outdoor photography

Brown-headed Nuthatch Wekiwa Springs State Park I first visited the park shortly after moving  here so our family could go swimming at the springs. At the time, I had no idea at the time that this would become one of my favorite birding locations in Orange County. Now when I visit this park, I feel like I'm seeing Central Florida as it once was, and that keeps me coming back for more. Wekiwa Springs State Park Trails and Kayaking There are over 13 miles of trails, and the western portion has some great trails for birding.  The western portion of the park has some great trails in Pine flatwoods and even some scrub habitat.  For this, I like to park at the Sand Lake parking lot and walk west and south towards the campgrounds. There are some wonderful place along these trails for some nice pine flatwood species. The eastern portion gives you access to the Wekiva River, which is one of the two “National Wild & Scenic Rivers” in Florida.  During the ...

Ebony Jewelwing It's been forever since I posted on my blog--terribly long.  I had my camera equipment stolen in early March, which took me a bit out of commission, but I have most of it back now, so I'm back in the swing of things, though I haven't done any blog posts at all in April.  Anyway, yesterday my father and I decided to visit Lake Mills Park.  I've only been there a couple times, and I've never had any luck there. However, a friend of mine found a Summer Tanager there a couple days ago, and I need that for my year list, so we gave it one more try. Downy Woodpecker The most obvious thing to check out there is the walk from the parking area to the lake.  This is the only area I'd explored before, and perhaps that's why I haven't been too successful there. There were surprisingly few birds there, though there were lots of Northern Parula in the trees.  It was fun to see a Bald Eagle, a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret flying over the ...

Tersa Sphinx Moth It was a pretty fun morning at Central Winds.  We found only eleven warbler species (the best being 2 Magnolia Warblers), but there were lots of them there, especially American Redstarts.  We also were treated to some great views of two Summer Tanagers, a late Great-crested Flycatcher missing most of its tail, and an early Eastern Phoebe.  I'm not sure I've ever seen both of these flycatchers on the same day in the fall.  A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher showed off its breakfast, and we found two moths mating, which I believe are Tersa Sphinx Moths. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Magnolia Warbler Summer Tanager Eastern Phoebe Great-crested Flycatcher with only one tail feather

Red-cockaded Woodpecker This morning I joined the Orange Audubon Society at the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area.  My biggest hope was to see a Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  It was wonderful to see two of them.  We also found a Summer Tanager, the first I've seen this year. Other highlights were many Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Chickadees, Pine Warblers, Eastern Towhees, about three Bachman's Sparrows, several Northern Bobwhites,  and a Crested Caracara. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker was a life bird for me. Red-cockaded Woodpecker Summer Tanager

Summer Tanager Summer Tanagers are one of my absolute favorite birds.  They're the only all-red bird in North America.  I don't get to see these very often, and for some reason it seems like I see females more than males.  But I found this wonderful male at Wekiwa Springs State Park in June, and he was very willing to be photographed.  Summer Tanager Summer Tanager Summer Tanager

Bachman's Sparrow  This morning I spent a couple hours at Wekiwa State Park.  I went there a couple weeks ago in search of a Bachman's Sparrow, and while I found them there, I wasn't able to photograph them.  I was hoping to find them again, and I was not disappointed.  I found three Bachman's Sparrows and several Eastern Towhees. Bachman's Sparrow Eastern Towhee Summer Tanagers are one of my all-time favorite birds.  Last time I was here, the one I found was too far away for photographs.  But this morning I found a wonderful male that didn't seem to mind my presence one bit. Summer Tanager Summer Tanager I saw or heard five woodpecker species: Red-headed, Red-bellied, Downy, Piliated and a Northern Flicker.  I was most interested in the Red-headed Woodpeckers. Red-headed Woodpecker Red-headed Woodpecker Carolina Chickadees were also there--I love the challenge of trying to get a presentable photo of these birds. C...