outdoor photography

Cerulean Warbler A friend of mine found a Cerulean Warbler at Lake Lotus Park this morning.  I was there an hour later for an early lunch break, along with a small group of other birders. Over the next 45 minutes or so, we each had a chance to get pretty good looks at it, though it was not very willing to pose for photos.  I was able to get a few shots that were good enough for an ID, but no quality photographs that I found satisfying.  Well, sometimes it's just good to see the bird.  Here's my lousy photos, but they're good enough for an ID, and it's a life bird for me, so I'm happy. Cerulean Warbler

Barred Owl This morning I dropped by Lake Lotus Park; I haven't been here in months because they open so late in the morning it's difficult to spend any length of time here before work.  Well, I was driving nearby this morning, so I thought it would be worth walking the trail once to see what may be there.  There was nothing unusual to be found--a first-year Double-crested Cormorant was on the water, I guess too young to go to the coast for breeding.  A Limpkin landed on the boardwalk railing so close to me that I could only photograph its head and neck (not that I'm complaining).  And a Barred Owl was out by the boardwalk, and it was close enough for nearly full-frame pictures.  Right near the owl was a pretty flower, which I'm guessing is a Primrose-willow of some sort, but I don't trust my own diagnostic skills for wildflowers. Barred Owl I'm still sometimes amazed at the difference moving a little bit can do for your compostion.  The above sh...

Savannah Sparrow at Marl Bed Flats When I first moved to Central Florida, the first places I visited for nature and bird photography were in Brevard and Orange Counties.  I didn't know of any good places to visit in Seminole County where I live.  Every new place I found was in another county. But last year I began discovering my home.  It turns out that, while Seminole Co may not have quite the same variety of birds that its surrounding counties my have, if you know where to go, you can actually do pretty well here.  And there are some places in the county that are quite beautiful for nature photography and  landscapes.  So I thought it would be good to collect my favorite birding and photography locations within Seminole County and share them. Econ River Area My favorite places in eastern Seminole Count are located near the Econ River.  I began discovering places around here in June of last year.  It was so fun to begin finding pine fores...

Eastern Phoebe It was slow at Lake Lotus this morning.  I first drove by an orange grove nearby to see what I could find--the most interesting find was a small flock of House Finches.  Then I went to Lake Lotus and walked the boardwalk.  The most interesting bird I found there was a Swamp Sparrow, but my best photos were of an Eastern Phoebe that was in the fishing area. Eastern Phoebe Swamp Sparrow Little Blue Heron

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Yesterday Lake Lotus Park was pretty slow, at least until I made to to the open area just past the "octagon" (as you go counter-clockwise around the path).  That area was filled with many passerine birds, including Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, a couple Common Yellowthroats and a Black-and-white Warbler.  It was also fun to see my first Blue-headed Vireo of the fall.  But there were about five Ruby-crowned Kinglets there, and a couple of them let me get my first presentable photos of the species. I'm still not terribly happy with these, but thankfully I'll be able to work on improving them all winter, and Lake Lotus Park appears to be the place to go for that, at least for the time being. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Yellow-throated Warbler I went to Lake Lotus this morning.  It was a pretty slow morning for birds.  I did find four warbler species, though: a Yellow-throated Warbler, a Louisiana Waterthrush, a Northern Parula, and several American Redstarts.  I also found an Eastern Kingbird, which is the first I've seen in Seminole County.  Since birding was somewhat slow, I turned my attention to butterflies, spiders, bugs and flowers.  Zebra Longwings are my favorite butterflies, and Monarchs are always nice to find.  Golden Silk Orbweavers are plentiful there--they are fun to see if their webs are not spread over your path.  I also found one Katydid, and I think it's very young--it's wings are extremely small, and one of its legs appears not to be fully formed yet. Eastern Kingbird Monarch Butterfly Monarch Butterfly Zebra Longwing Scarlet Hibiscus Golden Silk Orbweaver Katydid

Limpkin This morning before I decided to go to Lake Lotus Park for a little bit before work.  Photographically speaking, I came away only with photos of a Limpkin.  I did see a Red-eyed Vireo fly away from me and then call as I was leaving.  To be honest, he was so back-lit that I could only identify him by his call. Brown-headed Nuthatch After work I drove by the Econ River Wilderness Area.  I was hoping to see Eastern Bluebirds there, and I heard a couple, but I didn't see any.  In fact, photographically speaking, I was not much more productive here. I came home with photos only of a Brown-headed Nuthatch. Brown-headed Nuthatch Well, it could be an awful lot worse. After all, both Lake Lotus Park and Econ River WA are absolutely beautiful parks. This is my second time going to Econ River WA, and it's the first time I walked all the way back to the Econ River. I simply could not do justice to the beauty of the river, with all the Cy...

Swallow-tailed Kite After spending a little bit of time at Mead Gardens, I decided to go up to Lake Lotus Park.  Easily my favorite moment was seeing two Swallow-tailed Kites.  At first I saw them in the distance, but then they flew low over the trees, and at times they were so close I couldn't fit one in the frame. Swallow-tailed Kite I also saw a Red-tailed Hawk Fledgling.  It was branching on a tree near the "octagon" on the boardwalk with an adult nearby. Red-shouldered Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk I also found my first Red-eyed Vireo of the year.  Two of them were in the park singing up a storm.  Often it takes me forever to locate these birds when I hear them, but these were actually pretty easy to find. Red-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo

Zebra Longwing The Zebra Longwing is the Florida state butterfly, and for good reason; it's a very beautiful butterfly.  I've seen them several times over the last couple months, but I've never been able to photograph them.  I've always found them in places that were infested with mosquitoes poorly lit.  But last week I was able to find one at Lake Lotus Park in Altamonte Springs, FL.  This one cooperated with me pretty well.  I didn't have much light for photography, so I used my tripod and took lots of pictures to makes sure I captured him when he was still. Zebra Longwing Zebra Longwing Zebra Longwing Zebra Longwing