outdoor photography

Spotted Sandpipers on a Stroll Together Yesterday morning I got up early and made it to the end of Brumley Rd at the ungodly hour of 6am. It was still dark out, and I was not looking forward to the 3 mile walk out to the St. Johns River, but it just had to be done, and I had to leave this early if I wanted to be back in time for work.  I walked 8 miles and took a slightly different route than I've done in the past. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn off My Maps when I got in my car, so the map below also shows me driving down Brumley Rd for a little ways: There have been so many good shorebirds seen at Lake Apopka over the last week or so that I was hoping they would share some of their wealth with me at what may be the best shorebird spot in Seminole county (it's only competition is Marl Bed Flats, but that appears to be dried up at the moment). Black-necked Stilt Alarm Call My morning wouldn't have competed with Lake Apopka, but it was still an enjoyable morni...

Black-necked Stilt Yesterday I made the long trek out to the St. John's River at Puzzle Lake from Brumley Rd.  I'm always impressed with place when I go. I was hoping for returning shorebirds, and I didn't get anything new for the year, but it was nice to see returning Greater Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers, hopefully as a sign of other species to come over the next few weeks.  Killdeer and Black-necked Stilts are stilt there, of course, and it was exciting to see some little chicks running about. Black-necked Stilt Least Sandpiper (one of about 10 I saw)   I added four new birds to the eBird hotspot: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Wood Duck, Swallow-tailed Kite and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and I added Ruby-throated Hummingbird to my own list for the hotspot. In all I saw 47 species--here's my eBird checklist . Red-shouldered Hawk (immature) It was also fun to see this Sabatia flower, which I'm pretty sure is a Large Flower Sabatia. I've phot...

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Wekiva River I just completed my fourth June Challenge.  For those of you who are not familiar, June Challenge is a friendly competition here in Florida.  The gist is this: pick a county in Florida and find as many bird species in that county in Florida during the month of June--they must be seen (heard only doesn't count).  My totals have risen every year: 2012     81 (80/1) Species 2013     96 (95/1) Species 2014     105 (104/1) Species 2015     114 (112/2) Species The main number is the total species followed by the ABA countable and ABA uncountable species in parentheses. Greater Yellowlegs and Black-necked Stilt St. Johns River Short-billed Dowitchers St. Johns River Semipalmated Sandpiper St. Johns River When I began my June Challenge this year, I seriously questioned whether it was going to be possible to beat my 2014 total, but in the beginning of this year I found a g...

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 ...

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). ...

Semipalmated Plover Yesterday morning I visited Marl Bed Flats again.  I'm pretty amazed at how good this place has been in May.  It's given me several Seminole County firsts, including a Short-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper and now a Semipalmated Plover. Black-necked Stilts are still here, though in much smaller numbers; now only about 4 remain (out of over 40 in April). I've seen 12 species of shorebirds here over the last week--I'm not sure what it is about this inland location that's attractive to them, but I'm not complaining. Greater Yellowlegs Black-necked Stilt And strangely enough there's also at least one Savannah Sparrow still here.  It's three weeks late in leaving us. As best I can tell it's healthy, so it's really puzzling to me. Maybe it wants to stay for the June Challenge, but I suspect that's too much to hope for. Savannah Sparrow

Bobolink Not all black birds are blackbirds, and not all blackbirds are black. This morning at Marl Bed Flats I saw lots of black birds, and some of them were blackbirds. My favorite blackbird, though, was only partly black, and it's not even called a blackbird; it's called a Bobolink. Bobolinks are blackbirds, and the males are mostly black, but the females aren't. I like the males, though, not so much because they are black blackbirds but because they just plain look funky. It looks like they have their bills on the wrong side of their head--very strange looking to me.  They come though Central Florida usually in late April or early May. This is the earliest I've found them here, though I don't think these are particularly early. Bobolink Eastern Meadowlarks are blackbirds that aren't really black birds--at least they're mostly not black.  But they are very fun.  This one grabbed a tasty morsel, a spider, I think, and I believe it's headed ...

Northern Harrier This morning I got up early and went to Marl Bed Flats, hoping to see some new shorebirds. I had a great time.  I was hoping for a Pectoral Sandpiper, but instead I found my first of the year Solitary Sandpiper.  But my best photos were of a Northern Harrier that flew by pretty close to me and a Lesser Yellowlegs. Lesser Yellowlegs The biggest surprise was finding over 40 Black-necked Stilts, including some that were paired off. I'm very hopeful that some will stick around to breed here. Black-necked Stilts There were also many Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows here, and one Northern Rough-winged Swallow. As I'm sure you know (or can imagine), it's very hard to get nice sharp photos of swallows in flight.  The bottom photo, though, shows the swallow about to capture a bug of some sort. I would have liked to have it a little sharper with a clear view of its eye, and I'd love to have whatever but that is in focus, but I'm still happy with t...