outdoor photography

Long-billed Curlew It's always fun when you get two lifers in two days. Yesterday a Lincoln's Sparrow  and this morning a Long-billed Curlew.  I drove down to the Joe Overstreet Landing and had a great time there.  The Curlew was very cooperative and easily found.  It was hanging out with numerous Wilson's Snipe. Then I found a Crested Caracara perched on a fence post, and it took off when I was focused on it, so I had sharp photos.  Eastern Meadowlarks were very vocal on the drive into the landing, and I love hearing their calls. Occasionally one would pose on the fence for me.  And on a sad but fascinating note, I found a couple Turkey Vultures that were working on a Raccoon carcass by the road. Long-billed Curlew Wilson's Snipe Crested Caracara Crested Caracara Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Meadowlark (I normally don't photograph birds with with lighting like this, but this one had such an iconic pose, I had to try it) Tur...

Limpkin Yesterday at E. Lake Tohopekaliga, I saw four Snail Kites , but there were several other birds worth some attention.  The Limpkins were out in force, and there were several Green Herons out and a about, as well as Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons and Great Egrets. It was also nice to see two Wilson's Snipe and two Lesser Yellowlegs, and even some Purple Martins. I also saw a White-winged Dove fly by, which I was kind of excited about.  There were also lots of rabbits out and about. Green Heron Wilson's Snipe Rabbit Red-winged Blackbird Here's a list of the species I saw yesterday morning: Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) 1 Mallard (Domestic type) 1 Mallard x Mottled Duck (hybrid) 3 Double-crested Cormorant 2 Great Egret 2 Little Blue Heron 1 Cattle Egret 4 Green Heron 4 White Ibis 15 Turkey Vulture X Black Vulture X Osprey 2 Snail Kite 4 Common Gallinule X American Coot X Limpkin 15 Sandhill Crane 12 Lesse...

Snail Kite This morning I had an appointment in Osceola County, so I decided to go early down to East Lake Tohopekaliga to see if I could find any Snail Kites.  I stopped near Crabby Bills and walked along the south side of the lake. I got there around 8:15am and saw none for a while, but just before 9am, I saw four that "congregated" high above my head.  After about a minute or so, one of them flew west and the the other three headed east.  I followed the three toward the east, and one of them flew by me relatively close a couple times. It's hard to know for sure, but I think I have photos of at least three of the four that I saw. Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite

Osprey We took a trip this morning to Osceola County in search of Snail Kites, and we went to three different places: Brinson Park at the north end of Lake Tohopekaliga, the lake by Oak Street Extension Reserve, and Kaliga park at the south end of East Lake Tohopekaliga.  I posted another blog entry about where we saw Snail Kites , but I wanted to give credit for the other birds we saw as well. Kildeer At  Lake Tohopekaliga, the best highlight was finding 3 Northern Harrier.  At the Oak Street Extension Reserve, we saw a Red-Tailed Hawk that looked to me like a western light adult--I'm not sure I understand that. At Kaliga Park, we not only saw the Snail Kites, but also Limpkin and Sandhill Cranes. Red-Tailed Hawk Limpkin Sandhill Cranes Snail Kite Here's a list of all the species we saw at each location: Bronson Park Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) 1 Mottled Duck 2 Pied-billed Grebe X Wood Stork 1 Double-crested Cormorant X...

Snail Kite Today we went down to Osceola County in search of Snail Kites.  We first went to the bridge on Neptune Rd at Lake Tohopekaliga, where we found several Northern Harrier, but no Snail Kites.  We then went to East Lake Tohopekaliga and hit the jackpot.  We saw three in the distance at the corner of East Lakeshore Blvd and Brown Chapel Rd, and then we went to the Hamilton Disston Park on the south side of the lake and saw two more, and these were somewhat closer to us, so our photographs were more presentable.  Here they are.  These are the first Snail Kites I've ever seen, so this is a good day. Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite Snail Kite