outdoor photography

"Krider's" Red-tailed Hawk On Friday I went to Marl Bed Flats, which is my favorite place to look for shorebirds and ducks in Seminole County--well, let's be honest. Marl Bed Flats and Central Winds are my two favorite places to bird in Seminole County.  Marl Bed Flats has been pretty much flooded since October, and it's it's only become passable in the past month or so.  Even now it's wet--you need wading boots to get anywhere good. "Krider's" Red-tailed Hawk But the upper slough (where it's more shallow) is just filled with birds--hundreds of birds: ibises, herons and egrets, ducks (mostly Blue-winged Teal and Shovelers), and shorebirds (mostly yellowlegs, snipe and killdeer). "Krider's" Red-tailed Hawk The biggest surprise came when I heard a Red-tailed Hawk behind me. I went to look at it, and it was flying relatively low over the trees and towards me. It was all white on its undersides.  So I decided to ...

Red-tailed Hawk On occasion I get to see a Red-tailed Hawk at Central Winds Park, and for me it's always a treat to see one.  Yesterday this one glided by; it was a pretty windy day, and at one point, he turned toward the wind and started kiting.  He was just about perfectly still and motionless in the air, perfectly balancing gravity and lift from the winds coming off Lake Jesup. After a little while it flew away, and later it I saw it return and glide toward me so I was able to get the above photo. It was like he just wanted me to take a picture of him with his wings and tail spread.  When the hawk was actually kiting, he was not in as good a position for photos, but I included one photo of him kiting below. This bird made my day. Red-tailed Hawk

Osprey I went to Central Winds again this morning.  I needed to be home a little early, so I decided to stay local. I think I startled an Osprey while it was eating its fish.  We saw each other at the same time; I stood still, but it decided to take off anyway.  And a young Red-tailed Hawk was soaring above the trees.  I don't often see them here. Red-tailed Hawk There was nothing new there this morning by way of migrants, seven warblers: Ovenbird, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Black & White, Yellow, Yellow-throated and Prairie Warbler. I'm really hoping to get a Blue-winged Warbler and Hooded Warbler soon. American Redstart Prairie Warbler I took a little time to photograph some of the butterflies and damselflies that were there: in particular, a Spicebush Swallowtail and a Rambur's Forktail Damselfly. Spicebush Swallowtail Rambur's Forktail

Northern Harrier Well, yesterday went a little better than predicted--the world didn't end, and I had a great time at the Zellwood/Mt. Dora Christmas Bird Count.  I was in the area around Lake Apopka--particularly to the north and east of it.  It was a cold (by Florida standards) and blustery day, but it was a great day for raptors.  We began the morning with a couple Barn Owls, and as morning broke, we also had Osprey, Bald Eagles, dozens of Northern Harrier and Red-tailed Hawks, many Red-shouldered Hawks, one Sharp-shinned Hawk, several American Kestrels, and one Merlin.  As the sun was setting, we found a couple more Barn Owls and at least one Short-eared Owl.  But the biggest highlight, though, was a Krider's sub-species of a Red-tailed Hawk. Red-tailed Hawk "Krider's" Red-tailed Hawk Merlin Sharp-shinned Hawk Barn Owl Ducks and water birds were also there.  We had 18 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and several Gadwall, Malla...

Red-tailed Hawk Mead Gardens was fun, though the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was a bit reclusive this morning. It was seen, and I saw where it was, but I didn't actually see it today. My best photos of the morning were actually taken as I was leaving the park. I came across a Red-tailed Hawk with its prey. It looks like a mouse of some kind, but it has an awful long tail.  It occurred to me as I was taking these photos that I have very few photos like this of Red-tailed Hawks.  Most of the ones I like are of them flying. Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawks are my absolute favorite hawk.  I feel this way largely for sentimental reasons.  As a kid living in California this was one of the first birds I learned to identify, and I loved seeing them every time I went hiking at Mt. Diablo near Concord, CA.  All but the last of these were taken near an office park in Lake Mary, Fl.  The last one was taken at Viera Wetlands; as you can see, this one only has one mature tail feather. Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk Yesterday I was at a retention pond in Lake Mary, FL.  It's surrounded on three sides by trees, and it's a nice place to look for birds and other wildlife.  As I walked around the far end of the pond, I heard the call of a Red-tailed Hawk just above my head.  I raised my camera and took a few pictures.  Then I realized it wasn't just flying by; it was circling me.  I looked around in the pine trees around me, and sure enough, there was a large nest near the top of one of the taller trees.  I walked away from the nesting site, and the hawk perched in a tree again, though its eyes followed me as I walked away. Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawks aggressively defend their nesting sites.  So if you see this kind of behavior, there's a good chance you need to back away from a nearby tree.  For the photographs, I was shooting straight up into the sky, so even though the bottom of the hawk's wings are lightly co...