outdoor photography

Snowy Egret  Every June in Florida we have the opportunity to participate in a friendly competition called June Challenge. The competition is designed to encourage people to get out there and do some birding during a hot summer month when many birders take a break. Migration is over, and there's often not much new to find, so the competition keeps us out and birding.  Pick a county, any county, and find as many birds as you can in that county during the month of June. The only caveat is they have to be seen; heard only doesn't count. This is my third year participating, and I was very pleased with my June Challenge results.  Every year I've done a little better. In 2012 I found 80 species; in 2013 I found 95; this year I found 104, not including two species I heard but never saw (White-winged Dove and Red-headed Woodpecker). I found 12 species I hadn't seen last year, and I missed out on three I had seen last year (White-winged Dove, Canada Goose, Black Skimmer). ...

Northern Parula This week has been pretty fun for migrants.  A Red-eyed Vireo showed up about 2 weeks early, and there were 3 Louisiana Waterthrushes and 2 Hermit Thrushes, though none posed well for photos. Other more common birds were more cooperative, including many Carolina Wrens, Northern Parula, and Barred Owls. For some reason, this is the first Barred Owl I've seen here.  It was pretty dark, so I had to photograph the owl at 6400 ISO, which I normally avoid like the plague (really, any thing over 1600 I try to avoid).  But there was no blue in the frame, and it was pretty much the only way I could get the shot, so I tried it. I certainly won't be printing these, but I was pretty impressed with how my Canon 7D handled the noise. Carolina Wren Barred Owl Barred Owl

Eastern Kingbird the first I've seen in the park Today I joined the Orange Audubon Society's bird walk for Mead Gardens.  Normally this time of year, the park is just hopping with migrants.  I checked the eBird reports from last year at this time, and there were some really nice sightings in the park.  However, this fall has been extremely slow, so I've only visited a couple times.  I hoped for some surprises this morning, but I think this was the slowest September day at Mead that I can remember.  We had five species of warbler: Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Northern Parula.  We had a few Red-eyed Vireos to liven things up a bit, and several of us had the chance to see a couple Baltimore Orioles.  Those that stayed past 11:00 am were rewarded with nice views of three Eastern Kingbirds.  Those were the first I've seen in the park, so that's something.  There were still the normal ...

Barred Owl Today at Central Winds a Barred Owl decided to perch right in front of us. It stayed perched here for a couple minutes while a friend and I took pictures. These are some of my best Barred Owl photos from the park. Barred Owl

Barred Owl This morning I dropped by Lake Lotus Park; I haven't been here in months because they open so late in the morning it's difficult to spend any length of time here before work.  Well, I was driving nearby this morning, so I thought it would be worth walking the trail once to see what may be there.  There was nothing unusual to be found--a first-year Double-crested Cormorant was on the water, I guess too young to go to the coast for breeding.  A Limpkin landed on the boardwalk railing so close to me that I could only photograph its head and neck (not that I'm complaining).  And a Barred Owl was out by the boardwalk, and it was close enough for nearly full-frame pictures.  Right near the owl was a pretty flower, which I'm guessing is a Primrose-willow of some sort, but I don't trust my own diagnostic skills for wildflowers. Barred Owl I'm still sometimes amazed at the difference moving a little bit can do for your compostion.  The above sh...

Spiderwort Flowers This morning my father and I went to Central Winds Park; with the threat of rain, we decided not to go somewhere that required us to walk far from the car.  Central Winds has been pretty slow lately, and I was not expecting much, but with the weather last night, I had the best morning there since this past Fall.  In all I found 11 warblers there: Louisiana Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Cape May Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Prairie Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler.  Three of these were the first I've seen in the park this year, and the Black-throated Green Warbler would have been a lifer if I'd seen it yesterday. Spiderwort Flowers Photographically, though, things were difficult.  It was very cloudy and dark for most of the morning,  so I didn't bother to take ...

Northern Parula This morning my son had a 9am appointment in Sanford, and I had a work obligation in Orlando at 2pm.  Not wanting to risk something going wrong, I decided to stay local and bird my way from Sanford to Orlando. I first went to Spring Hammock Preserve, hoping for a Prothonotary Warbler and Northern Waterthrush.  I succeeded with the latter but not with the former.  The place was also loaded with Northern Parula and Red-eyed Vireos; I heard both frequently all long the trail. On the way back I came across a butterfly that I later identified as a Hackberry Emperor. Hackberry Emperor From there I went to Central Winds park, hoping for a Prothonotary Warbler. No luck there, and in fact, there wasn't much at all to speak of there, but there was a Lesser Scaup by the shore of Lake Jesup.  Most of the rest of the ducks have moved on; I'm not sure why this one has stayed so long. Lesser Scaup From there I drove down to Mead Gardens, which has ...

Barred Owl This morning was pretty fun at Mead Gardens.  I saw a couple Barred Owls and a few Wood Ducks that were cooperative with my camera, though most other species I saw were not.  I heard a Red-eyed Vireo in the park this morning, and I have a brief glimpse at a Painted Bunting on the boardwalk near the feeders.  A couple Great Crested Flycatchers were also seen and heard.  And I saw/heard nine species of warblers: Black and White Warblers, one Orange-crowned, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, Palm Warblerx (including one yellow/eastern variety), Pine Warblers, Yellow-rumped, and one Prairie Warbler. Barred Owl Wood Duck

Barred Owl Barred Owls are one of our more common owls.  There are several near my home, so I get to see them pretty frequently. They are one of the first birds I photographed here after moving to Florida. Barred Owl Barred Owl Barred Owl    

Barred Owl In two previous posts from March, I shared how I found a Barred Owl  chick that had fallen from its nest  and died at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, but later I found that the owlet had a  sibling that had survived .  Another reader shared with me she had visited Mead Gardens and seen two surviving siblings in the park.  I had not seen either of these owlets during the month of April, but on Tuesday I found both of them with one adult.  The juveniles look much larger now, and it was wonderful to see them both doing well.  Barred Owl Barred Owl Barred Owl