Posts in Category: St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Teenagers in Love!
Cattle Egrets, St Augustine Alligator Farm, St Augustine FL
I actually have little evidence that these are young Cattle Egrets…but, based on their very tentative attempts at mating and nest building, I suspect they are. They just did not have the air of a experienced pair. And there is definitely something about the look of Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage that invokes Happy Days…the Fonz…and all that. Or so it does to me.
Breeding season is the one season of the year when Cattle Egrets are actually attractive…again, in my opinion. Most of the year I find them stocky, dingy, and boring…totally lacking the elegance of their Great and Snowy cousins. And then too, knowing that they are not native birds in North America…even if they did reach our shores under their own power…adds to my general disregard. Still, in breeding season, at the wild bire rookery at the Alligator Farm in St Augustine, it is hard to ignore them…and hard to deny their beauty!
Nikon P900 at 450mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 180 @ f5. -1/3 EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom.
Life goes on…
Tricolored Herons, St Augustine Alligator Farm wild bird rookery.
You certainly get a unique view into the intimate lives of the birds that nest at the St Augustine Alligator Farm wild bird rookery. Spend a spring morning or an afternoon there and you will see every aspect of the breeding and nesting behavior, from inception to the fledging of new chicks. These Tricolored Herons are clearly at the inception stage…and very intent on the act at that. My friend Pual, fellow photographer and wildlife enthusiast, when he saw this photo, complained that he had been just a few yards down the boardwalk. “Why didn’t you call me?” The whole thing, of course, was over in seconds. I barely had time and the presence of mind to lift the camera. 🙂
Nikon P900 at 448mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 100 @ f5. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Display! Happy Sunday.
Great Egret in full breeding display, St Augustine Alligator Farm, St Augustine FL
Many of the Great Egrets at the wild bird rookery at the St Augustine Alligator Farm already have chicks in the nest, some at least 3 weeks old, but there are also still male Egrets in full breeding display…apparently attempting to attract a mate. They might have come late to the party, or they might be young birds in their first mating cycle and still learning the ropes, or they my have been unsuccessful on the first round and are making a brave show in hopes of still finding a female willing…or they may just be stimulated by all the Snowy Egrets just coming into display around them. Whatever the reason, I am always amazed by the grace and beauty of the Great Egret in display. The delicacy of the breeding plumage, only deployed once a year, the arch of the neck, the single minded concentration implied by the pointing bill, the energy of the dance the male preforms…it is truly eye-catching, breath catching, wonder inducing…and I am not even a female Egret!
Nikon P900 at 380mm equivalent field of view. Program with -1/3 EV exposure compensation. Because the dance is so energetic, you have to zoom back you to keep the bird in the frame even at its most extreme gyrations, so this is slightly cropped from the full frame. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
And for the Sunday thought…well all I can say is that anyone who believes this display, and the feathers and the body that support it, evolved by chance mutations and survival of the fittest has a lot more “blind faith” than is required for me to believe that what I see here is the work of a loving creator. Just saying. I can not believe that such beauty evolved…any more than I can believe that it is an accident that both female egrets and human beings can, apparently, appreciate it. It is a matter of wonder…and gratitude. Happy Sunday!
Look at me Little Blue!
Little Blue Heron, St Augustine Alligator Farm, St Augustine FL
So far, at the St Augustine Alligator Farm wild bird rookery, the Little Blue Herons are outnumbered by Tricolored Herons (somewhat similar bird) about 20 to 1. And of course the Tricoloreds (as befits their name) are a flashier bird, with stunning breeding plumage. It is easy to overlook the Little Blues. This specimen however, is not about to be overlooked! He has the most intense coloration of any Little Blue I have ever seen, and enough attitude (both probably attributable to breeding season hormones) so that he was certain to catch any photographer’s eye…and hopefully the eye of any prospective mate. 🙂 I certainly hope he meets his equal and they raise a race of really intense Little Blues!
Nikon P900 at 1600mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 220 @ f6.3. Program with -1/3 EV Exposure Compensation. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Great Egret in its Element
Great Egret, St Augustine Alligator Farm, St Augustine FL
One of the major delights of St Augustine is the wild bird rookery at the St Augustine Alligator Farm. The presence of such a number of alligators under the nest trees inspires confidence in the birds, and they nest in great numbers. Wood Storks, Great and Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Cattle Egrets, Tricolor and Little Blue Herons, White Ibis, and the occasional Green Heron. You can stand on the boardwalk right under the trees, often no more than 15 feet from the birds on the nest. Tricolored Herons, in particular, will land on the rail of the boardwalk within 3 feet of photographers. And these birds are not begging. They are not tame at all. They are just going about the busy business of nesting and raising young and totally ignoring the humans in their rookery. It is totally amazing.
And one of the delights of the Alligator Farm is the number of birds in flight on any given day, as they move about feeding and gathering nesting materials. There is almost always some bird in the air. And, again, they are close…often passing overhead withing feet, and sometimes flying between photographers and tourists on the boardwalk. Catching them in flight makes a challenge that few photographers can resist. There are lots of birds so you have lots of opportunity. The light is great…as only Florida spring light can be. And modern cameras have features that make Birds in Flight…well, not easy…but easier than in the past. Even the superzoom Point and Shoot cameras that I favor have Sports Modes that make BIF shots relatively easy. You still get more misses than hits, but you almost always bring home a few satisfying BIFs.
