outdoor photography

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L For bird wildlife photography, having a long telephoto lens is a tremendous advantage.  It allows you to you to have your subject large in your frame while keeping your distance. Most wildlife photographers occasionally crop their images significantly, since wildlife usually stays pretty far away. So sharp lenses also give you a huge advantage. There are basically three classes of Canon lenses that are available to you. Consumer G rade telephoto zoom lenses are the most affordable, but unfortunately, consumer grade telephoto zooms are often pretty soft at the telephoto end of the zoom.  I have friends that shoot with these lenses, and I often hear them express frustration that they aren't able to come home with sharp pictures.  Part of the reason for this is simple lens quality  On the other end of the spectrum are what we might call  High End Professional Grade telephoto prime lenses.  These lenses are extremely sharp and fast, ...

Sunrise Beyond finding the Brown-crested Flycatcher and other flycatchers I was looking for, I had fun finding other birds as well.  Several birds posed for photographs, most notably Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Phoebe, and Ospreys.  Also a Red Admiral landed on a tree trunk for me. In my haste to find the flycatchers, I didn't stop much for photos, but here are a few I did take. Red-winged Blackbird Red-Admiral Eastern Phoebe Osprey

Red Knot This past weekend at Fort De Soto I was very pleased to find about 40 Red Knots feeding by the shore on North Beach.  There were a few Short-billed Dowiichers mixed in with the group, and there was this strange looking shorebird--it looked like a Red Knot with feathers that were a little too light and a bump on its head. After getting home, I zoomed in on my photos, and it became clear that this bird has a growth of some sort on its head. Red Knot Head A "Normal" Red Knot Red Knot I hope that this deformity is temporary that will heal over time, but it could also be a tumor.  The bird seemed to be acting normally and was not impeded by the deformity. Perhaps it will be okay.

Bobcat This morning I returned again to Merritt Island to see what we hadn't seen yesterday. We went to Pumphouse Loop Bio Lab Rd, Scrub Ridge Trail and the visitors center.  Pumphouse Loop was hardly worth mentioning but I did find a Green Heron that sat still very nicely for me and let me take its picture. Green Heron Dragonfly Bio Lab Rd was much more fun.  We decided that we should start from the south and work our way north.  Right off the bat we saw two Bobcats, and I was able to take my best photographs of this wonderful animal.  Then we were treated to a Great Blue Heron killing and swallowing what I believe is a Southern Water Snake.  We saw several species of shorebirds including Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, many Black-necked Stilts, a Stilt Sandpiper, a Spotted Sandpiper, and a Ruddy Turnstone.  We also saw many Semipalmated Sandpipers and a couple Western Sandpipers.  On the north end of the roa...

Green Heron There's something about the serene reflections on water that I find captivating.  Especially when they make the water green.  Wildlife with backgrounds like this are perhaps my favorite of all.  Sometimes you have to work a little to get this to happen.  That is, in order to make it work, you may have to adjust your position by moving around your subject or moving your camera up or down.  But to me the results are worth it.  I have no problem with blue water, but green reflections to me are always worth the effort.  All three photos below were taken at one of my favorite little spots at Mead Gardens.  There are some branches that come out of the water, and turtles and wading birds take turns on the branches.  If you stand at the right place, the green reflections are wonderful, at least to my colorblind eyes. Red-eared Sliders Tricolored Heron Anhinga

Red-headed Woodpecker This morning I went to Rock Springs Run State Preserve with members of the Orange Audubon Society.  It's always fun going with this group.  They are very friendly and knowledgeable, and I always learn something when I go with them.  Today we walked through several habitats, and while I didn't see a large number of species, I did see three that I've never seen in Florida.  The biggest highlight for me was seeing a Red-headed Woodpecker. I didn't get very close, but I'm thankful that the photos were sharp.  The last time I saw one of those was three years ago in Maryland.  We also saw several Carolina Chickadees and Eastern Bluebirds, which I haven't seen in Florida before. We saw several warblers, most notably we saw several Northern Parula and Pine Warblers, and one Black and White and Common Yellowthroat.  We heard several Eastern Towhee, and I saw a total of three.  Some members of our group saw a Swallow...

Hooded Merganser (male) These little birds are easily one of my favorite ducks.  Mergansers have bills with serrated edges to help them catch fish and other prey, which they usually do after diving under the surface of the water.  They're beautiful birds, and even though I see them frequently here in FL, I can't help but stop to photograph them whenever I see them. The above photograph was actually taken at a retention pond at my son's school. Hooded Mergansers (Female) with one returning to the surface As you can see, males and females look very different from each other, and they also have different looks depending on whether their "hood" is up or down. Hooded Merganser Hooded Mergansers with their "Hoods" Up

Least Bittern Today was a great day at Viera Wetlands.  I mentioned in a previous post that I saw a Gray Kingbird on my way into the wetlands.  That was easily the biggest highlight for me, since it's the first I've ever seen.  But there were a couple other species I saw for the first time this year today: two Least Bitterns and one Sedge Wren.  It was also very nice to see an American Bittern, a Sora, and a Cooper's Hawk.  There were several Great Blue Herons nesting in the wetlands, and one couple was particularly active repairing their nest and feeding their young, but I'll put those photos in a future post. American Bittern Hooded Merganser with one Rising Sora Red-winged Blackbird Loggerhead Shrike Anhinga On the way to Viera, I found two Swallow-tailed Kites, and on the way back I saw five Wild Turkeys.  This makes my grand total for the day 62 species.  Here's a list of the 60 species I saw at Viera: Blue-winged ...

Osprey On Saturday morning we decided to visit Boyd Hill Park.  I had read that the park was designed to support multiple habitats, and we had heard that there was good birding there.  Now I have to say that I love the idea of the park.  The path leads you to different sections that highlight different Florida ecosystems.  There's a Sand Scrub area, a Pine Flatwoods area, and an Oak Pine Hammock area, as well as Swamp, Marsh, and Lake areas.  There were covered pavilions and water stations at the trail heads for each of these habitats with informative signage to describe what you're about to see.  I loved that. Royal Tern Common Moorhen Unfortunately, the birds were not there in any great numbers.  I was surprised by how little I heard or saw.  I stayed there from about 7:30 to about noon, just waiting for things to pick up, but they never did.  There were some highlights, though.  We saw an Osprey nest, and one of the pai...