outdoor photography

Bell's Vireo Over the weekend, a friend of mine found a Bell's Vireo at my favorite sparrow spot in Seminole County. Apparently, it flew into his field of view while he was looking for sparrows. I wish I could be so lucky. This species belongs in Texas and winters along the Pacific Coast in Mexico and Central America. But occasionally one shows up in Florida, and on even rarer occasions, it will winter here.  That's a special treat for me, especially in my home county.

Song Sparrow  Song Sparrows are tough in Central Florida. A little farther north and they're pretty common, but around here, I only see perhaps 1-2 in a winter.  And then they rarely cooperate. They often stay low in their favorite brushy habitat and keep to themselves--they aren't really interested in singing in the winter time. So on Feb 27, I was surprised to see this guy perched up on top of the brush in full view. Finally I have presentable photos of a Song Sparrow in Seminole County. Song Sparrow Song Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow Savannah Sparrows are so common in the winter time here it's easy to overlook them. Sometimes, though, they pop up and pose so nicely, they're hard to ignore. They're pretty smart-looking sparrows. In the mornings you can find them along the fence lines on Canal St, my favorite sparrow spot in Seminole Co. This December Canal St has been pretty slow. I've found one Lincoln's Sparrow there, but apart from that, I've just seen Savannah, Swamp and Song Sparrows. So far, not even a White-crowned has shown up. I keep checking the area, though, in the hopes that something more rare will appear. One of these days, a White-throated Sparrow will show up here, I know it. Savannah Sparrow

Clay-colored Sparrow On Dec 8, I found one of my nemesis birds for Seminole County: a Clay-colored Sparrow (White-throated Sparrow, Western Kingbird, and Yellow-breasted Chat are next on my list). I've been trying to find one here for years. It's been hanging out here for about a week now, so I'm hopeful that it might winter here (along with a Field Sparrow, also somewhat unusual in Central Florida). Clay-colored Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow My favorite sparrow spot is really just a fence line with lots of dense vegetation around it bordering a cow pasture. It's not a park; it's really just a little spot along the side of the road. I sometimes worry about the local residents being irritated by my presence. However, the "locals" don't seem to mind me at all, and sometimes they stop and chat for a minute as they drive by. On the day I found the sparrow, I was hoping to photograph an Ash-throated Flycatcher that my friend had found just a co...

Vesper Sparrow I love Vesper's Sparrows. They seem like Savannah Sparrows with an extra dash of class. This guy was hanging out with a bunch of Savannah Sparrows at my favorite little sparrow spot in Oviedo.

White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) This morning I drove out to one of my favorite sparrow spots and found a White-crowned Sparrow. This spot seems to be good at attracting them, but for some reason, we get our fair share of the "Gambel's" subspecies of this bird.  In fact, I think every bird I've seen here, whether immature or adult, has been this subspecies.  Gambel's are rare this far east, so it's kind of nice to see them. White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) Gambel's (or Western Taiga) White-crowned Sparrows can be identified by the pale lores and bright orange bill. Below I decided to include a picture of our more typical White-crowned Sparrow with darker lores. There's a black line in front of the eye that connects to the black in the crown.

Grasshopper Sparrow Yesterday I went to my favorite little sparrow spot in Seminole County.  It has been fantastic to us this winter, since we've been able to see Grasshopper Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, and even a Lark Sparrow, not to mention our more commons species: Savannah, Swamp and Chipping Sparrows.  However, since early January, it seems that the two places I check had all but dried up.  I haven't seen anything but Savannah and Swamp Sparrows in over a month, which is strange because they shouldn't have left us yet. Field Sparrow But this morning, on my way to one of my spots, I saw about a dozen Savannah Sparrows along the canal beside the road. I decided to pull over and see what I could find.  Among the Savannah Sparrows were 2 Grasshopper Sparrows and 1 Song Sparrow.  Then in the distance I saw my first Field Sparrow in Seminole County.  Field Sparrows are not too common here.  ...

