outdoor photography

This morning I decided to hike a little bit of Orlando Wetlands Park. My main goal was to try taking some video with my new Canon EOS 7D mark II and Manfrotto MVH500AH fluid head. The head works beautifully, and the 7Dm2 took wonderful video, though the autofocus seems to make a clicking sound while I'm recording. Good practice is to use an external mic for audio anyway, so I'm not too concerned. I put together a short video of some of the footage I collected today. It's nothing special, but I kind of like it, especially since it's the first video I've taken with the camera. But note to self. I need to get rid of the noisiness.

Gull-billed Terns I decided to wander around Orlando Wetlands Park this morning and found a wonderful surprise. Two Gull-billed Terns were parked together right next to the main trail. I've never been happy with my photos of this species before, and I think today's photographs were my favorite. Gull-billed Tern Gull-billed Tern Gull-billed Tern Gull-billed Tern Ducks are increasing in numbers with every visit. This morning there were bunches of both Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, lots of Northern Pintail, one Northern Shoveler, one Wigeon, a Gadwall, many Ring-necked Ducks, and a few Lesser Scaup, not to mention Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks everywhere.

Baird's Sandpiper Two days ago, one of my friends found a Baird's Sandpiper at Orlando Wetlands Park, and several of us saw it yesterday (and it's still being seen today). I drove out to it during my lunch break and came back to the office all excited. Of course, my friends at work thought I was nerding out over a bird that "looks just like any other sandpiper."  The bird was on Wetlands Blvd between Limpkin and Bobcat Rds.  It was very kind to us because it was hanging out with both a Pectoral Sandpiper and a Least Sandpiper, so we could compare sizes. It's a beautiful bird. Baird's Sandpiper There were only a few other shorebirds there: about 12 Least Sandpipers, 1 Pectoral, 1 Semipalmated, 4 Limpkin and 6 Lesser Yellowlegs. Baird's Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper

Purple Gallinule On April 8, I drove out to Orlando Wetlands Park, one of my favorite destinations in Orange County (second only to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive). I was not disappointed. I decided this year I would try to diversify my photography and make a special effort to photograph scenery, wildflowers and wildlife other than birds. Orlando Wetlands Park is a great place for this. Thee were lots of Prairie Irises blooming all over the park. Prairie Iris And a Blue Dasher dragonfly was also perched photogenically. This is to me a stunning male. Blue Dasher But I simply can't tear myself away from the birds entirely. There was so much there to photograph and enjoy. The only rarity was a group of three Stilt Sandpipers mixed in with a flock of Long-billed Dowitchers. Stilt Sandpipers with Long-billed Dowitchers The Purple Swamphen has left the park (or was removed?), but the Purple Gallinules are still abundant and as beautiful as ever. Purple Gall...

Sunrise at Orlando Wetlands Park I bought my Canon Powershot G7X so that I would be able take landscapes and other non-bird photographs without having to change lenses all the time. I spend all my time in nature just looking for birds, and so often I forget to photograph the scenery around me.  Well on November 30th the sunrise was too spectacular to ignore, so I pulled out my other camera and started taking photos. I'm pretty happy with these. These may be my favorite sunrise photos from the park. Sunrise at Orlando Wetlands Park

Common Yellowthroat This past Saturday I had a fun time looking for rarities at Orlando Wetlands Park--Vermilion Flycatcher (found) and Groove-billed Ani (missed).  Along the way, I heard the familiar sounds of Common Yellowthroats grunting at me.  I decided to stop for a few minutes, and one in particular was being rather photogenic, so I took a few photos.  They're one of our most common warblers, especially in winter near water, but they can be found all year round.  Sometimes I just ignore them and walk by, but why? This is a beautiful bird.  It deserves some love despite being common, don't you think? Common Yellowthroat

Red-cockaded Woodpecker This year I decided to try my hand at a little competition, called a 12 day big year.  You pick one day per month for 2014 and count as many species that you can find within those 12 days within the State of Florida.  I decided to join January 30th, giving me one day to get my January totals in, and it rained that day.  Then in February, I picked a day when I needed to be home by a little after lunch.  So I began the year woefully behind the leaders.  Not that it would matter much, since even on my best days I can't do a lot of traveling, and there are some very experienced birders in the competition. I'm not really in it to win it; it's just a fun little competition to participate in. I enjoy the atmosphere of friendly competition embodied by the competition. But yesterday was a pretty great day.  I totaled 103 species on the day and added 27 to my total for the year, giving me 131 so far.  I started out at Three Lakes Wild...

Reddish Egret with American Avocets I had a pretty fun time at Merritt Island this morning. I saw a Horned Grebe at the causeway and then went to Blackpoint Dr.  There was a significant number of shorebirds there: lots of American Avocets, Dunlin and Least Sandpipers, quite a few Black-bellied Plovers, and a few distant dowitchers and Red Knots. There were far fewer species of ducks than is normal this time of year: Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, and four Red-breasted Mergansers. Black-bellied Plover On the south side of the main road (west of the turnoff to Blackpoint Dr), there was a large number of wading birds, shorebirds and pelicans.  At one point, a group of them flew, containing the most interesting species in the group.  If I've counted right, this photo shows 11 Marbled Godwits, 5 American Avocets, 3 Dunlin and 1 Willet, though there were more of each species in the water. American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Dunlin The v...

Vermilion Flycatcher What a fantastic morning at Orlando Wetlands Park!  The area was just filled with birds.  Of course, top on my list was seeing a Vermilion Flycatcher. It was right where has been--in the cypress trees in cell #17.  But the area was also filled with other birds.  Lots of Blue-winged Teal and Green-winged Teal, as well as a Gadwall, a few Northern Shovelers and American Wigeon.  There were also at least 40 Roseate Spoonbills, and I suspect many more. I didn't attempt to count them, but a friend of mine counted over 100 in the afternoon. There were also at least 45 American White Pelicans that flew over the park.  Perhaps the biggest surprise was seeing over 120 Long-billed Dowitchers, with a few Dunlin mixed in with them.  And in reality, the photograph below shows closer to 150 I believe. There were many wading birds there, including on American Bittern and 2 Least Bitterns (heard only), and a couple Purple Gallinules. In all we...

Red-winged Blackbird In my last post I shared some photos of a Snail Kite at Orlando Wetlands Park. That morning I basically walked to the kite and then walked back, but I did take some photos of other birds I'd seen along the way. Along with these, I saw about 5 Least Bitterns, but none stayed in the open long enough for photos. Swallow-tailed Kite Red-shouldered Hawk Purple Gallinule

Snail Kite Snail Kites don't frequently come into Orange County, but with all the rain we've been having, I guess water levels are high, and this one decided to look for a better place to find Apple Snails.  What a beautiful bird!  I watched this one for almost an hour.  It spent a lot of time just perched, but then it did put on a show for a little while, collecting snails and then eating them right in front of me. Based on the yellow legs and thin-looking bill, I think this is a first year bird. Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite