Posts in Category: action
Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill, Viera Wetlands, Florida
Outside here in Southern Maine there is a blizzard blowing. It started mid-afternoon yesterday and will not blow itself out until late this afternoon. We are expecting 12-24 inches of snow. I would say we already have 12. So, as a counter measure I am going back a few weeks to my visit to Florida for the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival in Titusville. I still have many images I have not shared. A year ago in Florida, Roseate Spoonbills were everywhere at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge…in large numbers and close in on Blackpoint Wildlife Drive. This year they were few and far between. I never did see in the water at Merritt Island. They were all flybys. The only one I saw feeding was a lone Spoonbill at Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands in Viera Florida on our last rainy day field trip there with my Point and Shoot Nature Photographer group. The subdued, damp light brought out the deep pink of the breeding plumage (note the green skin cap as well).
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode for various exposures as the light changed. Processed in Polarr and assembled in Framemagic on my iPad Pro.
The Bluebird of unhappiness
Eastern Bluebird, Kennebunk Maine
We continue to get unusual numbers of Bluebirds in the yard this winter…any at all is unusual, as before this winter we had never had one…but they are appearing in small flocks of 4-8 individuals at least once a week. We even had one at the sunflower feeder yesterday, and that is very unusual for a Bluebird. I have to say, they did not look like the bluebirds of happiness yesterday with a foot of new snow on the ground covering their feeding areas and temperatures in the single digits. This image was taken through the thermopane glass of the kitchen sliding door, so it is not as sharp as it might be, but it does catch the frumpy attitude of a cold Bluebird. There is another foot or more of snow in the forecast over the next 2 days, so I don’t think the Bluebirds’ mood is going to improve anytime soon. We may see more of them at the sunflower feeder though. 🙂
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. 1/250th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Wood Stork attended
Wood Stork, Snowy Egret, 2 White Ibis, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida
This appears to a Wood Stork attended by a Snowy Egret and two White Ibis. Mixed species feeding groups are common among birds, and especially common among wading birds. In fact, groups of waders might more properly be called “cooperative feeding groups” Each species in the group benefits from the activity of the others. White Ibis and Egrets often feed together. They are after different prey, and in going after what each wants they stir up what the other wants. The Wood Stork in this image is not really part of the group. It is simply standing and preening while the Egret and Ibis move around it. Still it makes an interesting, visually, grouping. 🙂
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program mode. 1/320th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Pine Siskin
Pine Siskin, Kennebunk Maine
I have not seen a Pine Siskin in our yard for many years now, perhaps as many as ten…until yesterday. A Bluebird sitting on the deck rail below the feeders caught my eye and sent me for the camera. It popped up into the trees behind the feeders when I opened the deck door and I got of a few shots before it moved over to a group of Bluebirds and Juncos feeding under our big pine, but then as I stood there with my head out the door in the February cold, several birds came to the thistle sock. At first, of course, I thought I was looking at very pale winter Goldfiches, but a second look showed them to be Pine Siskins. What do you know? Of course they may come every year and I have just missed them for the past 10, but I was certainly delighted to see them. We have had Bluebirds in the yead for the first time this winter, and others in area are reporting more Bluebirds then normal, and now Siskins. All it would take now is a few Redpoles, and a flock of Bohemian Waxwings to make it a truly record winter. 🙂
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ f4 @ ISO 320. Program mode. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
American Bittern, Ritch Grissom Wetlands, Viera Florida
American Bitterns are always a treat for me to see. I have only seen them in Florida and New Jersey…mostly in Florida, and I only get to Florida a few times a year. This one is at Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands in Viera Florida, one of the best places for bird photography on the east coast. Not the closest view I have ever had, but satisfying in its context, and in the pose…classic bittern.
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program mode. 1/320th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Tricolor
Tricolored Heron, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville FL
There were a great number of Tricolored Herons along Blackpoint Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge last week each time I visited. This one owned the feeding rights along a section of ditch next to the Cruickshank trail between the parking and the tower. He was there every time I was. Since the ditch is right next to the trail, and not very wide, he offered a great photo ops as he went about his feeding business. People on the trail moved him a few yards, but always up or down the ditch, and if you approached cautiously he would sit right across the ditch from you. Great Florida light too. What a is not to like?
Sony Rx10iii at 477mm equivalent field of view. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Reddish Egret in flight, with reflection
Reddish Egret, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, FL
Reddish Egrets are, most days, my favorite wading bird. They are the clowns of the shallow pools. They don’t seem to be able to do anything without evoking at least a smile. If this were a picture of a Great or a Snowy Egret in a similar pose, it would look elegant and refined. As it is, with the Reddish Egret as the center of attention, it looks, to me, just a bit silly…slightly slapstick. It is the burden the Reddish Egret has to bear, and it does so with a measure of a grace all its own. No one can say the Reddish Egret does not enjoy being Reddish…if we are amused, that is not its fault. 🙂
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/1000th @ ISO 125 @ f4. Processes in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Tricolored Herons at dawn…
Tricolored Herons, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida
My first morning in Titusville Florida, I got up early enough to be on Blackpoint Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge before sun-up. I was surprised, in fact, to find the gate open. I have gotten there other years to find it still closed. I did stop at the end of the bridge coming on to Merritt Island for a pre-sunrise shot or two. At any rate the sun had not climbed over the trees to the east when I took this shot. Two Tricolored Herons against the light. It is a bit artsy, but I like it for the way it captures the moment.
Sony RX10iii at 254mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 250 @ f4. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro.
Green Heron
Green Heron, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida
Sony Rx10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ f4 @ ISO 125. Processed in Polar on my iPad Pro.
Pelicans landing in early light
American White Pelicans, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida
American White Pelicans joining a feeding flock along Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge early in morning, just after sunup. Lovely light on lovely birds.
Sony Rx10iii in my specialized birds-in-flight mode. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 250. Processed in Polarr on my iPad Pro. You can find more info on the BIF mode at http://psnp.lightshedder.com/?p=998.