outdoor photography

Willet Canaveral National Seashore Merritt Island is finally open again after the government shut down.  I took the opportunity to go to Oak Hammock area this morning. I've never been there before, and I was told that there may be mosquitoes there, but I did not expect to be swarmed by them.  I will not go there again without bug spray.  I was there for 20 minutes and only found an Ovenbird and Swainson's Thrush, but I spent most of my time swatting mosquitoes.  I cut my losses and went to Blackpoint Drive.  That was pretty slow too.  Water levels were high, and there were few shorebirds.  It was nice to see Pied-billed Grebes returning as well as a Savannah Sparrow.  Then I decided then to go to the Canaveral National Seashore.  I wanted to drive up Bio Lab Rd if it was open.  It was open, but I decided I didn't have enough time to drive it slow enough to make it worth my while.  I drove about a quarter mile up the road and tu...

Merlin This morning I went out to the Canaveral National Seashore hoping to find another Razorbill and a Surf Scoter. I found neither, but sometimes you can have a great day even when you find nothing you hoped for.  We first dropped a couple of the "vistas" on the way to the seashore, and we saw a couple Ruddy Ducks and what I now believe was an Iceland Gull--rare for Florida.    We then stopped at parking lot 7 and found nothing unusual--some Herring Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, lots of Royal Terns, and several birds so far out that they couldn't be identified even with a 60x scope.  We then drove up to parking lot 12 and found the photographic highlight of the morning--a Merlin in a tree eating what appears to be a Ruddy Turnstone. On the way home we dropped by Parish Park (just east of the Max Brewer bridge) and found a Bonaparte's Gull with some Sanderlings. Ruddy Duck Ring-billed Gull Royal Tern Bonaparte's Gull Sanderling Sander...

Northern Gannet I returned to Lighthouse Point Park at Ponce Inlet again in the hopes of finding a Razorbill. We found one far off the jetty.  My father, who's in town for Christmas, located it in his scope, and I was able to locate it briefly with my binoculars.  It was very far away (I probably would not have been able to identify it with my binoculars), the winds were strong and the waves were high, and the Razorbill appeared to be spending a lot of time "flying" under water.  So no photos of the Razorbill, but later this week we're hoping to go to the gulf where people have been getting pretty good photos of Razorbills. Black Skimmer Black Skimmers, though, were a very different story. There were many there, and a couple were actively bathing and skimming by the shore, making me very happy.  Gulls were numerous too, though not like the last time I came came here.  We found only Herring, Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls, plus Royal and Sandwich Terns...

Forster's Tern I took my daughter to the lighthouse park at Ponce Inlet for an afternoon at the beach today.  I went as a dad, not a photographer, but that didn't stop me from taking my camera with me.  There was a flock of gulls and terns there, and my daughter thought it would be fun to go see them.  So I photographed Forster's Terns, Sandwich Terns and Royal Terns.  There were also several Brown Pelicans there, and lots of Sanderlings.  But the biggest birding moment was finding three Northern Gannets. I set a goal at the beginning of the year to find 250 birds in Florida this year, and the Northern Gannet was my 250th find this year.  So that was a pretty great moment for me. Sandwich Tern Sandwich Tern Royal Tern Brown Pelican Snowy Egret Northern Gannet Osprey Sanderling

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...

Sanderling This past Saturday I had the opportunity to photograph a Sanderling up close.  They are one of my favorite shorebirds.  They are one of the smaller shorebirds, and the predominantly white feathers set them apart from many others.  I love to watch them stroll the shores in search of food.  Here are some of my favorite Sanderling photos, many of which come from this past Saturday. Sanderling Sanderling Sanderling Sanderling