Current Topic: Florida

Snail Kites at Dusk

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Snail Kites were target species during both of my trips to Florida. During the first trip, I got great views of them, but not-so-great photos due to poor light and distance. The first stop for my next trip was at the same spot, but lighting was still tough and the bird remained distant.

Snail Kite

With nesting material

The next day, I spent a little more time with them – this time at sunset. It started with some distant views, but one of the birds came in close for some really great shots just as the sun was going down. The birds were hunting for snails throughout the marsh, often coming to the marsh that I was standing next to.

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

The birds successfully grabbed dinner more than a few times too!

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

The male eventually came up very close for an even better photo session.

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Patience certainly paid off here!

Snail Kite

Dancing with the Cranes

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On my last day in Florida, I had one of those “right place at the right time” moments that came very unexpectedly. We were just getting back from checking out a boat that my boyfriend’s grandpa just purchased when he realized that he forgot something in it. I asked to be dropped off at a spot near home where we knew a Great Horned Owl was roosting. I was looking at some fresh pellets when I heard some commotion from Sandhill Cranes behind me.

Sandhill Cranes

They were doing a mating dance! I snapped a few photos of them, then quickly ran across the field to get in a better position. It was tough since houses surrounded this little field, but I managed to get a bunch of good ones. The whole thing went on for only about a minute, but I think I got some keepers out of it.

Here is the Sandhill crane dance…

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

And then, just like that… they went off to another spot.

Sandhill Cranes

I did not find the Owl, but this moment certainly made up for it!

Pretty in Purple

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During our trip to Florida, we visited Venetian Gardens Park in Leesburg to photograph the beautiful Purple Gallinule. I had seen them at this park last year, but wanted to upgrade my photos because the lighting was harsh during that visit. The birds did not disappoint this time by.

Purple Gallinule

We were able to get plenty of photo ops with them. Lighting was still tough, but the birds were very cooperative so there were plenty of chances to get decent shots.

Purple Gallinule

Unfortunately, some required a bit of post-work to brighten the shadows.

Purple Gallinule

Purple Gallinule

The birds would pass right by as I waited low to the ground.

Me and a Purple Gallinule

Me photographing one of the foraging birds

Purple Gallinule

And the resulting image (in bad light)

The birds really showed off this time by. Disappointingly, some of them were following around people who were feeding the ducks. The birds also seemed to think that we had food to give them but scurried away when we refused to feed them.

Purple Gallinule

Thankfully, one of my best photos, a head shot of the bird, was taken while it was foraging naturally within the reeds.

Purple Gallinule

I enjoyed watching these birds move along the edge of the water with their very large feet.

Purple Gallinule

I even had the chance to photograph one walking over lily pads – a photo op that I really wanted but missed last year!

Purple Gallinule

Purple Gallinule

I would certainly say that I got better photos of them this year. Of course, I am always looking something for even better.

Purple Gallinule

Rain Won’t Stop the Birding

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Rain does not always ruin a birding day. I recently came back from a photographic trip in Florida where the weather started out very iffy. We arrived early on Saturday and went right into bird-mode. One of our stops for the day was Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, which recently opened up last summer. We decided to go there when the skies started to darken. It was the perfect stop for a rainy afternoon since we could stay protected in the car.

Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe surrounded by rain drops

Most of the birds just continued with their normal routines, feeding in the marsh.

American Coots

American Coots

Purple Gallinule

This Purple Gallinule came out for a quick view

Common Gallinule

Common Gallinule with its tail up

Others waited outside of the water for the rain to stop.

Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron on the bank

Great Egret

Great Egret waiting on concrete

Anhinga

Soaked Anhinga drying on the rocks

Anhinga

Anhinga waiting for the rain to stop

Anhinga

Drying its wings before jumping down

The rain started to calm down not long after we began the drive, but was still falling enough to get our gear wet if we left the car, so many shots were taken from a higher angle.

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis as the rains calm down

Tri-colored Heron

Tri-colored Heron hunting nearby the Ibis

White Ibis

White Ibis drying off

It did eventually stop, however, the skies remained overcast for the rest of the drive. That certainly did not stop us from getting low to photograph birds for the remainder of the drive.

