outdoor photography

Geneva Wilderness Area Chapel I drove out to Geneva Wilderness Area this morning before work.  I was hoping to try out my Christmas present that came in the mail yesterday: a Canon Powershot S100.  This is an advanced, compact point and shoot camera.  It has a number of features that I like: GPS tagging, a sharp, moderate wide-angle zoom lens (5x), a large sensor with relatively low noise (for a p&s camera), and the capability to shoot RAW images. I've been thinking it would be good to take scenic shots while photographing birds, and I didn't want to be slowed down by carrying two cameras or, worse, constantly switching lenses. I was really hoping to give the camera a work out this morning, but it was so dreary, cloudy, and drizzly that I didn't use it much.  I'm including one image above just because it seems like I should have something to show for my efforts.  What I find interesting in the above image is not the beauty of the photo (I don't like it t...

Eastern Phoebe My search for Henslow's, Le Conte's and White-crowned Sparrows has so far come up empty.  I'm still hopeful, though.  This morning I returned to Canal St., where I'd found Savannah, Vesper, and Grasshopper Sparrows earlier this month.  The morning started out very cloudy, and the birds seemed content to stay hidden and quiet, but the sun peaked out from behind the clouds just after 8 am, and then things began to pick up a little.  I found several Savannah and one Grasshopper Sparrow, but no sparrows more interesting than that.  But all is not a loss--while the lighting was good I was able to photograph some more common birds perched on the barbed wire and fence posts.  I can't resist photographing even very common birds when they present me with such a clean background behind them. Grasshopper Sparrow Northern Mockingbird Northern Cardinal

Tufted Titmouse This morning I was going to do some work in Oviedo, so I thought I'd drop by Geneva Wilderness Area before work.  I had noticed that birding data between July and October is pretty much non existent during this time, and I wanted to get a sense for what may be found there.  I wasn't expecting much, figuring that Geneva might not be visited too much during this time for a reason. Brown-headed Nuthatch Initially things were slow, seeing only White-eyed Vireos and Eastern Bluebirds.  But when I arrived at the chapel and ponds area, things began to change.  I was hoping to find shorebirds or something interesting by the shores of the ponds, but they were empty except for a few Wood Ducks.  However, I began to hear activity all around me, mostly coming from Tufted Titmice and then from Brown-headed Nuthatches.  It seemed like the titmice and nuthatches worked up all the other birds in the area into a frenzy, and birds were everywhere. ...

Northern Cardinal Mead Gardens Northern Cardinals are so brilliantly red that even I can see their "redness" having red-green colorblindness. Even so, I almost always hear them before I see them.  Other than Carolina Wrens, they are probably the bird I hear the most when I'm out, but all these photos were taken at Mead Gardens, though on different days. Northern Cardinal Mead Gardens Northern Cardinal Mead Gardens

Northern Cardinal This morning I dropped by Mead Gardens.  We've had a mild spring, but today things got down right hot.  I was only there about an hour, and it was slow, but it was also enjoyable (in the shade).  I found a Northern Cardinal with nesting material, but it was the Great Crested Flycatchers that stole the show.  They were very active, sadly in the shady areas (but then again it was cooler there), but they were still fun to watch.  I photographed one with a Lubber Grasshopper in its mouth.  This surprised me, since my understanding is that these grasshoppers are toxic to birds.  Loggerhead Shrikes impale them and wait a while before eating them.  Sorry for the horrible picture of the flycatcher eating the grasshopper, but I thought the behavior was worth showing it. Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Great Crested Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher with what appears to be a Lubber Grasshopper ...

Chuck-will's Widow This morning I went to Mead Gardens again with the great people with the Orange Audubon Society. We had a wonderful morning.  Easily the best highlight of the morning was seeing a Nightjar, in particular, a Chuck-will's Widow.  We saw one our way to the board walk.  On the board walk, we were happy to find an Indigo Bunting and a beautiful Prairie Warbler.  When we circled back to where we saw the Chuck-will's Willow, we saw it again, and when it flew away, another came and perched on another branch. Chuck-will's Widow I don't know if this is the same as the first I saw Indigo Bunting Prairie Warbler We saw some nice Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Great Egrets, and on a few occasions, I saw Northern Cardinal fledglings.  While I saw only one at at time in the same general area, I'm pretty sure there were more than one there.  It was also great to see a Cooper's Hawk. Cooper's Hawk Cooper's Hawk Cardinal ...

Black and White Warbler This morning I went to Mead Gardens with the great people at the Orange Audubon Society.  It was a pretty good morning.  I went hoping to see warblers, and I was not disappointed. 1 Ovenbird, 1 Worm-eating Warbler, 3 Black-and-white Warblers, 1 Common Yellowthroat, 1 (maybe 2) Cape May Warbler, many Northern Parula (I think at least 7), 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler, 1 Palm Warbler, and 1 Prairie Warbler.  It was a dark, cloudy day this morning, and while I photographed every one of these species, the only presentable photograph I got was of a Black and White Warbler.  Other members of our group saw a Hooded Warbler, but it eluded me. Great Blue Heron Other highlights of the morning were many Carolina Wrens and Northern Cardinals, though we found one female that had a broken bill.  We also saw A Barred Owl and a Cooper's Hawk. Northern Cardinal Female Northern Cardinal with Broken Bill R...

Osprey This evening I went to another birding patch in Lake Mary, FL.  There wasn't much to see, but there was an Osprey that was flying in circles with a half-eaten fish.  A dragonfly, a Northern Cardinal, and a Northern Mockingbird also made an appearance.  There were several Wood Ducks there, and one of them flew close enough to me to be photographed. Northern Cardinal Wood Duck Dragonfly Northern Mockingbird