outdoor photography

Peninsula Cooter For a while now I've been trying to learn my turtles.  There aren't too many species to see here, but they all look so similar to me it's hard to tell them apart.  But these Peninsula Cooters are frequently seen at Mead Gardens, and they often sit in beautiful settings. Peninsula Cooter Peninsula Cooter

Eastern Kingbird the first I've seen in the park Today I joined the Orange Audubon Society's bird walk for Mead Gardens.  Normally this time of year, the park is just hopping with migrants.  I checked the eBird reports from last year at this time, and there were some really nice sightings in the park.  However, this fall has been extremely slow, so I've only visited a couple times.  I hoped for some surprises this morning, but I think this was the slowest September day at Mead that I can remember.  We had five species of warbler: Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Northern Parula.  We had a few Red-eyed Vireos to liven things up a bit, and several of us had the chance to see a couple Baltimore Orioles.  Those that stayed past 11:00 am were rewarded with nice views of three Eastern Kingbirds.  Those were the first I've seen in the park, so that's something.  There were still the normal ...

Red-eared Sliders Over the past couple years I've been to Mead Gardens many times, and there's one little spot on the southeast corner of the lake that is my absolute favorite part of the park.  There are some tree limbs that come out of the water there, and often it seems that wildlife is posing there just waiting for me to photograph it.  It's not the most productive spot in terms of finding the most species of wildlife, but it's just a beautiful setting.  It's easy to get separation between the subject and the background, and it seems there are always nice reflections on the water. Peninsula Cooter Tricolored Heron Tricolored Heron Anhinga Great Blue Heron