outdoor photography

Opossum with Young Opossum with Young Yesterday morning I drove out to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive.  It's one of my favorite places for birding, and I was hoping to photograph a Yellow-breasted Chat that had been located there the day before. I heard two calling and singing in different places, but neither was interested in coming into view so I could get his photo.  Still, it was a fun drive.  My favorite moment, though, had nothing to do with birds. I saw an opossum walking towards me.  At first I thought it had some sort of deformity. It looked like it had a growth coming out the left side of its head.  But as it came closer, I noticed she had 4 little ones clinging on to her!  Because one was covering her eyes, I think she was more concerned with her young than with me. So I crouched down and remained motionless to let it get closer. When it came closer than my camera could focus, I backed up. She seemed totally unconcerned with me until I st...

Ruff This morning I drove out to Marl Bed Flats. It rained last night, and I was hoping something interesting might show itself out on the flats.  I got my wish when I saw a couple Semipalmated Plovers in the muddy areas along the lake shore.  I also flushed a Wilson's Snipe--a common species in March, but pretty rare this time of year. I would have arrived at work happy just to see these. Ruff However, down by the shore of Lake Jesup I came across a loose flock of yellowlegs and Black-necked Stilts. As I was taking photos of the yellowlegs, one turned its head and the bill was too short for a yellowlegs. Then I saw a profile view of the bird and a flight shot, and I was blown a way.  A Ruff, practically in my back yard! This bird is about 20 minutes from my home.  I still can hardly believe it. Bobolinks with 2 Least Sandpipers Another highlight was about 150+ Bobolinks in the same area.  I got one pretty fun flight shot of them, mostly males wi...

Bronzed Cowbird On March 16, three Bronzed Cowbirds were reported at Newton Park by Lake Apopka in Orange County.  I drove out there early the next morning to see if I could find them.  They were still there and very cooperative. There are two bridges right near the parking area, and the birds seemed to like the trees and grass between the two bridges. The moved around a fair amount, but they were pretty easy to find. Bronzed Cowbird I believe they are still there--at least someone reported them there yesterday.

Swallow-tailed Kite This month eBird is encouraging birders try new places this month. Their challenge for this month is to visit 15 new locations this month.  I thought that sounded like a good challenge and set my sights on finding some new places to visit.  Wirz Park is on my way home, and it's already listed as a hotspot on eBird, but I've never been there before. It was the hotspot with the lowest total in Seminole Co. (16 species). I wasn't expecting much when I visited. However, I was very pleasantly surprised.  It's a nice-looking park, and there was a nature loop that includes a boardwalk and a trail that follows a stream. If you walk the loop and walk around the park itself, you'll walk about a mile. In my one visit on March 15 I recorded 37 species for eBird, raising the total for the hotspot up to 43. I think there's a fair amount of potential here, and it may even be a decent place to look for migrants over the next month or two. Highlights ...

Five-lined Skink Back in August of 2014 I was at my parents' house, and I saw a skink on a tree in their backyard.  I ran and got my camera to take these photos.  These are very common lizards in the Eastern United States, but for some reason, I very rarely see them.  These are the first photographs I've ever captured of the species.  I love their blue tails. Five-lined Skink

Shiny Cowbird For me, 2015 was a fantastic year of birding.  I've been doing this a while now, so gone are the days when I get 70+ lifers per year.  New birds are fewer and farther between for me, but that adds to the challenge.  And I've begun focusing more on county listing, which helps to keep things fresh.  This year, though, I benefited tremendously by one trip out west and two trips out of the country. These were not birding trips, but I had a little bit of time to at least check my surroundings to see what was available. Smooth-billed Ani I found 16 lifers on my visit to Antalya, Turkey White Stork  Eurasian Sparrowhawk  Laughing Dove  Eurasian Siskin  Common Buzzard  Eurasian Jay  Great Tit  White-spectacled Bulbul  Common Redstart  Black Redstart  Gray Wagtail  Common Chaffinch  European Greenfinch  European Goldfinch  Hooded Crow  White Wagtail Great Ti...

Neotropic Cormorant Jan 2, 2016 On New Year's Day our family drove down to Palm Beach County to visit my brother-in-law.  The following morning I decided to visit Wakodahatchee Wetlands. It's a wonderful place with a beautifully maintained board walk that takes you through the wetlands.  My primary hope was to see the Neotropic Cormorant that has been hanging out here.  It took a while, but eventually it showed itself--a nice, bright white line surrounding its gular pouch. My father and I also visited the park on Dec. 27th, so I thought I'd share photos from both of my visits.  My December visit was the first day I'd seen a Neotropic Cormorant in the U.S. Neotropic Cormorant December 27, 2015 I also saw another cormorant that looks like it might be a hybrid Neotropic x Double-crested Cormorant, but I'm no expert on these things.  It seems to have the white outline to the yellow gular pouch, but it's more faint than it should be. Neotropic x Doub...