outdoor photography

Northern Shoveler I spent the last morning of the year at Merritt Island. We went by Blackpoint Wildlife Drive and then Biolab Rd.  I was hoping to find one more species for the year, but it looks like I'll have to end the year at 259 Florida birds.  Still, it was a nice, sunny day, and there lots of fun highlights.  I don't think I've ever seen so many spoonbills on the island.  There were easily upwards of 50 Roseate Spoonbills, plus many Glossy and White Ibises.  Ducks were also plentiful, and at times the lighting was pretty good to photograph the numerous Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and American Wigeon and Hooded Mergansers. Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Northern Pintail Hooded Merganser Hooded Merganser Wood Stork Roseate Spoonbill Glossy Ibis White Ibis Caspian Tern Red-winged Blackbird On the way back, we decided to drop by the visitor center to check the bird feeders for Painted Bunti...

Snowy Egret catching a Fish I don't think I'll ever get tired of Orlando Wetlands Park, though this morning I tried. We decided to try an area I've never visited--the north-east quadrant north of Lake Searcy.  There's a trail there that goes to the northern edge of the park, and I thought it would be fun to walk the trail through the woods to observe a different kind of habitat. It became clear to me, though, as we approached the trail, that we were leaving the birds behind. And after walking the trail for a minute, I decided it was so muddy and mosquito-ridden to travel, so we decided to turn back.  This decision cost us perhaps an hour of good photography time.  The consolation prize, though, was the opportunity to observe a rookery of Cattle Egrets.  Easily 100 egrets were flying back and forth from a clump of trees gathering nesting material--a never ending line of Cattle Egrets with a mission.  One of these egrets found a branch with leaves that appeare...

Black-bellied Whistling Duck Yesterday morning I went to Orlando Wetlands Park, and I had a wonderful time, despite not seeing some of the species I was hoping to see.  I missed seeing Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons, though I found out that if I'd taken a different path when I arrived, I'd have seen some (so I know where to go next time).  I also missed seeing Waterthrushes where I'd seen several last year.  I did, however, find 5 Least Bitterns, and while I didn't come home with any presentable photos, it was great just to see them.  I also found many Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, which are always fun to see. Wood Duck Plenty of egrets and herons were out and about, and I'm convinced that Orlando Wetlands Park is the best place in Central Florida to see and photograph just about any heron, egret or bittern.  The only exception is the Reddish Egret, which isn't generally found this far inland.  And I suppose I could add that, since...

Glossy Ibis The Glossy Ibis is a beautiful bird; I love the glossy look that makes the color of the feathers look different in different lighting situations--well, at least to my color-blind eyes.  You can find these birds throughout Florida and near the coasts of eastern Gulf states and southern Atlantic states.   As beautiful as these birds are, they can be a challenge to photograph.  In fact, any dark bird can be difficult on your autofocus.  There have been several times when I know I focused properly on the bird, but the photo was still slightly blurry.  Their necks and faces have more texture, so you'll have more luck there (I generally focus on the bird's eye whenever possible).  And there's a trick you can use for stationary birds in this situation--use live view mode, zoom in on your subject and focus manually.   Here are some photos that I took at Viera Wetlands last week. Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis