outdoor photography

On Saturday, I visited Hal Scott Preserve to look for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. I found two, which was really nice to see. I also saw several Carolina Satyrs, and I got my best photos of the species. I then went to Tosohatchee, where I saw lots of interesting bugs. I'm playing with the video capabilities of my new Canon 7D mark ii with fluid head, so I put my photos in the above video using ProShow Producer. I also added the photos from the slideshow below. Red-cockaded Woodpecker Hal Scott Carolina Satyr Hal Scott Lilac Tasselflower Hal Scott Pine Hal Scott Oak Toad Tosohatchee Oak Toad Tosohatchee Crambini Moth Tosohatchee Long-headed Toothpick Grasshopper Tosohatchee Common Green Darner (Teneral) Tosohatchee

Henslow's Sparrow A few days ago a friend of mine visited Hal Scott to monitor the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers that breed on the grounds. As he walked through the wiregrass, he flushed about 3 Henslow's Sparrows.  There is so much good habitat for this species in this park, but I've never really gone searching for them because they're so hard to find. But it seems this Spring, they've started singing, and they even pop up onto branches to be seen. Henslow's Sparrow So a group of us set out yesterday morning to find these sparrows. The spot was about 4 miles away from the parking area, and we needed to be there around sunrise, so we rode bikes to get to the spot. It didn't take long, but my bike was woefully unprepared for the journey. I only have a road bike with thin tires, and the bike is over 20 years old. It's a very good bike, but I found out it's in disrepair. Tires are dry rotted, and as I rode out there, the rear tire frayed on one s...

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  

Red-cockaded Woodpecker Well, third time's a charm it seems. Today I made my third visit to Hal Scott Preserve (I went twice in the summer of 2013 and then today).  This is the one park I know of where Red-cockaded Woodpeckers can be found in Orange County, but until today I haven't been able to find them here.  I've seen lots of trees with white rings around them (indicating that at some point in time there has been a nest in the tree), but never any sight or sound of them.  Until today, when I took a different route and got lucky I suppose.  I found a pair of them together.  One of them was pretty perturbed with a Downy Woodpecker.  The Downy just seem like it had to be working the same tree with it, but every once in a while the Red-cockaded Woodpecker would chase off the Downy.  It was pretty fun to watch.  I just stood in one spot, and the woodpeckers were so interested in each other they didn't seem to mind me at all. Red-cockaded Wo...

Crayfish This morning I drove out to Hal Scott Preserve.  We saw all the usual suspects: Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern TowIhee, Bachman's Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, and Pine Warblers.  But wildlife other than birds captured my attention more.  I'm really thankful that the first one did, too.  I was looking for a way to cross some standing water in the path without getting wet, and I saw a flash of white--the threat display of a Florida Cottonmouth.  I've never seen one in the wild before, but one more step and I may have had a bad experience.  Cottonmouths are not aggressive snakes, but I don't want to tempt one either. I also found a large crayfish (compared to the ones I used to find in VA) on the path.  It was out of the water perhaps about 50 yards from the nearby pond. I've never seen a crayfish out of the water before, and this one was clearly alive and well.  I found out that they can live outside of water for a while...

Bachman's Sparrow This morning I drove out to the Hal Scott Preserve. I was hoping to find a Red-cockaded Woodpecker; I had no luck there, but I did find at least 20 Bachman's Sparrows. I've never heard so many singing before, and I saw 8 or more. Some were juveniles too. I think these are my best photos of the species. Bachman's Sparrow Bachman's Sparrow Bachman's Sparrow