outdoor photography

Neotropic Cormorant Jan 2, 2016 On New Year's Day our family drove down to Palm Beach County to visit my brother-in-law.  The following morning I decided to visit Wakodahatchee Wetlands. It's a wonderful place with a beautifully maintained board walk that takes you through the wetlands.  My primary hope was to see the Neotropic Cormorant that has been hanging out here.  It took a while, but eventually it showed itself--a nice, bright white line surrounding its gular pouch. My father and I also visited the park on Dec. 27th, so I thought I'd share photos from both of my visits.  My December visit was the first day I'd seen a Neotropic Cormorant in the U.S. Neotropic Cormorant December 27, 2015 I also saw another cormorant that looks like it might be a hybrid Neotropic x Double-crested Cormorant, but I'm no expert on these things.  It seems to have the white outline to the yellow gular pouch, but it's more faint than it should be. Neotropic x Doub...

Purple Swamphen I spent the night last night in Boynton Beach, and I left for home early this morning. However, I just had to check out Wakodatchee Wetlands, so I left about an hour early to drop by the park.  My target bird was Purple Swamphen, and it did not take too long to find them.  Purple Swamphens are not native to the U.S.  They are an Eurasian bird that has become established in South Florida since some escaped into the wild back in the 1990's.  At least one has been reported in Brevard County, but most remain farther south.  These birds are now considered countable by the ABA as of 2013. Purple Swamphen Aside from that, I was impressed with the wetlands.  It's truly beautiful, and I loved the boardwalk much more than a wildlife drive.  There were many herons, egrets, cormorants and anhingas breeding within the wetlands, but the highlights for me were a Cattle Egret striking a nice pose and an adult Tricolored Heron feeding a...