Posts in Category: Everglades NP
Alligator Clutch
Pile of newly hatched Alligators. Shark Valley, Everglades NP
No no no! Not that kind of “clutch”. We are not talking fashion here. This is a pile of newly hatched Alligators. Called a “clutch”. Roy Halpin and I befriended a family from Germany who were walking the west road at Shark Valley. They were not photographers and they were moving much faster than we were, so when they looped back, they alerted us to this waiting for us up the road. We kept a sharp eye out. It was much further than we expected and we had already picked our turn around spot when we finally found it. 🙂 Worth the wait.
Sony HX400V at 170mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/640th @ ISO 200 @ f4.5. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Green Heron
Green Heron, Anhinga Trail, Everglades NP
The Green Heron is another amazing bird, a bit more subtle. and certainly way more common, than the Purple Gallinule of a few days ago, but just as brilliant in its own way. I love the blends and shades of green and brown and yellow…and I certainly photograph every one I get a chance to. This bird was super cooperative…busy hunting small creatures from the water below it, and pretty much unaware of us standing 15 feet above it on the boardwalk at Anhinga Trail…or unconcerned if it was aware. We watched it take prey several times it finally flew off to look for better fishing.
Sony HX400V at 540mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/800th @ ISO 800 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Purple Gallinule!
Purple Gallinule, Everglades Wildlife Management Area, Miami FL
No north American bird is as absolutely unlikely as the Purple Gallinule…or that is what I think! I mean, look at it. Such outlandish color. Really? How are we supposed to take this seriously? And I have never had views of Purple Gallinule like I had yesterday from Everglades Nature Tour’s airboat on the Everglades Wildlife Management area west of Miami. We stopped the boat and Captain Ozzie whistled up the Gallinule and it came up to a few feet from from the boat, feeding all around us on the lily pads, climbing on the reeds, etc. Quite a show. Of course the light was terrible. Intermittent rain…just enough to keep me damp and make me very conscious of my camera’s non-weather-proof status…but such a treat! And the Sony again pulled it off at ISO 3200. 🙂
Sony HX400V at 275mm equivalent field of view. ISO 3200 @ f5 @ 1/1250th. Shutter preferred. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.
First Everglades Sunset
Everglades National Park Sunset
I did not get to Homestead until 4 pm, and I considered just resting after a long day of travel, but by 5:30 I had caught up with the day and decided at least to go find a sunset over the Everglades. I barely made it at that. The sun sinks fast here in the tropics (all things being relative, South Florida is our tropics 🙂 It was worth the effort, I think. This is just barely into the Everglades National Park, just past the entrance station…but it is as far as I got.
Sony HX400V. In-camera HDR. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.