outdoor photography

Sandwich Tern Last Saturday I went with a couple of friends to North Lido Beach in Sarasota (after finding the Tropical Kingbirds nearby).  We found a couple Sandwich Terns along the shore.  This is one of my favorite species of tern, partly because the pale tip of their bills makes them so easy to identify, and partly because their slender wings and long bills give them an elegant appearance.  They also seem to make me hungry, so after returning to the parking lot, we ate--you guessed it--sandwiches. I thought it would be fun to collect some of my favorite Sandwich Tern photos into a gallery. Only the image above comes from North Lido Beach. Sandwich Tern Sandwich Tern Sandwich Tern Sandwich Tern Sandwich Tern

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. ...

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...

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

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...