This Great Egret was taken in Sports Mode on the Nikon P900 at 260mm equivalent field of view. 1/640 @ ISO 100 @ f4.5. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Great Egret Chicks are Beautifully Ugly!
Great Egret Chicks, St Augustine Alligator Farm, St Augustine FL
Yes, well, the title says it all: beautifully ugly! Only a mother could love…etc. And it is not like they are “nice” either. They are aggressive, single-mindedly competitive, noisy, and not particularly clean. 🙂 These are at the age when maybe even a mother does not love them! She is like: “Get out of my nest already!” Still, who can resist a pic or two when the nest is right in front of you. This was taken from the new Photo Pass only blind in the shade of the trees on the far side of the Rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park. Such an amazing place for bird photography. It is even worth braving the crush to tourists and other photographers 🙂
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. ISO 100 @ 1/800th @ f6.5. -.7 EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 2 tablet.
6/6/2012: Roseate Spoonbills, St. Augustine FL
The Roseates are coming into breeding plumage when I visit Florida in late January, but they are nesting when I visit in May. If that whole time is courtship…well, hard to imagine. Some birds at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery are building nests, some are sitting on eggs, and some have well grown fledglings in the nest. The fledglings are interesting looking (which is what you say when no word adequately describes).
The richness of the pinks of the full adult breeding plumage is also hard to describe.
I always try for flight shots at the rookery, as there are pretty much birds in the air all the time. On occasion it all comes together. And how better than on a Roseate Spoonbill?
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. At the Alligator Farm you work within the optical range of the zoom, as you don’t need anything longer. The bird on the nest and the nestlings were at 840mm, all the rest were at shorter range, down to about 250mm for the top shot.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
5/30/2012: Tricolored Herons, St. Augustine FL
As befits its name, there is no more colorful bird at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery during breeding season than the Tricolored Heron. Naturally a colorful bird, breeding adds the bright turquoise lores (with color extending well out on the beak), and extra vibrancy to the plumes. The clear red eye, which looks to me to be made of liquid ruby, is even more vividly set off by the turquoise surround.
The Tricolored are also the most oblivious of the birds at the rookery to human presence. They nest closest to the boardwalk, often within arm’s reach, and they will hop up on the pilings with people 3 or 4 feet on either side, and sit there, generally moving off on their own before they are flushed.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 445mm equivalent field of view, f5 @ 1/160th @ ISO 500. 2) 325mm equivalent, f5 @ 1/200th @ ISO 200. 3) and 4) 230mm equivalent, f5 @ 1/200th @ ISO 200.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
5/29/2012: Great Egrets. St. Augustine FL
The Great Egrets are the most likely birds to contest prime nest sites at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery with the Wood Storks. They generally loose out for the tree-top sites, but they make up the whole of the next story down. This bird did, somehow, end up with a penthouse suite and was making the most of it by displaying on the balcony. You can see the green lores, one of the features of full breeding plumage.
When I visit in late April, you already find Great Egret nests at all stages of development, from newly laid eggs, to chicks about ready to fledge.
And, of course, there is nothing quite like a Great Egret in flight…and birds are in flight somewhere almost continuously at the rookery.
Great Egret winds are a wonder, even when all the bird is doing is preening.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 655mm equivalent field of view, f5.8 @ 1/800th @ ISO 100. 2) 560mm equivalent, f5.8 @ 1/640th @ ISO 200. 3) 350mm, f5 @ 1/800th @ ISO 200. 4) 500mm, f6.3 @ 1/1250th @ ISO 200. 5) 350mm, f5 @ 1/800th @ ISO 200. 6) 370mm, f5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 100. 7) and 8) 340mm, f5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 160. 9) 340mm, f5 @ 1/640th @ ISO 200.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
5/28/2012: Cattle Egrets. St. Augustine FL
It seems like every year there are more Cattle Egrets nesting at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery, and they were particularly bright, in their breeding colors, this year.
It is tempting to think of them as “non-native birds” since they have only been breeding here in North America since the early 1950s. However, the Cattle Egret got here under its own power, naturally, crossing the Atlantic to South America in the early 1900s and becoming established there by the 1930s. It then moved out, breeding in Canada by the 1960s, and, by now, having spread over much of North and South America.
And it has spread on the other continents as well. Originally it was native (?) to the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa (that is to say, that is were it was found when we first began to pay attention). From there it spread all through Africa, crossed over the the Americas, colonized Asia (reaching Australia by the 1940s and New Zealand by the 60s). It is now working north through Europe, and east, island by island, across the Pacific Ocean.
It goes, and can survive, and thrive, where ever humans raise cattle. Simple as that. Because of its specialization, it does not normally seriously compete with native species. That helps it to become established fairly quickly…as does it ability to blend in in communal heron/egret/stork rookeries like the one at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. Interesting bird.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 840mm equivalent field of view, f5.8 @ 1/640th @ ISO 160. 2) 440mm equivalent, f5 @ 1/320th @ ISO 160, 3) 840mm, f5.8 @ 1/400th @ ISO 200. 4) 840mm, f5.8 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.