and landed on a fence post very near me.  I stopped my car and took the above picture.  Then it dropped down and walked  over the road to the grass with the other caracara. The two of them walked together, usually not close enough together for me to get both in the same frame, but it looked like they were trying to find their lost car keys. Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Crested Carac...

Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Crested Caracara

Long-billed Curlew It's always fun when you get two lifers in two days. Yesterday a Lincoln's Sparrow  and this morning a Long-billed Curlew.  I drove down to the Joe Overstreet Landing and had a great time there.  The Curlew was very cooperative and easily found.  It was hanging out with numerous Wilson's Snipe. Then I found a Crested Caracara perched on a fence post, and it took off when I was focused on it, so I had sharp photos.  Eastern Meadowlarks were very vocal on the drive into the landing, and I love hearing their calls. Occasionally one would pose on the fence for me.  And on a sad but fascinating note, I found a couple Turkey Vultures that were working on a Raccoon carcass by the road. Long-billed Curlew Wilson's Snipe Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Meadowlark (I normally don't photograph birds with with lighting like this, but this one had such an iconic pose, I had to try it) Tur...

Least Bttern This morning I went to Orlando Wetlands Park again and had a pretty good morning.  The biggest highlight was seeing 10 Least Bitterns in the park--that's easily a record for me.  I think my previous record was 6. Some of them were obviously paired, which was also fun to see. Least  Bittern Several Barn Swallows were out, and they are extremely difficult to photograph.  But about four of them decided to perch and pose for us. Barn Swallow Several Snowy Egrets were out fishing, and I suppose we could have watched them do so all day.  I love watching them fly low over the water and pick up fish of the surface mid-flight. Snowy Egret Snowy Egret A Crested Caracara was perched where I'd never seen one before.  I normally see them on the Birding Loop, but this one was northwest of it. Crested Caracara I think that Little Blue Herons are most interesting when they are in the process of getting their adult plumage.  ...

Crested Caracara I went to Orlando Wetlands Park this morning, partly to see the Vermilion Flycatcher , but I was also planning to tour the park.  The biggest highlight for me, other than the flycatcher, was seeing a Crested Caracara.  There were two of them at the park, and they both made loops around the wetlands, terrifying the Blue-winged Teal into flight.  Then a Bald Eagle came by, and one Caracara left and the other went back to a perch. Crested Caracara Approaching Blue-winged Teal Crested Caracara Crested Caracara with Something he Caught Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Here are the species that I saw this morning at Orlando Wetlands Park between 8am and 12:30pm today: Mottled Duck 3 Blue-winged Teal X Northern Shoveler 5 Hooded Merganser 1 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Wood Stork 1 Double-crested Cormorant X Anhinga 1 Great Blue Heron X Great Egret 5 Snowy Egret 1 Little Blue Heron 8 Tricolored He...

Crested Caracara at Viera Wetlands Unless you live in or visit  Central Florida , South Texas or farther south, you probably won't have any opportunity to see the Crested Caracara [ gallery ].  Despite appearances, this bird is closely related to falcons, though they are not the fast-flying variety of falcons that we're most familiar with.  Apparently, these birds used to live throughout the southern United States, but their habitat was wiped out by the most recent ice age, leaving a little pocket in Central Florida for them to live and for me to enjoy their presence. Crested Caracara at Orlando Wetlands Park They can be seen frequently at Viera Wetlands , and I've seen them at Orlando Wetlands Park as well, and you can see them elsewhere in Central Florida as well.  Being somewhat of a scavenger, they are a whole lot more fun to photograph than vultures, at least for me.  Anyway, they are beautiful birds, so I thought I'd share a few photographs ...