outdoor photography

Red Knot Daytona Beach Shores is a great place to go to see gulls in the winter time in Florida.  About an hour before sundown, they fly in and land along the coastline by the tens of thousands.  My father and I went to see Thayer and Iceland Gulls that have been seen there frequently.  We picked the wrong day, though. I'm not sure if it was the wind or something else, but we were stuck with scanning about 2000 gulls, and none of them were the ones we wanted to find. The consolation prize was a Red Knot along the shore.  I think they're wonderful birds, even in their winter plumage, so I had fun taking a few photographs of it. Red Knot By the way, I changed my site design.  My new computer has a full HD screen, and now every time I look at my blog I think my photos are way too small.  Unfortunately, blogger doesn't seem to let you automatically size your blog width relative to the size of your screen, so I have to try to find a happy middle ground...

Tricolored Heron Yesterday I drove out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  I visited three areas: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Canaveral National Seashore, and East/West Gator Creek.  When I arrived on the island and drove toward Blackpoint Dr, I saw a man pulled over looking into the trees.  I decided to look at what he found, and it was a Peregrine Falcon!  It was pretty far away, but I took some pictures of him perched in a tree.  The drive itself was also enjoyable. All the usual birds were there, including 2 Gadwall, many American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Lesser Scaup, Blue-winged Teal, and Hooded Mergansers. Most highlights were mostly in the area near the first parking area.  There was a large flock of shorebirds there made up of Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlin, Least Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, Red Knots, Long-billed Dowitchers and Short-billed Dowitchers. Peregrine Falcon Long-billed Dowitchers (for the most part) Red Knot...

Sandwich Tern I went to Lighthouse Point Park at Ponce Inlet.  I was hoping to find one of the Razorbills that had been seen there recently, but no luck for me today.  It was still a pretty good morning, though.  Lots of gulls and terns were there: Sandwich, Royal and Forster's Terns, plus Ring-billed, Laughing, Herring, Great Black-backed, one Lesser Black-backed Gull and at least 100 Black Skimmers.  I found 14 Black Scoters flying off shore.  I also found about 35 Red Knots in two different flocks, and one was injured and by itself near the jetty. The injured Red Knot could not walk--it had to hop on one leg, and I don't think I could fly, so I reported it to the Seabird Rehabilitation Sanctuary, and hopefully it will be found and cared for.  There were about 17 Northern Gannet off shore, and one Magnificent Frigatebird flew over the jetty as I was walking back to the car. Black Skimmer Black Skimmer Black Skimmer Black Skimmer B...

Red Knot I found these Red Knots back in May at Fort De Soto.  These are the first I've ever photographed. One of them, pictured in the last photo, had suffered some sort of head trauma. These birds alone were reason enough for me to make the trek to the other side of the state. Red Knot Red Knot Red Knot Red Knot

Red Knot This past weekend at Fort De Soto I was very pleased to find about 40 Red Knots feeding by the shore on North Beach.  There were a few Short-billed Dowiichers mixed in with the group, and there was this strange looking shorebird--it looked like a Red Knot with feathers that were a little too light and a bump on its head. After getting home, I zoomed in on my photos, and it became clear that this bird has a growth of some sort on its head. Red Knot Head A "Normal" Red Knot Red Knot I hope that this deformity is temporary that will heal over time, but it could also be a tumor.  The bird seemed to be acting normally and was not impeded by the deformity. Perhaps it will be okay.

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...