outdoor photography

Halloween Pennant It's hard to deny the beauty of a Halloween Pennant--the beautiful colors, the banding on the wings--these things cannot be argued with. For some reason I have had a lot of luck with these guys. They're common enough here in Central Florida, but they seem to like to perch high enough for easy photos with simple backgrounds. There have been many times when they just seem to want to pose for me, and I don't complain. Halloween Pennant Halloween Pennant Halloween Pennant

Downy Woodpecker A couple weeks ago I visited the Jones East trailhead of the Little Big Econ State Forest. My intention was to confirm the breeding of Bachman's Sparrows in on area of the park where I'd seen them before and then head north to the Econ River and look for Night-Herons, Prothonotary Warblers, and other birds that may be breeding by the river. I struck out on all counts. The Bachman's Sparrows appear to be gone, and I found no interesting birds by the river. Red-footed Cannibalfly So I photographed some bugs. I finally have photos of a robber fly, in this case, a Red-footed Cannibalfly. They're pretty amazing creatures. Then I photographed a Halloween Pennant. They're one of my favorites. dragonflies. Halloween Pennant Here's my eBird checklist , and here's a map of my walk.

Halloween Pennant I had high hopes this morning.  Back in January I'd seen at least 5 Red-headed Woodpeckers in this park, and I was hoping some would stick around to breed.  I had also learned that recently there was a controlled burn, so I was hoping this might attract some new species, like Hairy Woodpeckers.  However, I struck out on both counts. I still think Red-headed Woodpeckers may be around; it's a very big park with lots of places for them to nest, so perhaps if I try a few different routes I may find one. But the one cavity they excavated has been taken over by Great Crested Flycatchers. I found only the normal species that I usually find here. Bachman's Sparrow   I visited the area where there was a Bachman's Sparrow nest last year, and found them again not too far away from where there had nested a year ago. And I did have fun watching a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher with a tasty meal.  But I suppose the biggest highlight was seeing a few Hallo...