outdoor photography

Coyote On April 19, I got up early and drove to the Kilbee Tract of the Little Big Econ WMA. I was hoping to find shorebirds, and my biggest hope was to find an Upland Sandpiper, which I've never seen before. There's plenty of dry grass there, and it just seems like the perfect place to find one. I got there before sunrise walked the 1.3 mile road to the flats. The first thing I noticed was a Coyote sitting among the cattle. When it saw me, it stood up, looked at me, and then trotted off. That was my first photo of a Coyote. Long-billed Dowitcher Long-billed Dowitcher Once out there, I was a bit surprised at how few shorebirds there were. There were three Long-billed Dowitchers along the Econ River, as well as a few Least Sandpipers and yellowlegs, but not much else. Then as I walked a little farther south I saw a very small pond that was nearly full of shorebirds--mostly yellowlegs, but a few Black-necked Stilts and a Black-bellied Plover. I was still pretty ...

Ruddy Turnstone Yesterday morning I took my daughter and my parents to Ponce Inlet for some fun at the beach. Since I was primarily being a dad, I didn't do much birding, but I did bring my camera and I did scan the horizon some to see what may be flying by.  I was hoping to get lucky and start my year with some gannets, scoters, and other fun birds, but all I found was a few Northern Gannet.  But I sill had fun walking the beach with my daughter photographing the birds near shore. Sandwich and Royal Terns Ring-billed Gull Brown Pelican Royal Tern At one point my daughter and I walked out onto the jetty, and I kept my eye out for a Purple Sandpiper. I didn't find one, but I did find two more birds, this time two Royal Terns, with fishing line dangling from them. In the photo below, it looks like the fishing line is actually attached to the fish in is mouth, but the the other one was hooked near the belly. That makes four birds in the last two visits. ...

Merlin At Merritt Island the other day I was able to photograph a Merlin eating what appears to be a Ruddy Turnstone.  It was so busy with its prey that it didn't mind me photographing it.  I happily enjoyed it happily enjoying its food until a vulture decided it needed to spoil the fun and perch where this Merlin was perched.  I was particularly impressed with the way the Merlin ripped the feathers off parts of the bird before consuming it, and in some of the photos, you can see the feathers flying in the wind. Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin

Sand Crab This morning I went to Merritt Island NWR and had a wonderful time.  I stopped first just over the Max Brewer bridge in Merritt Island, and there was a nice Black-bellied Plover there just waiting to be photographed with a grassy background. Black-bellied Plover From there I went to Blackpoint Drive.  This area was pretty slow, compared to what I normally see there. Highlights were a Reddish Egret that flew right over me, and about 30 Black-necked Stilts were all flying together. Reddish Egret Black-necked Stilts (some of them) From there I went to the Canaveral National Seashore.  The beach was much more crowded with people, and the birds were scarce.  All I saw were Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, Barn Swallows, a couple Royal Terns, and a few Brown Pelicans.  But what I did find was still pretty photogenic. Sanderling Ruddy Turnstone Black-bellied Plover From there I drove up BioLab Rd. ...

Sandwich Tern I've lived in Florida for over 2 years, and I've never walked the seashore on Merritt Island to photograph birds and wildlife.  But today I broke my normal routine and decided to give it a try, and I couldn't be happier.  Photographically speaking, I think I had one of my best days on the island.  In the parking lot, I found two Eastern Kingbirds, and then shortly after walking onto the beach, I found a Piping Plover , which I wrote about in my last post .  But I also found many other terns and shorebirds there.  I also found a couple Willets, Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderlings, Royal Terns, Forster's Terns, Black Terns, a couple Common Terns and a Sandwich Tern. Black Tern Black Tern Royal Terns (the immature one is begging for food, but mom will hear none of it) The beach wasn't crowded, the birds weren't very afraid of me, and the lighting was pretty good.  This made it easier for me to crouch down and ge...

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...

Ruddy Turnstone This past Saturday I went to Merritt Island, and just next to the Titusville Bridge I found several Ruddy Turnstones.  These are very interesting-looking shorebirds.  There were about 10 of them right next to the shore, and they didn't mind my car.  So I took a bunch of photos of them out my window from the parking lot. So here are some of my favorite images from this past Saturday.  It was a windy day, so you can see the wind picking up the feathers of the birds.  Ruddy Turnstone Ruddy Turnstone Ruddy Turnstone Ruddy Turnstone