Monthly Archives: February 2019
Spoonbill on reflection
On my very first trip around Blackpoint Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida, the Roseate Spoonbills were close to the road, only about a mile into the drive. There have been years, many years, when I did not see them in numbers and certainly not close to the road for the whole week of the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival. Such a treat! I zoomed back a bit to 500mm equivalent to get this bird and its reflection in the frame at the same time. Wonderful creature! Sony RX10iv as above, 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.
Reddish Egret
Reddish Egrets are so much fun to watch as they fish in the shallow waters of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. They run erratically, they lift their wings, they totter and turn, posturing and prancing and apparently having a lot of fun. Of course, in reality, it is all in a day’s work for them…the serious business of chasing down prey…but for the watcher it can be very entertaining. And I am always willing to be entertained. Plus, they are simply an attractive bird. That blend of grey and reddish purple, and the texture of the feathers can be very striking in the right light…and the the Florida light is often right. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds in flight and action modifications to Program mode. 1/1000th @ f5 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.
Great Blue Heron
Of course the Great Blue Heron has no more blue on it than the Little Blue Heron. Essentially a grey, black, brown, and white bird, it is in no way blue! Still, it is impossible not to photograph every Great Blue Heron I see. They are just to photogenic. 🙂 The plumage always shows a range of textures that is unrivaled in the bird world. And they are always posing. This one is off Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville Florida. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications of Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4.5 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.
Little Blue Heron
When I first got to Black-point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida the sun was still behind a bank of cloud. The soft light was idea for capturing the more subtle tones of the wading birds, like this Little Blue Heron, which was actively feeding close up against the bank of the dyke road. Though it is called Little Blue, to my eye there is no blue on it. It is a purple and purple-tinged gray bird, and one of my favorite waders…but then, I like all the common Florida waders 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 560mm equivalent…so close I had to zoom back a bit to fit it in the frame. My birds and wildlife modifications to Program mode. 1/250th @ f4 @ ISO 160. -.3EV. Processed in Polarr.
Purple-throated Mountain Gem
I have been doing some clearing-out of unprocessed images on my iPad Pro and in the process found these shots of the Purple-throated Mountain Gem, taken in December at La Paz Waterfall Gardens on the first day of two weeks in Costa Rica. I knew I had only taken the time to download a few of the images from that day for processing, and, fortunately I had not formatted the card yet, and found these Gems! The Purple-throated Mountain Gem is a mid-altitude hummer, and is replaced by the White-throated Mountain Gem at higher elevations. They share the bold white eye-stripe and overall coloration…only the throat is distinctive. Both are among the most beautiful hummers in Central America. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications of Program mode. 1/250th @ f4 at ISO 800 (left) and ISO 250 (right). Processed in Polarr and assembled in FrameMagic.
In the company of Sandhills
I wrote about my companionable encounter with the two Florida Sandhill Cranes at Orlando Wetlands Park last week, and shared an extreme close-up of one of the birds. The pair were certainly comfortable in my presence. I like this double portrait of the two. There is a balance and a contrasting tension in the posture of the Cranes and in the composition. Sony RX10iv at 567mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications of Program mode. 1/1000th @ f5.6 @ ISO 100. -.3EV. Processed in Polarr.
Osprey Pair
While looking for Florida Scrub Jays at the Helen and Allen Cruickshank Reserve in Rockledge Florida, I found this pair of Osprey up in a huge pine along the trail. I though sure they would fly before I could get in position for a shot, but they stayed put, and I was able to frame them. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds and wildlife modifications of Program mode. 1/500th @ f4 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.
Intimate Sandhill
I have mentioned the difference between Western Flyway Sandhill Cranes…the ones we see at New Mexico’s Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in November at the Festival of the Cranes…and Florida Sandhill Cranes before. You can not approach Western Sandhills at all. They are wary and skittish to the extreme. Florida Sandhills approach you. They are totally unconcerned about human proximity. While visiting Orlando Wetlands Park in Christmas, Florida last Monday, two Sandhills flew around me and landed on the dyke 50 yards ahead. There was a couple on the other side of them approaching, and as we all drew closer, the Cranes walked calmly of to the side into the marsh, but as soon as the couple had passed they came back up onto the dyke a few feet from me. They walked with me, just ahead of me…we are talking 4-6 feet ahead of me…on down the dyke, often one on each side of me. If I stopped to take a photo, they seemed to wait for me. It was all very companionable…and very strange for one who is used to Western Sandhills. This shot was taken at 600mm from about 6 feet. Sony RX10iv. My birds and wildlife modifications to Program mode. 1/1000th @ f4 @ ISO 100. -.3EV Processed in Polarr.