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal in overcast light

Anhinga

Anhinga with a nice catch

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret resting in the water

I was able to get some great photo ops with some birds that I could not get close enough to last year. I took tons of photos of this Osprey and Red-shouldered Hawk, which may end up getting blog posts of their own in the future.

Osprey

An Osprey with a huge Catfish

Red-shouldered Hawk

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk who gave us quite a show

Cattle Egret

The Cattle Egrets were tough to photograph unless you stayed in the car

Not all of them were fully cooperative though.

Belted Kingfisher

I would rather this photo of the Belted Kingfisher include the tip of his beak

I even saw a life bird on the drive – the Fulvous Whistling Duck. Our first looks at them were all in flight until a single duck flew in, landed nearby, and interrupted our photo session with the Red-shouldered Hawk.

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

This Fulvous-Whistling Duck came in close for a decent photo op

Fulvous Whistling-Ducks

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks also made a few appearances

I even photographed a new sub-species life bird, the Eastern Towhee with white eyes. The ones I am used to seeing have red eyes. The white-eyed ones are found in the Southeast and Florida.

Eastern Towhee

White eyed Eastern Towhee

Some young birds made an appearance, too.

Pied-billed Grebes

Young Pied-billed Grebes

We also photographed two American Bitterns out in the open – one was found toward the beginning of the drive and the other at the end.

American Bittern

American Bittern just after the rain calmed down

American Bittern

American Bittern photographed toward the end of the day

And, of course, there were Alligators. I photographed this one below the Osprey.

Eastern Towhee

This Alligator stole my attention for only a moment

I highly recommend this wildlife drive for anyone who finds themselves birding around Lake Apopka. The different habitats bring all kinds of great birds!

Anhinga

Anhinga drying its wings

The Wader Honey Hole

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I have many great memories from my trip to Florida earlier this year – most of them involve my favorite birds – waders. One that really stands out is a “honey hole” that we ran into on Blackpoint Wildlife Drive in Merritt Island. It was a small pond that must have gotten fairly deep surrounded by White Ibis, Snowy Egrets and one of each of a Tri-colored and Little Blue Heron.

Mixed Waders

Snowy Egrets, White Ibis and Little Blue Heron

When we drove up, a car was already parked at it, so we went in behind and waited our turn for the “best seat.” We were still able to pick up on the action from the distance. The Ibis were foraging at the edge of the pond while the Egrets and Herons wandered around. Eventually, the other car moved on and we had front row seats.

White Ibis

Juvenile White Ibis

Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron coming in while we waited

Snowy Egrets and Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron pretending to be a Snowy Egret

The little pond was so full of birds that they Snowy Egrets were showing a little attitude towards the others when they got close.

Snowy Egret

Roused Snowy Egret

The most interesting part, however, was how the Egrets and Herons would go after fish. We watched as they would skim the water with the tip of their toes and reach down to grab a fish.

Tri-colored Heron

Tri-colored Heron crossing the pond

Tri-colored Heron

Tri-colored Heron going all in

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret reaches in

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret grabs a fish

They would, for the most part, come up with a fish.

Tri-colored Heron

Tri-colored Heron skips across the pond with a fish

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret crossing the pond with a fish

At times, the birds would go at the same time.

Snowy Egrets

Two Snowy Egrets with fish

Snowy Egrets

Two Snowy Egrets take on the pond simultaneously

Which led to a few mid-air collisions…

Snowy Egrets

Snowy Egrets collide

Snowy Egret and Tri-colored Heron

Snowy Egret and Tri-colored Heron skimming at the same time

Snowy Egret and Tri-colored Heron

And then they collide

Snowy Egret and Tri-colored Heron

But do not miss a beat in air

I did capture a video of the action with my phone.

Eventually, a bird that we were waiting to photograph flew in – a Roseate Spoonbill!

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill Joins the flock

This was the first time we were able to photograph an adult up close. It stayed at the edge with the Ibises.

