Posts in Category: Florida
Florida! Mockingbird
Northern Mockingbird: Helen and Alan Cruickshank Reserve, Rockledge, Florida, USA, January 2024 — I had a workshop to present just after noon at the convention center in Cocoa Beach on my second full day in Florida for the rejuvenated Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival, so I needed somewhere relatively close by to bird and photograph in the morning. The Helen and Alan Cruickshank Sanctuary, with its ready population of Florida Scrub Jays, was the obvious choice since it is right across the causeway from Cocoa. I got there early early as the clock was ticking and I still had to find my presentation room and get my AV set up when I got back to the convention center. My first birds were not Florida Scrub Jays…they were Mockingbirds, making fun of my early efforts. There were lots of Mockingbirds at the Sanctuary, and I saw lots before I found my first Scrub Jay. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Last shots
Great Egret: Blackpoint Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — These are the last two shots I took on my first full day in Florida in January, on my second loop around Blackpoint Drive. Late afternoon. The Egret was fairly close, along the road, and I could not resist. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 506mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -0.7 EV. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Strike one
Little Blue Heron: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — This is a particularly “reddish” looking Little Blue, and if not for the beak color might be mistaken for a Reddish Egret. While both Reddish and Little Blue are fearsome hunters, both miss more often than they hit…swing and a miss for a strike…and are left looking at the expanding ripples. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 200mm equivalent (this bird was close!). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Immature White Ibis
White Ibis: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Certainly one of the oddest looking birds in all bird-kind, at least to my eye. It will come into its pure white plumage in good time, but this is the awkward stage we all go through. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 628mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Handsome
Wood Stork: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — The Wood Stork is not, to my eye, beautiful…but it is certainly handsome. I will never forget my first encounter with one after a long hike in Georgia, but they are common along Blackpoint Drive these days. This one was very close to the road and totally unconcerned as I walked up for some photos. OM System OM-1 with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Cocked
Tricolored Heron: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Take out under the observation blind at the end of what used to the the WildBirdsUnlimited trail along Blackpoint Drive. That sponsorship has apparently ended, but the trail is still there and so are the birds 🙂 This Tricolored was intently hunting and only maybe 30 feet from the deck. OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Golden slippers
Snowy Egret: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, December 2023 — The Snowy Egrets like to stand on the culvert gates and watch for fish swept through by the rising or falling waters. It is one of the few times you get a good view of their legs and feet…the well known golden slippers that are often sighted as field mark of the species. OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -0.7EV. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! White Ibis
White Ibis: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — I am still, actually, working through my photos from my first full day in Florida…my first loop around Black Point Drive. A White Ibis from the roadside. An efficient specialized feeder of the shallows. OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Ouch
Great Egret: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Honestly, doesn’t that hurt your neck? Great Egret cocked a ready for prey. And close. OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Painted
Painted Bunting: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, 2024 — Though the boardwalk behind the Visitor Center is closed, the Painted Buntings are still coming to the feeders in the thicket at the end of the VC deck. It is always too dark in there, but with patience the birds will set on perches on their way to the feeders. OM System OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 770mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. ISO 12800. Processed in Pixomator.