outdoor photography

White Ibis This past Saturday on Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, we also had the chance to see an immature White Ibis fly by.  This particular individual interests me because it appears he has a eye brow.  I suspect this has to do with the bird's molt into adult plumage.  Immature White Ibises have feathers in the area around their eyes, but adults have bare orange or red skin, as you can see in the photo below.  I suspect that this transition is the cause of his furrowed brow.. White Ibis

Eastern Kingbird I spent this morning at Merritt Island NWR.  I first went to Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, and that was pretty fun. The biggest highlights were seeing several American Avocets in breeding plumage and my first Eastern Kingbird of the year.  The Eastern Kingbird was right near the restrooms, where I seem to find them every year. American Avocet At one of the stops there was a large mixed flock of wading birds and shorebirds (where I saw the avocets).  Photographically, this was the best part of my morning. At one point, a Peregrine Falcon dove in to attack, I suspect one of the many shorebirds, but pulled out of his dive. I was only able to get a photo after it decided to fly away.  Man, those birds fly fast! Snowy Egret White Ibis Lesser Yellowlegs Roseate Spoonbill Great Egret Peregrine Falcon After Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, I drove down Biolab Road and East/West Gator Creek.  The only significant find...

Lake Jesup CA - East Tract This morning I went for a little while to the East Tract of the Lake Jesup Conservation Area. It was my first time visiting the area. It was a little difficult to find the trail head.  I walked to the observation tower and back.  It's a very pretty area.  I took a couple scenic shots along the trail as well as a shot from the observation tower. I didn't see anything too exciting, but it was fun to photograph an Eastern Phoebe, an American Robin, a Tree Swallow, and some White Ibises. Lake Jesup CA - East Tract Eastern Phoebe White Ibis Tree Swallow American Robin

Northern Shoveler I spent the last morning of the year at Merritt Island. We went by Blackpoint Wildlife Drive and then Biolab Rd.  I was hoping to find one more species for the year, but it looks like I'll have to end the year at 259 Florida birds.  Still, it was a nice, sunny day, and there lots of fun highlights.  I don't think I've ever seen so many spoonbills on the island.  There were easily upwards of 50 Roseate Spoonbills, plus many Glossy and White Ibises.  Ducks were also plentiful, and at times the lighting was pretty good to photograph the numerous Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and American Wigeon and Hooded Mergansers. Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Northern Pintail Hooded Merganser Hooded Merganser Wood Stork Roseate Spoonbill Glossy Ibis White Ibis Caspian Tern Red-winged Blackbird On the way back, we decided to drop by the visitor center to check the bird feeders for Painted Bunti...

Pine Warbler Econ River Wilderness Area We have a friendly state-wide competition in Florida every June called "June Challenge." The rules are pretty simple--pick a county, get outside, and see how many birds you can find in that county during the month of June. You can't just hear it; you have to see it in order for it to count in the competition. So throughout the month you're competing with other birders in your county, and you're also hoping that your county does well compared to other counties. So I chose my home county, and even though my county doesn't sport the variety that surrounding counties have, it was a pretty fun month. I posted on the  Birding is Fun blog  about how this challenge gave me a renewed interest in the habitats that are right next door to where I live, but here I'd like to share some of my results. Red-headed Nuthatch Econ River Wilderness Area White-Eyed Vireo Econ River Wilderness Area Eastern Towhee E...

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks Yesterday I drove by Central Winds Park on the way home.  I've been seeing Black-bellied Whistling Ducks there frequently here, and this time there were two sitting by the shore of the pond.  As an added bonus, I found an immature White Ibis by the playground--a pretty good use of 15 minutes if you ask me. Black-bellied Whistling Duck Black-bellied Whistling Ducks Black-bellied Whistling Ducks White Ibis

Snowy Egret catching a Fish I don't think I'll ever get tired of Orlando Wetlands Park, though this morning I tried. We decided to try an area I've never visited--the north-east quadrant north of Lake Searcy.  There's a trail there that goes to the northern edge of the park, and I thought it would be fun to walk the trail through the woods to observe a different kind of habitat. It became clear to me, though, as we approached the trail, that we were leaving the birds behind. And after walking the trail for a minute, I decided it was so muddy and mosquito-ridden to travel, so we decided to turn back.  This decision cost us perhaps an hour of good photography time.  The consolation prize, though, was the opportunity to observe a rookery of Cattle Egrets.  Easily 100 egrets were flying back and forth from a clump of trees gathering nesting material--a never ending line of Cattle Egrets with a mission.  One of these egrets found a branch with leaves that appeare...