outdoor photography

Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve On April 9th I drove my daughter back to school at University of Florida. I got there in the early afternoon, and I decided to try a park there before heading back home. I decided to try Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve. I've been there once before, and I thought it was beautiful. A Hair Woodpecker has also been reported here, and I thought it would be good to add that species to my year list (a goal I failed to accomplish). Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve caption This is a beautiful park. I walked the loop marked by white blazes, and there were a couple other trails I ventured down a little ways just to see how the habitat might change. I didn't see a whole lot of birds, but pine flatwoods are one of my favorite habitats, and so it was good just to be out and about in nature. It was was fun to find a blooming Hooded Pitcherplant along the white blaze loop. Hoosed Pitcherplant I saw several Zebra Swallowtails and Common Buckeyes. One pair was m...

Brown-headed Nuthatch Wekiwa Springs State Park I first visited the park shortly after moving  here so our family could go swimming at the springs. At the time, I had no idea at the time that this would become one of my favorite birding locations in Orange County. Now when I visit this park, I feel like I'm seeing Central Florida as it once was, and that keeps me coming back for more. Wekiwa Springs State Park Trails and Kayaking There are over 13 miles of trails, and the western portion has some great trails for birding.  The western portion of the park has some great trails in Pine flatwoods and even some scrub habitat.  For this, I like to park at the Sand Lake parking lot and walk west and south towards the campgrounds. There are some wonderful place along these trails for some nice pine flatwood species. The eastern portion gives you access to the Wekiva River, which is one of the two “National Wild & Scenic Rivers” in Florida.  During the ...

Eastern Towhee On Saturday I visited Hal Scott Preserve to look for Red-cockaded and Hairy Woodpeckers.  I found both, but too early in the morning for photos.  Later in the morning Eastern Towhees and Bachman's Sparrows decided to put on a show.  They are such pretty birds I couldn't help but stop and take a few portraits. Bachman's Sparrow  

Eastern Towhee First Year? Female, October 2013 Yesterday I had a chance to visit Econ River WA for about an hour. As usual, Eastern Towhees were calling all over the park.  But I also had some good up-close looks at  a male and a female associating with each other. The male was a typical Florida "white-eyed" bird (the eyes actually look straw-yellow to me), but the female had eyes so dark that they seemed to blend into the bird's head. I thought this might be migrant--the northern "red-eyed" sub-species. I took a few shots of the bird and then asked my non-colorblind family members to tell me the eye-color.  Apparently, the eyes are neither yellow nor red, but brown. After inquiring about this I learned that younger birds have darker eyes, so this female may well be a first-year "white-eyed" bird. I went back and checked some of my photos of a juvenile that I took back in June of 2012; sure enough, the eyes are dark. Eastern Towhee Juvenil...

Econ River Wilderness Area Trails The Econ River Wilderness Area is another of my favorite places ot visit in Seminole County.  It's only about 10 minutes from my home, so I can visit there on a whim, which is nice.  The wilderness area covers about  240 acres that extends from Old Lockwood Rd to the Econ River just north of UCF.  There are approximately 3 miles of trails that will take you from pine flatwoods and and sandhill habitats into hard wood and river swamp environments closer to the river. The trails are pretty poorly marked, but if you know your east from the west, it's not much of a problem.  The area is very long from east to west and narrow from north to south, so as long as you know you're heading east, you're going to make it to the river, and as long as you're heading west, you're going to make it to the parking lot. There's one little pond on the property that is visible from Old Lockwood Rd.  There's a trail that will take you ...

Econ River Wilderness Area This morning I got up early and went to the Econ River Wilderness Area, hoping to see or hear a Common Nighthawk.  No luck there, but the early morning foggy light was really nice, so I took the above photo of some trees in the fog.  And on the way back to the car, a singing Eastern Towhee became very photogenic.  For some reason, I get my best towhee pictures at the Econ River WA. Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee

Eastern Towhee This morning I spent a little bit of time at the Econ River Wilderness Area.  It was a pretty good time.  Highlights were about seven Brown-headed Nuthatches and a Pied-billed Grebe with a fish. Other highlights were a Downy Woodpecker, Little Blue Heron and an Eastern Towhee. Eastern Towhee Downy Woodpecker Brown-headed Nuthatch Little Blue Heron Pied-billed Grebe

Eastern Towhee I wish all birds would announce their presence as well as Eastern Towhees.  They don't always show themselves, but you often know that they're there.  There are some fantastic places to find them here in Central Florida.  My favorite places are Geneva WA and Econ River WA, but you can also find them at Wekiwa Springs SP and the Scrub Ridge Trail at Merritt Island NWR. Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee

Eastern Towhee This morning I went to Econ River WA for about an hour.  It a very pretty place, though I didn't have time to go all the way to the back to the river.  It was fun to see a couple House Wrens, several Eastern Towhee, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  There was also a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly there that, well, has seen better days. House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Tiger Swallowtail