outdoor photography

Snowy Egret  Every June in Florida we have the opportunity to participate in a friendly competition called June Challenge. The competition is designed to encourage people to get out there and do some birding during a hot summer month when many birders take a break. Migration is over, and there's often not much new to find, so the competition keeps us out and birding.  Pick a county, any county, and find as many birds as you can in that county during the month of June. The only caveat is they have to be seen; heard only doesn't count. This is my third year participating, and I was very pleased with my June Challenge results.  Every year I've done a little better. In 2012 I found 80 species; in 2013 I found 95; this year I found 104, not including two species I heard but never saw (White-winged Dove and Red-headed Woodpecker). I found 12 species I hadn't seen last year, and I missed out on three I had seen last year (White-winged Dove, Canada Goose, Black Skimmer). ...

Least Tern Least Terns have returned to Central  Florida.  They're easily my favorite tern, and thankfully they breed here. The best place to find them in Seminole County is at the marina. There were at least ten or or so at the marina at Lake Monroe. There were also about 50 Forster's Terns and 50 Caspian Terns along the side of the marina, which I believe pretty big numbers for this time of year. Least Tern

Least Tern Today I took my son to the Orlando Watersports Complex so he could water ski.  While I was there, I saw a Least Tern fly by.  That was fun enough, but when I went out to photograph my son doing jumps, I saw a couple more on the other side of the lake.  So I decided to walk over to them.  There's a pier that allows you to walk out to the middle of the lake.  When I walked out there, I found that there were at least 27 of them.  Most of them on the pier appeared to be paired, and I actually saw two pair copulating. Least Terns Another tern brought in a fish from the lake to its partner.  After giving it to the other, they flew off together.  So romantic. Least Tern Least Tern Least Tern Least Tern Least Tern Least Tern

Zebra Swallowtail Yesterday I went with a friend to Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge--an Island just north of the Bay Bridge in Chesapeake Bay.  We went to find bird species, and we found many, but we were more surprised and delighted by all the butterflies, moths and other insects we saw on the refuge. Zebra Swallowtail Hummingbird Moth Silver Spotted Skipper Wasp That's not to say that we didn't see some fine birds as well.  In particular, I enjoyed photographing the Least Terns that were on the island. Least Tern Least Tern Other highlights were seeing many Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings and Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers. Blue Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Red Knot Yesterday I went to Fort de Soto.  It was a consolation prize for having to miss a pelagic trip due to Tropical Storm Beryl.  I successfully avoided the thunderstorms that were predicted for the morning and had a wonderful time.  There were too many highlights for one blogpost, but here are a few.  My favorite moment was seeing many Red Knots--a simply stunning shorebird. Red Knot It was also great to watch a Wilson's Plover search for food on the beach.  He caught something a couple times and showed it off to me. Wilson's Plover Wilson's Plover Wilson's Plover Ruddy Turnstones and Dunlin were also there in their breeding plumage.  A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was out on the beach standing not 10 ft away from me. Ruddy Turnstone Dunlin Yellow-crowned Night Heron It was also great to see a Sandwich tern, and there were many breeding Least Terns at North Beach.  They are extremely fun to watch. Sandwich...

Black-necked Stilt This morning I went to Merritt Island, and I had a pretty good morning.  We saw next to nothing at the Max Brewer Causeway, but from there we went to East Gator Creek and things started to pick up.   It was nice to see a Least Tern, and I never tire of photographing Black-necked Stilts and Reddish Egrets. Black-necked Stilts Reddish Egrets Least Tern From there we went to Blackpoint Drive.  Easily the biggest highlight of the morning was seeing three Common Nighthawks chasing each other.  They were so fast, and we were in a car unable to follow them as they flew, so I have blurry photos of them up close, and relatively sharp images of them far away.  There were many Black-necked Stilts at their nests, and one Reddish Egret came a little too close to one, causing the stilts to jump into action to defend their nest--it was pretty fun to watch.  It was also nice to see a Semipalmated Plover up close walking on Blackpoint Dr...