outdoor photography

Swallow-tailed Kite After spending a little bit of time at Mead Gardens, I decided to go up to Lake Lotus Park.  Easily my favorite moment was seeing two Swallow-tailed Kites.  At first I saw them in the distance, but then they flew low over the trees, and at times they were so close I couldn't fit one in the frame. Swallow-tailed Kite I also saw a Red-tailed Hawk Fledgling.  It was branching on a tree near the "octagon" on the boardwalk with an adult nearby. Red-shouldered Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk I also found my first Red-eyed Vireo of the year.  Two of them were in the park singing up a storm.  Often it takes me forever to locate these birds when I hear them, but these were actually pretty easy to find. Red-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo

Northern Parula I arrived at Mead Gardens this morning around 7:30am, and I had a wonderful time--not because I saw any new or special species of wildlife. It was kind of a slow day.  But this morning was the morning of the fledglings for me.  First, while looking for a Red-bellied Woodpecker I'd heard, a Northern Parula fledgling landed in a tree right by me and began to chirp.  The fledgling was able to fly, at least some, but did not yet have either its full tail feathers or color.  One of the parents came by periodically to feed the fledgling in the tree. Northern Parula Northern Parula Northern Parula Northern Parula Later, I found a Downy Woodpecker fledgling, also able to fly, being fed by a parent.  I took so many pictures,  think I should save those for a future post, though.  And later ths morning, I went to Lake Lotus Park and found a Red-shouldered Hawk fledgling branching in a tree (photos to come later).  All i...

Killdeer I didn't have any time for birding this morning, but I did get the opportunity to walk around my office parking lot a little before driving home this afternoon.  I had heard a Pileated Woodpecker from my office window, so I went out to find it--it's the first I've seen from my office parking lot.  But as I was walking by the lake, I noticed a Killdeer was out with two little chicks.  I immediately lost interest in the woodpecker and decided to focus on the Killdeer chicks.  I was able to go down to lake level without alarming them, and I spent a few minutes photographing them before getting in my car.  I hope to see them again in better light, but a few of my photos are worth sharing.  Killdeer  Proud Killdeer Parent Killdeer

Barred Owl In two previous posts from March, I shared how I found a Barred Owl  chick that had fallen from its nest  and died at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, but later I found that the owlet had a  sibling that had survived .  Another reader shared with me she had visited Mead Gardens and seen two surviving siblings in the park.  I had not seen either of these owlets during the month of April, but on Tuesday I found both of them with one adult.  The juveniles look much larger now, and it was wonderful to see them both doing well.  Barred Owl Barred Owl Barred Owl

Black-crowned Night Heron I went to Orlando Wetlands Park this morning hoping to photograph night herons and bitterns. I was pleased to find both night herons right where they were "supposed" to be.  I saw two juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons that posed for me where they had been roosting, and I saw two adults in flight.  The Yellow-crowned Night Herons were less cooperative, but I saw four, and I was able photograph one in flight and one perched, both a long way off. Yellow-crowned Night Heron As I walked around the park, though, there were many other fun sights: all the normal herons and egrets, plus three Limpkins, and six Least Bitterns.  The biggest highlight, though, was completely unexpected.  I was photographing a Least Bittern, and a King Rail walked out of the reeds about 6 feet away from me--he was so close I could not focus on him.  He walked away from me, and I finally got off a couple shots as he was beginning to disappear again into t...

Brown Thasher ISO 400, 400mm lens, 1/30sec shutter speed There are three factors that can cause blurry images: 1) improper focus, 2) subject movement, and 3) camera movement.  I'm concerned here with the third factor.  In low light situations, it's important to take extra precautions to get sharp images, especially if you aren't using an image stabilized lens or can't use a tripod,.  As a general rule of thumb, without using image stabilization, you can get a high percentage of sharp images if you can achieve a shutter speed equal to the inverse of the focal length of the lens--so if you're using a 400mm lens, you want a shutter speed of 1/400sec or faster. Image stabilization can let you achieve equally sharp images 2 or 3 stops slower--that is, 1/100sec or 1/50sec.  If you can raise the ISO to give you a shutter speed that fast, you're probably in good shape. Barred Owl ISO 800, 400mm lens, 1/60sec shutter speed With my camera I do not like ...

Eastern Bluebird Yesterday on my way home from Orlando Wetlands Park, I decided to drop by Home Depot in Oviedo to get some grilling supplies for Mother's Day.  On the way there I saw a Swallow-tailed Kite flying low over the trees.  Since I had my camera with me, I decided to pull over to photograph my favorite raptor.  Unfortunately, by the time I pulled over to a side street and walked to the area, it was gone.  So after buying my grill supplies, I decided to drive back the same way to see if I could find it.  I accidentally turned onto a different street, but as I stopped to turn around, I looked at the powerlines and found an Eastern Bluebird perched on the lines.  This the first bluebird I've seen in Seminole County, so I stopped to take a few pictures.  A mockingbird came by and chased it into a tree (for no reason I might add), and then a second bluebird landed in the same spot and stayed there until the mockingbird was tired of the presenc...