Roseate Spoonbill

The Spoonbill stayed at the edge

Roseate Spoonbill

Foraging Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill

It stayed for a little while before flying off – I was very happy with this photo session! We photographed at this little spot for over an hour even though the sun was high. What a great spot!

Up Close with Green Herons

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I have been chasing Green Herons since before I was a birder. I could never get good photos of them because they would fly off before I even saw them. The Herons from New Jersey were just too shy!

Green Heron

The only halfway decent photo I had of a Green Heron from 2009

During my trip to Florida earlier this year, I ended up having a few different photo ops with this species in a couple of locations.

Green Heron

Getting closer to the perfect Green Heron photo

I finally got the photos I’ve been wanting! Here are some of the better ones:

Green Heron

Green Heron at Viera Wetlands

Green Heron

Green Heron at the edge of a pond

Green Heron

Green Heron with little Gator friends

Green Heron

Green Heron stalking prey

Green Heron

Green Heron at Merritt Island NWR

Birding Florida: The Tricolored Heron

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In the past, I had far-away looks at the Tricolored Heron during birding trips to the New Jersey Coast. I really wanted to photograph this bird and only really ever had doc shots. I knew that going to Florida could change this. I am happy to share some of these photos with you so you can see this beautiful bird up close like I finally did.

We saw a Tricolored Heron on our first day at Brinson Park. The angle for photo0taking was bad since we were up higher than the bird, but it was much better than any run-in I’ve had with this bird in the past.

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron at Brison Park

We did not get any more good looks of this bird until we went to Orlando Wetlands where a young bird perched behind a Night-Heron that we were enjoying.

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron perched

We also ran into two others who were foraging for some fish.

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron searching for fish

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron almost in breeding plumage

We encountered our first Tricolored Heron in full breeding plumage at Viera Wetlands. This bird was gorgeous! I think it is the prettiest heron species we have in North America.

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron behind the grass

The next beautiful adult we photographed was at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron off of Blackpoint Wildlife Drive

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron in calm water

The absolute best photo opportunity came the next morning at Merritt Island in the same location that we previously photographed a dancing Reddish Egret at sunrise. This Heron also had a very animated “dance” that it performed to catch its fish. I made the mistake of underexposing most of my photos, but I was able to salvage them enough to share!

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

That same day, we found another bird who was hanging out in a small pond with Snowy Egrets. It would skim its feet across the water and grab fish without stopping. It was quite the sight!

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron skimming across a pool

the very last bird that we photographed was a Tricolored Heron before we left Merritt Island. This beautiful adult ended our trip nicely with a private show.

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Dancing with the Reddish Egret

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One of the birds that I really wanted to see in Florida was the Reddish Egret. I was hoping to get at least a glimpse of its very animated fishing tactics. They will run, jump, spin and pluck a fish out of the shallow water. I did get to see this bird multiple times, with a couple of really awesome photo ops. The bird was a bit difficult to photograph since it was constantly in motion, but I was able to get many satisfying photos! I will warn you that this post is going to be photo-heavy. I took so many photos of this bird and I cannot narrow down which ones I want to share.

The first Reddish Egret we saw was at Merritt Island at Shiloh Marsh. This was an evening visit after birding at Orlando Wetlands all day. The lighting was behind our subject, but it was great get our life bird as soon as we arrived at the coast.

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret running in the water

The next time we would see this bird was probably the best experience we could ever ask for. It was our first time driving Blackpoint Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island. We had no idea what to expect and where to find the good birds. We quickly found where the key spot to photograph in the morning was. The water was calm, the sun was at our backs and the birds were cooperative. We watched as a Reddish Egret fished right in front of us.

Reddish Egret

Using its wings to reduce glare in the water

Reddish Egret

Running across the water

Reddish Egret

Grabbing a fish

Reddish Egret

Down the hatch!

Reddish Egret

Looking for fish

Reddish Egret

Grabbing nothing but water

Going after a dragonfly

Going after a dragonfly

Reddish Egret

Bowing down to get a fish

Reddish Egret

A successful catch

Other birds caught our attention when the Egret left, but it soon returned for more fun.

