outdoor photography

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...

Grasshopper Sparrow There are six Ammodramus sparrows that occur in Florida, and now I have presentable photos of all of them. This may be my favorite group of birds in the world. I know the Henslow's Sparrow photo below is terrible, but I'm not complaining. I suspect I won't get a better photo unless I see one up north in the summer.  Full disclosure, though: my Seaside Sparrow Photo was not taken in Florida; it's from South Carolina.  But I have seen them here in FL too--just too far away for photos.  Would someone please send a Baird's Sparrow here please? Saltmarsh Sparrow Nelson's Sparrow Seaside Sparrow Le Conte's Sparrow Henslow's Sparrow

Henslow's Sparrow Yesterday a couple friends and I drove out to the Tiger Bay Forest WMA in Volusia County. I hadn't even  heard of this place before someone else posted a sighting of a Lincoln's Sparrow here.  We went in search of the sparrow, which showed itself pretty quickly.  But then we caught a glimpse of a very secretive sparrow.  We eventually we were all able to see it--my first Henslow's Sparrow!  The bird never came out in the open, but at one point I got a few shots that were diagnostic.  This one was the "best." This may be the worst photo I've posted on my blog, but I don't care; it's a Henslow's Sparrow.