outdoor photography

Purple Gallinule On April 8, I drove out to Orlando Wetlands Park, one of my favorite destinations in Orange County (second only to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive). I was not disappointed. I decided this year I would try to diversify my photography and make a special effort to photograph scenery, wildflowers and wildlife other than birds. Orlando Wetlands Park is a great place for this. Thee were lots of Prairie Irises blooming all over the park. Prairie Iris And a Blue Dasher dragonfly was also perched photogenically. This is to me a stunning male. Blue Dasher But I simply can't tear myself away from the birds entirely. There was so much there to photograph and enjoy. The only rarity was a group of three Stilt Sandpipers mixed in with a flock of Long-billed Dowitchers. Stilt Sandpipers with Long-billed Dowitchers The Purple Swamphen has left the park (or was removed?), but the Purple Gallinules are still abundant and as beautiful as ever. Purple Gall...

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Wekiva River I just completed my fourth June Challenge.  For those of you who are not familiar, June Challenge is a friendly competition here in Florida.  The gist is this: pick a county in Florida and find as many bird species in that county in Florida during the month of June--they must be seen (heard only doesn't count).  My totals have risen every year: 2012     81 (80/1) Species 2013     96 (95/1) Species 2014     105 (104/1) Species 2015     114 (112/2) Species The main number is the total species followed by the ABA countable and ABA uncountable species in parentheses. Greater Yellowlegs and Black-necked Stilt St. Johns River Short-billed Dowitchers St. Johns River Semipalmated Sandpiper St. Johns River When I began my June Challenge this year, I seriously questioned whether it was going to be possible to beat my 2014 total, but in the beginning of this year I found a g...

Lincoln's Sparrow Canal St, Feb 2013 I didn't intend to attempt a Seminole Co. big year this year.  I intended to do at least a little birding every day, and since I have a little time before work, I tended to stick to Seminole Co. on most work days, with an occasional venture into Orange County to visit Mead Gardens or Wekiwa Springs.  On the weekends, I wanted to chase birds within about an hour's drive of my home.  But as finances became tight and time became limited, I found myself concentrating more and more on Semnole County. Eventually I decided to see if I could hit 200 in the year, and then once I did, I just had to keep going. Philadelphia Vireo Central Winds Park, Oct 2013 I believe my county is under-birded compared to neighboring counties (Orange, Lake, Brevard, Volusia). Seminole Co is small and filled with suburbs. It's inland so there's no coastline, and there's surprisingly few places to look for shorebirds.  But something about that...

Seaside Sparrow My daughter and I decided to drive seven hours up to Myrtle Beach to visit my parents who were renting a house there.  We had a fun weekend.  The last morning before we left, we had a couple hours to do some birding.  So my father and I went over to the Huntington Beach State Park. We knew nothing of the park, we found a boardwalk that went out to the middle of a salt marsh.  We thought that might be good for Seaside Sparrows.  We had about an hour to see what we could find before we had to return.  We made it out onto the boardwalk about 15 minutes after sunrise, and we were not disappointed.  The Seaside Sparrows put on a little show for us.  We saw at least 4 at one time, and I conservatively estimated that we saw eight all together.  Three of them came to the vegetation right in front of us--as close as they could be and still have a place to land.  It was really just too easy--just look for gray among the green, ...

Yellow-crowned Night Heron This afternoon after work I took a kayak down the Wekiva River for about an hour to see what I could find for my June Challenge (finding as many birds as  you can in one county during the month of June).  It was really fun to find a Yellow-crowned Night Heron nest.  I saw one adult with two chicks (the photo below shows one pretty clearly and a bump for the second. Unfortunately, these are the best looks I was able to get of the birds--a somewhat cluttered background, but these are the first I've ever seen in Seminole County, so I thought I'd share. Yellow-crowned Night Heron Other cool finds along the river were two Barred Owls and an Acadian Flycatcher, both of which were new additions to my June Challenge total.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron Fort De Soto Yellow-crowned Night Herons were the last North American heron I found. In fact, as an beginning birder, they were my "nemesis bird." Since then, I've learned where to find them.  They are pretty consistently at Orlando Wetlands Park during certain times of the year, and lately I've seen them at Merritt Island and Fort De Soto as well. I think they're cool-looking herons.  To me it seems their head is too big for their neck.  Juveniles look very different from adults (all brown), and when they're juveniles they can be more easily confused with Black-crowned Night Herons and even American Bitterns.  But juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons have an all black bill and white spots on their wings. Yellow-crowned Night Heron Fort De Soto Yellow-crowned Night Heron Orlando Wetlands Park Yellow-crowned Night Heron Orlando Wetlands Park (photo from my first sighting of this species) Yellow-crowned Night H...

Yellow-crowned Night Heron On Saturday I went to Merritt Island, and I already shared my experiences at CNS  in a previous post , but here I'd like share some of what I'd seen elsewhere on the island.  When I arrived, I first went Pumphouse Rd, which is often my first destination on the island.  Easily my favorite moment here was seeing a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.  I had only photographed them as adults before, so I'm glad to add this to my collection.  Many shorebirds were here, including American Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Least, Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Semipalmated Plovers and one Wilson's Plover.  Lauging Gulls, Forsters and Royal Terns, and Black Skimmers were also there. Least Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Tricolored Heron After visiting CNS, I drove up BioLab Rd. Shortly after turning onto the road, the weather began to turn sour.  Eventually I was engulfed in a thunderstorm....

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...