Reddish Egret

Coming back close to us

Searching in perfect light

Searching in perfect light

Reddish Egret

Running with wings spread open

Reddish Egret

Running left

Reddish Egret

Running right

Reddish Egret

About to pounce

Reddish Egret

Looking for some fish

Reddish Egret

Running with wings open

Shielding the sun

Shielding the sun

Reddish Egret

Stopping for a moment

I never thought I would experience that – especially in the perfect light with the perfect reflections. It was magical!

Later on that day, we came across another Egret. We were able to get fairly close in a blind. In fact, the bird came up really close to the window that I was photographing from.

Reddish Egret

Right outside the blind window

Reddish Egret

Looking for fish

Reddish Egret

Got one!

The next morning, we went right to the calm pool where we watched the egret at sunrise. This time, a Tricolored Heron stole the show, but a younger Egret did show up. This one was not as animated as the adult.

Reddish Egret

Young Reddish Egret

We did, however, find an adult down the road who let us watch him for a few minutes before taking off.

Reddish Egret

Rousing feathers

Reddish Egret

Rousing Feathers

Reddish Egret

Taking off

Reddish Egret

The bird sill “pops” in the distance

Our final encounter with the bird was at Gator Creek on our last day. It was a great way to say farewell to this beautiful bird.

Reddish Egret

Diving in

Reddish Egret

Running on water

Reddish Egret

Going for the strike

Reddish Egret

Grabbing a fish

Reddish Egret

Stopping to preen

The Reddish Egret quickly made its way to the top five of my list for favorite birds. What a fun bird to watch!

The Elusive Least Bittern

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Bitterns are difficult birds to find and photograph – especially out in the open. I’ve photographed an American Bittern at Magee Marsh a couple of years ago, but never had a good opportunity with Least Bitterns. For the most part, I would catch glimpses of them flying or parts of them through the reeds. A nice run-in with this bird at Viera Wetlands changed this. We came to a spot that had three Least Bitterns hunting out in the open. I wanted to put together a post to share these beautiful birds that we do not see often enough.

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

I never though I would get two Least Bitterns in the same frame – along with another secretive bird. See the Sora behind them?

Least Bitterns

Least Bitterns

It was so great to watch them stalk the fish…

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

..and guzzle a few down.

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

But most of all, I enjoyed seeing how they clung to the vertical perches and moved from reed-to-reed with no trouble.

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

And just in case you wanted a couple of more photos…

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

Least Bittern

The Vulture and the Gator

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You never know what you will run into while out birding. I saw many wonderful examples of bird behavior throughout my trip to Florida – both expected and not. One of the more unexpected experiences took place at Viera Wetlands. As we were driving, we noticed two cars stopped at the side of the road. We slowed down in time to see a Turkey Vulture swoop down inbetween them and land on the carcass of a Coot that was at the edge of the marsh.

Turkey Vulture

The Vulture attempts to claim the Coot

The bird seemed to be a bit on edge, keeping its wings stretched out above the carcass. It took the kill and moved it further away from the water.

Turkey Vulture

The Vulture drags the Coot away from the water

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture protecting the carcass

We spotted the reasoning behind its concern nearby in the water. An Alligator was chomping on a wing of the dead Coot. Perhaps the Gator was how the Coot met its end.

Alligator

Alligator eating a Coot wing

Alligator

Alligator eating a Coot wing

The Vulture cautiously ate its findings.

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture eating a Coot

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture on a coot

Not long after the Alligator finished the wing, it moved up the bank, closer to the Vulture. He wanted the rest of his meal.

Turkey Vulture

The Alligator moves up the bank

The Vulture, not wanting to give up the meal, continued to mantle over the carcass. The Gator’s size was not exactly very intimidating, so the Vulture held its ground.

Turkey Vulture

The Vulture protects the carcass

Turkey Vulture

The Vulture protects the carcass

Turkey Vulture

The Alligator gets in closer

All-in-all the results were a bit uneventful since the Alligator eventually backed off, but it was still very cool to watch two completely different animals have a small face-off.

Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vulture continues eating