outdoor photography

Red-shouldered Hawk This morning I dropped by Central Winds Park.  As I drove into the park, I saw lots of birds in the grass by one of the football fields.  It looked like a mixed flock of grackles, cowbirds and starlings.  On my way out I decided to drive by that area, but all the birds there had scattered.  Then I found out why.  There was a Red-shouldered Hawk in the grass with something it caught.  I angled my car to get a view of it out my passenger-side window, turned the car off, and took a few shots.  At one point, I decided to move the car a little to get a better view, but at just that moment it flew off with three other hawks following it. I never had a good look at the bird it caught. it looks like the tail feathers are sticking up in these photos; I'm guessing it's a boat-tailed Grackle tail, but I'm very open to other interpretations. Red-shouldered Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk  

Red-headed Woodpecker I was well over a mile away from my car when it started to rain. It was a drizzle at first, but eventually, it became a downpour. I wasn't expecting rain, so I didn't have my camera bag or binocular bag with me.  I was forced to tuck everything under my shirt and hat and hope for the best. And interestingly, it was really slow for me until it began to drizzle, and then the birds came out to play.  Yellow-rumped, Pine and Palm Warblers were numerous all around me. There were also  about 15 Eastern Bluebirds and about 3 Red-headed Nuthatches.  Then I heard a Red-headed Woodpecker calling--the first I've ever found in this park. After finding, it I continued to walk the path back to the car, and I found 5 more!  I've never seen so many in one place. All were in the same general area.  After I saw my sixth, there was a little break in the rain, so I decided to walk the area again and recount. On my second pass I saw 4 and heard 1 more....

Swamp Sparrow Today I visited the Lower Wekiva River Preserve before work. I walked by a patch of tall grasses there that seemed completely out of place. I remember thinking it would be a good spot for sparrows. On the way back, I caught a glimpse of one; then this one popped out in full view. In the warm morning light it looks very different from the way Swamp Sparrows normally look to my eyes, and I think they're actually a little prettier this way. Swamp Sparrow Swamp Sparrow

Eastern Phoebe A few days ago I dropped by Marl Bed Flats before work.  As I walked out onto the flats, I saw a flycatcher in the distance--too far away for my binoculars.  Just in case it decided to fly away before I could identify it, I snapped a couple pictures.  Sure enough, it's an Eastern Phoebe.  After I loaded the photos into my computer, I thought these might work as silhouettes.  So, these photos were totally unplanned.  If you like them, nature was the artist, not me. I even decided to break one of my own rules for composition--I normally have the bird facing into the frame, but when I cropped these, I thought the composition was stronger with the bird facing away. Maybe it heightens the solitary mood of the photo; I'm not sure why. Eastern Phoebe

Red-headed Woodpecker Mead Gardens has been exceptionally slow all fall with very few warblers stopping by. But I still like to visit from time to time, especially during the Orange Adubon Society Birdwalks.  So yesterday morning I joined the group that was there and had  a great time.  The biggest highlight was seeing a couple Red-headed Woodpeckers.  These are the first I've seen in the park; they've been here for a couple weeks now--extremely unusual for this species.  At least one of them has excavated a hole in the park, and we watched it actively gathering acorns and caching them away.  Hopefully that means it's planning to stick around for a while.  In all we found six species of woodpecker on the property: Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, and Pileated Woodpecker. Red-headed Woodpecker We also had many House Wrens and a Scarlet Tanager. Warblers were tougher to...

Grasshopper Sparrow I love fall migration, don't get me wrong, but I get really excited when sparrows start coming in.  This past Saturday I found my first Savannah Sparrow at Merritt Island, and today I went to my favorite local spot for sparrows on a little street south of Lake Jesup.  It's just a fence line with dense vegetation around it and an open field on both sides.  But it's a great spot for sparrows. Today I found Swamp, Savannah, and Grasshopper Sparrows here.  The Grasshopper Sparrows were unusually cooperative. Shortly after I arrived I saw one perch a distance away on the top of a fence post along with a Savannah Sparrow.  Then a little later a couple flew pretty close to me; one perched on a fence post and another on a plant, and they posed for a few minutes.  Shortly after they left I saw two again in similar places.  Perhaps they're the same two.  They gave me my best photos of the species I have to date. I'm looking forward t...

Golden Silk Orbweaver with Green Darner Golden Silk Orbweavers amaze me. First, they're giant; second, they're gorgeous. And third, they're really good at killing bugs. Over the last couple weeks I've seen a couple of them that had captured dragonflies.  I'm not absolutely certain of the IDs for these dragonflies, but I think I'm pretty close.  Golden Silk Orbweaver with Carolina? Saddlebags