outdoor photography

Western Kingbird Yesterday afternoon I drove out to Polk County to a kingbird roost about 1.5 hours from my house. Both Western Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers have been regularly reported there over the last few weeks.  I arrived around 4:30 and within about 10 minutes or so, the Western Kingbirds started flying in. I counted about 8 of them before a kestrel came by and dispersed them.  As it got close to 5pm, I started to worry that the  Scissor-tailed Flycatchers may be perching on a set of wires outside of my field of view, so I started driving around the area, and sure enough, 4 of them were with another group of about 10 Western Kingbirds. I'm uncertain how many of those kingbirds I'd seen before the kestrel dispersed the first group I saw, but I believe there were at least 12 in all. Pretty easy and fun birding.  And I must say, that area of Polk County is quite beautiful. Western Kingbird The first group of Western Kingbirds I saw had the d...

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Stolen by pet.com.pk More and more I'm finding that my images are being stolen and published throughout the internet. I'm no expert at finding my stolen images, and I don't check for them very often, but I figured I share the little I know, and if any you have any tricks up your sleeve for how to deal with this, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. I'm always trying to learn more. Finding Images The best way I know of to find stolen images is to use Google Image Search .  You can just drag one of your images onto the page and it will show you where your picture has been published on the internet. I've found several stolen images this way. Contacting the Site Owner Sometimes all it takes is a nice but firm email to the site owner to get your images removed. About a year ago I found one of my images on NOAA's website.  They had made a presentation promoting a wildlife refuge, and they used one of my images of a Reddi...

Great Horned Owl Nestlings The park rangers were kind enough to put of an orange fence around this tree to keep people at a safe distance. If you follow signs and barriers, you are likely not going to cause harm. I've been an avid photographer for just about all this millennium, but I only became significantly interested in birding and wildlife photography after I received my 400mm lens and moved to Florida. I spent my early months here driving around wildlife loops and photographing whatever birds I saw. Eventually, I wanted to photograph more diversity of birds and wildlife, so I became involved with a local Audubon Society.  I'm very thankful that I learned my birding and wildlife photography ethics from birders and conscientious wildlife photographers. Black-Necked Stilt in Distraction Display These kinds of displays are a good sign that you're close enough to a nest or young to cause stress. Best behavior is to give the bird more distance. It wasn't ...

Painted Bunting One of my favorite migrants, though we get to see these all winter long as well. Lately I've been considering why it is I find birding so continuously fascinating, and even addicting. Of course there's the beauty of the birds, the thrill of finding them (especially rarities), and the challenge of learning to identify them.  I also have great interest in learning about their behavior--why they act the way they do.  It's a fascinating endeavor.  But recently I've become more aware of another reason why I'm fascinated by birding--the rhythms of nature. Bald Eagle Bald Eagles are residents here in Florida, and they breed here, but thin out in the summer time. This one stole a Rock Pigeon from a Cooper's Hawk and flew off with it. I'm growing in my appreciation and understanding of this aspect of birding--I certainly have not arrived.  But year after year, I'm starting to at least appreciate the rhythms of nature in Florida and ...

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Well, I must say it's been a pretty good year. I made my goal for the year, and then some.  I wanted to see 250 birds in the State of Florida, and I found 259, and I also found 272 total this year (including visits to TX, MD and VA).  I also have discovered the fun of keeping track of county lists.  I've decided to keep track of three counties near where I live, and hear are my totals for this year: Seminole (170 species), Orange (174 species) and Brevard (170 species). Nelson's Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow I also added 76 life birds to my list, thanks in part to the ABA allowing me to count the Nanday Parakeet. I've included a list of them below in the order that I found them.  The list I'm including below comes straight from eBird, so you may notice a Budgerigar listed, even though I don't believe it's ABA countable. Species Location State Date White-winged Scoter Blackwater National...

6 Western Kingbirds and 1 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scissor-tailed in in the center right with 4 Western Kingbirds to its left, 1 above and 1 below Normally when I post a field report I put what I think is my best photo from the day up top.  But I chose this one today because it shows 6 Western Kingbirds and 1 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in the same tree, and in Central Florida. This is from Scrub Jay Lane in Minneola (Lake Co).  I believe there were actually seven in the tree, but in the photos I took of this scene, five show up in all, one appears in some at the top of the frame, and one appears in others at the bottom of the frame.  I have no photos with all seven in the same shot, so it's possible that the one on bottom flew to the top, but I don't think that's likely.  When the kingbirds and flycatcher flew closer to me, I got some solo shots of them.  What a weird morning! It's like a little Christmas tree in nature. 6 Western Kingbirds and 1 Scisso...

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are simply amazing creatures. They have extremely long tails, and that alone is enough for me to consider them one of my favorite birds. The first three photos I took here in Florida. They don't really belong here, but some stray widely from their migration routes, and every once in a while we find them here. The last three were found in Texas, where they are much more common. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatcher