outdoor photography

Little Metalmark My friend Jeff Cagle from Maryland came down to Florida for a week of vacation with his family. He's into butterflies like I'm into birds, so we embarked on some bird and butterfly adventures while he was here. I got some good recommendations of places to go, and we tried a few of them. We started out at Bull Creek WMA, which was the most highly recommended place.  Of course, most everything was new to me (other than the swallowtails), but we didn't see that many species there--about 18 butterflies (and about twice as many birds). It's been so dry here lately, that there weren't a lot of flowers around.  We saw only a few thistles, and they were mostly near the entrance. For me, the biggest highlight of the morning was a Little Metalmark. Pearl Crescent Pearl Crescent My second favorite species of the morning was a Pearl Crescent. It's a simply stunning butterfly, and there were several near one of the places we parked.  One pose...

Snowy Egret This morning I went to Orlando Wetlands Park with about 5 other people, and we had a pretty great time.  It was cloudy and threatened rain all morning, but it never really did.  Purple Gallinules were out in force--I counted 12. Purple Gallinule A couple Sandhill Cranes also decided to sing their lovely song at close range. Sandhill Crane Cattle Egrets My companions for the morning were also very interested in the flowers and butterflies, and it occurred to me that I often do just pass them by without much thought. Queen Ornate Bella Moth Four-spotted Penant Oats Grama

Northern Parula This morning I went to Central Winds Park on my way to work for about an hour.  I had a pretty good time.  I went the trees between the playground and the lake, and I found three Northern Parula on and near the ground.  As I watched them, it became clear that one was young and had just left the nest, and the parents were feeding it.  It could fly but apparently still dependent on its parents for food.  I also found about 5 American Redstarts including 2 females.  And, I finally found a Blackpoll Warbler--my first of the year and my first photos ever.  It seems a rule with me that my first photos of any species are terrible (back-lit, grainy, etc).  This morning, my Blackpoll photos were a notch above terrible, so I figured I'd risk sharing a couple. Northern Parula with a treat for the kiddo Blackpoll Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly (Black Morph) ? Trumpet Vine...

Great Blue Heron This morning I returned again to Mead Gardens with the great people at the Orange Audubon Society.  Compared to earlier in the week, this morning was rather quiet, but we still came away with some good finds and an enjoyable time.  The Yellow-billed Cuckoo and the female Painted Bunting were both seen again today. Painted Bunting It was nice to see seven species of warbler: Ovenbird, Worm-eating, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Cape May, Northern Parula and Black-throated Blue.  I've been on a quest to get a good photo of Worm-eating and Black-throated Blue warblers, and while I have not yet reached my goal. I never tire of photographing Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.  We found one that must have lost its keys, and he was looking for them quite frantically. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher And finally, there were some other wildlife besides birds that I found interesting, and not just because they make good bird food. Eastern Lubber Gra...

Hermit Thrush I drove by Mead Gardens on my way home today.  I spent about 45 minutes there just to see if I could find anything interesting.  I only saw about 18 species there, but I did see my first Hermit Thrush of the year.  One of the Wood Ducks was out in nice light, a Barred Owl was out keeping watch, a Carolina Wren put on a little concert for me, and a Red-Shouldered Hawk flew by with a duckling in its grasp.  I heard at least one Northern Parula but never found it; I think it was across the stream on private property. Wood Duck Red-shouldered Hawk with Duckling It was also fun to photograph species other than birds today.  I got my first photographs of a Long-tailed Skipper, and a wonderful dragonfly I can't identify perched for me.  There were two Red-eared Slider turtles on a log that were in just the right light.  I see them there often, but they seem always to plop into the water when I get ready to take a picture. ...

Giant Swallowtail At the Circle B Bar last week I had a fun time chasing a particularly beautiful Giant Swallowtail.  We were walking through a small clearing in the Live Oak forest in the park when we saw one headed toward some wildflowers.  We would have been happy enough just to photograph the trees, but the Swallowtail was an added bonus. Giant Swallowtail Giant Swallowtail

Spicebush Swallowtail This past Saturday I was at Boyd Hill Park, and there were a couple really nice butterfly gardens that attracted lots of butterflies.  One of my favorite visitors to the gardens is the Spicebush Swallowtail. Spicebush Swallowtail in Flight Spicebush Swallowtail  

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...

Cattle Egret This morning on the way back from St. Petersburg we dropped by Circle B Bar Reserve one more time.  The weather wasn't cooperative; it was cloudy and even a little chilly, but we had fun spending the morning at Circle B Bar. Highlights from the morning were seeing two Sandhill Cranes by their nest, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that posed for me, and an Anhinga prepare a fish for consumption. It was also very nice to see my first Black-bellied Whistling Ducks of the  year. On the way back to the car, a couple Giant Swallowtail butterflies came out to play with us as well. Sandhill Cranes Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Anhinga with Fish Great Blue Heron Giant Swallowtail Here's a list of species we saw this morning at Circle B Bar from about 9am to 12pm.Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 15 Blue-winged Teal 20 Pied-billed Grebe 5 Wood Stork 3 Double-crested Cormorant 10 Anhinga 10 Great Blue Heron 5 Great Egret 10 Snowy Egret 12 Little Blue H...