Posts in Category: Merritt Island NWR
Osprey
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has a huge population of Osprey. Sometimes they are every other power post along the causeway and the road coming in, and they are certainly the most common raptor along Black Point Wildlife Drive. My Advanced Point and Shoot Nature Photography class was practicing flight shots so we stopped when I saw two Osprey circling over a pond, and waited, and were rewarded with one of the birds passing right over head. I was perfect light, with enough light reflected from the water to illuminate the underside of the wings. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds in flight and action modifications to Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.
All about those wings
Roseate Spoonbills are striking birds at any time, but in flight, with the light behind the wings, they are spectacular. I happened to be in the right place at the right time on Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to catch a group of Spoonbills moving from one feeding site to another, passing close overhead. My birds in flight modifications of Program mode enabled the Sony RX10iv to catch the birds against the clear Florida sky, and there was enough light reflected from the pools of water to nicely light the underside of the wings. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.
Great Egret
A classic shot a classy bird. Great Egret off Black Point Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Great Egrets are almost always elegant. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications to Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Tri-colored Heron
There are always a great many Tri-colored Herons along Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Government shutdown, thankfully, has not changed that. 🙂 They vie with the White Ibis for the title of most numerous wader in January. And they are a beautiful bird. It was still overcast when I got this shot a few mornings ago, but that only emphasizes the range of subtle shades of color in plumage. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications of Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Roseate Spoonbill
Back in Florida for the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival in Titusville. I got out to Merritt Island and Black Point Drive this morning and saw all the usual subjects except for Wood Stork. The Roseate Spoonbills, in full breeding plumage, were particularly cooperative. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications of Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Reddish Egret Lights Up
Reddish Egret, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville FL
It seems like my last three trips run together, though they where spread over more than a month in real time. Maybe it is because they were such photographically productive trips. The birds were the best they have been at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in many years. Honduras was amazing, even better than a year ago, and San Diego had all the usual subjects on display, AND I had two excellent days in Anzo Borrego Desert with flowers in bloom and a Desert Bighorn encounter. I brought home over 700 keepers from each of the three trips, and I have only shared a very few of them. That makes me feel image rich and time poor 🙂
This is Reddish Egret standing against the sun. It is not obvious, except in this pose, that the reddish base of the bill is actually translucent. I saw the same thing on Black Skimmers later this same day, and have already posted a pic of that effect…but I never would have guessed that either bill would let this much light through…would light up like this with the sun behind. This is off Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island NWR.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 320 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Roseate Spoonbill and Avocets
Roseate Spoonbill and American Avocets at Merritt Island NWR, FL
This was the best year for Roseate Spoonbills at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in many years. I remember last year, wondering if I was going to get any decent Spoonbill pics before the week was over…they were that scarce and always far away. And in fact, I did not get any particularly memorable pics. This year there were high numbers of Spoonbills, and they were feeding close to Blackpoint Wildlife Drive and to the Wildbirds Trail off the drive. I mean, really close. I like the contrast here between the Spoonbill and the smaller American Avocets. Of course the Spoonbill is in full breeding plumage and the Avocets are in winter plumage. That increases the contrast. The late afternoon light was lovey on the birds as well.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 125 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Florida Scrub Jay. Happy Sunday!
Florida Scrub Jay, Merritt Island NWR, Titusville FL
“If your eye is generous, your whole being is full of light!” Jesus
This is my third post of Florida Scrub Jay pics from my encounter with a pair on my last day in Florida for the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. It was an extra, as in unplanned, day. My flight home was canceled, so, after a morning in the flied with my daughter Sarah, and after dropping her off at the airport in Orlando for her fight back to New Mexico, I made one last run out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to catch the afternoon/evening light. Since it was extra time, I took the time to go look for Florida Scrub Jays where Sarah and my friend Rich had seen them one day when I was busy teaching a workshop. And they were there! Just two, likely a pair, but it was my first FSJ encounter in over 10 years, and my first ever on Merritt Island. I took way too many pictures. This is a collage of two shots that provides evidence for my contention that the Florida Scrub Jay is the most beautiful of eastern Jays.
The encounter was even more special because it was shared. A couple, the husband a fellow photographer, came up behind me and, feeling generous, I waved them up to stand with me so they could get photos too. (By then I was confident that the Scrub Jays were not alarmed at our presence at all…and in fact they were still sitting on their bushes when we decided we had devoted enough camera memory to them and walked on.) Sharing an experience like this with others, even if strangers, deepens my pleasure considerably. It is the shared wonder…awe reinforces awe…and the result is more joy. It is even more intense if you are sharing the experience with someone you already love, and I really wished Sarah were still there in those moments, but it is impossible not to love the ones you share with…or at least it is for me. I felt like I was radiating good will…good will that encompassed the cooperate Scrub Jays, and certainly my fellow photographer and his wife, in one big bubble of delight.
And I feel a bit of that right now. Partially it is memory, but it is also this sharing by proxy that is this post. I intend for you to share in the joy of discovery, in the wonder I experienced there in the field with these Jays. The thing about the generous eye is that light builds on light. In generosity you always get back as much or more than you give. Always. Because the light in you is met by the light in others, and is amplified. That is the way it works. Always. God is just good that way. God is good in all ways.
Happy Sunday!
Skimmer!
Black Skimmer, Merritt Island Causeway, Titusville FL
Just before my trip to Honduras, I spent a week at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville Florida and brought back over 700 keepers. Obviously I only got to share a few of those before I was off to the more exotic birds and landscapes of Honduras, so I am going to loop back, over the next few days, and pick up some of the best of my Florida shots.
This Black Skimmer was one in a small flock that is often on the shore, or feeding just off-shore along the causeway between the bridge and Merritt Island proper, right by the parking for the fishing pier. Late afternoon, almost sunset, light coming in low backlighted the Skimmers, and actually illuminated the red on the bill from the inside. Skimmers stand in a tight group, head to the wind, with eyes barely open…when they stand…and this bird is displaying the typical posture (and attitude). I am surprised that no one has coined the phrase “stoic as a skimmer” since that is my primary impression of skimmers on land. 🙂 Just enduring until it is time to get up and out and feed again.
Nikon P900 at 1800mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 400 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom.
Skimmers in the sunset
Black Skimmers. Merritt Island, Titusville FL
There is a small flock of Black Skimmers that hang out at the fishing area just over the bridge on your way to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. They are generally there, huddled in a group, all facing the same way. Occasionally they must get up and go find food. Stands to reason. This year, however, I never saw them fishing. They did rise, just at sunset, to find a better roost for the night. I was there to see it. 🙂 And to catch some of the action.
Nikon P900 in my custom Birds in Flight mode. 200mm equivalent field of view. 1/1250th @ ISO 280 @ f4.5. Processed in Lightroom.