White-crowned Sparrow Fun Sparrows are continuing to arrive here in Central Florida; the latest I've seen is this young White-crowned Sparrow.  This one appeared in one of my favorite sparrow spots in Seminole County; they seem to come here every year. Last Fall, I saw one here a couple times, but the area was disturbed when the road was paved early this year, and I couldn't find any here since then.  I was hoping I'd get the chance to see one this Fall here, and thankfully one showed up.  I also found my first Vesper Sparrow of the Fall, but it was too far away for photos. White-crowned Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow

Lark Sparrow This morning before work I decided to drive around some road-side sparrow habitat to see what I could find. I checked the Black Hammock area south of Lake Jesup, and I wasn't finding anything. I was hoping for Grasshopper Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows, but I was having a hard time finding any sparrow at all--not even a Savannah Sparrow. But the last place I checked turned out to make out for a slow morning. I was checking some bushes next to the road on Canal Street, and there were several birds on the back side of the bush that I couldn't make out. As I was waiting for better looks, a Lark Sparrow popped out into full view and sat on a perch for several minutes. Then it disappeared for a minute or two, but then I saw it fly across Canal Street to perch on a palm tree for me. It was one of the most cooperative sparrows I've ever photographed. This bird made my week. Lark Sparrow

Merlin and the Dragonfly About a week ago, I drove to Canal St in search of a Least Flycatcher that was seen the day before. I didn't find it (it did show up a few days later), but I did see a Merlin fly by.  I photographed it as it flew by, and when I looked at the photos, I noticed that it attempted to grab a dragonfly. I'm really surprised that both the dragonfly was relatively sharp, so even though the photos aren't all that great, I thought they were worth sharing. Merlin and the Dragonfly Merlin and the Dragonfly Merlin and the Dragonfly

Grasshopper Sparrow I love fall migration, don't get me wrong, but I get really excited when sparrows start coming in.  This past Saturday I found my first Savannah Sparrow at Merritt Island, and today I went to my favorite local spot for sparrows on a little street south of Lake Jesup.  It's just a fence line with dense vegetation around it and an open field on both sides.  But it's a great spot for sparrows. Today I found Swamp, Savannah, and Grasshopper Sparrows here.  The Grasshopper Sparrows were unusually cooperative. Shortly after I arrived I saw one perch a distance away on the top of a fence post along with a Savannah Sparrow.  Then a little later a couple flew pretty close to me; one perched on a fence post and another on a plant, and they posed for a few minutes.  Shortly after they left I saw two again in similar places.  Perhaps they're the same two.  They gave me my best photos of the species I have to date. I'm looking forward t...

Indigo Bunting Yesterday I dropped by Canal St., where I've been seeing Indigo Buntings hanging out.  I've seen then singing earlier this month.  I went back yesterday for just a few minutes, and they were still there. They've been there a while, so I strongly suspect they're breeding there. Indigo Bunting

Common Ground-Dove It's a pretty little dove, isn't it?  I like how the feather patterns on the head and chest make it look kind of scaly. These doves are pretty common here, but I've had a hard time getting decent photos of them.  Yesterday one perched on a fence and allowed me to get a couple shots. Common Ground-Dove Common Ground-Dove

Eastern Phoebe My search for Henslow's, Le Conte's and White-crowned Sparrows has so far come up empty.  I'm still hopeful, though.  This morning I returned to Canal St., where I'd found Savannah, Vesper, and Grasshopper Sparrows earlier this month.  The morning started out very cloudy, and the birds seemed content to stay hidden and quiet, but the sun peaked out from behind the clouds just after 8 am, and then things began to pick up a little.  I found several Savannah and one Grasshopper Sparrow, but no sparrows more interesting than that.  But all is not a loss--while the lighting was good I was able to photograph some more common birds perched on the barbed wire and fence posts.  I can't resist photographing even very common birds when they present me with such a clean background behind them. Grasshopper Sparrow Northern Mockingbird Northern Cardinal