Monthly Archives: February 2024
Florida! Osprey eye
Osprey: Biolab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida, USA, January 2024 — Biolab Road at Merritt Island can sometimes be productive, and sometimes turns up birds not seen on Blackpoint or views not gotten. This Osprey, perched on snag at the edge of the water at eye-level and near the road, was the highlight of the one trip I made down Biolab on this visit to the Space Coast. It honestly does not get any better than this! I just pulled up. Shut the car off to eliminate vibrations, and shot out the open window. The bird was totally unimpressed by my regard 🙂 It was still sitting there when I drove on. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -0.7 EV. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Both Waxwings!
Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings: York County, Maine, USA, February 2024 — I went out early yesterday to check for Eagles at our local spot and to see if there were any interesting ducks in the tidal creek behind the dunes. No Eagles but the large flock of Robins that I had seen the day before was still working the winterberries along the river, and there was what appeared to be a lone Cedar Waxwing with them. I was excited. I have been expecting the Cedar Waxwings to show up to harvest the winterberry and ornimental cherries around town. A single bird was odd though. They generally arrive and travel in small flocks. I photographed what I thought was the same bird several times around along the river and the wood lot edge as the Robins moved around. It was not until I got the photos up on my tablet for editing that I realized that there were at least two Waxwings with the Robins. One was clearly a Bohemian Waxwing. I can maybe be forgiven for not recognizing the Bohemian when it was in front of me. I was concentrating on my photography and I was expecting to see a Cedar Waxwing. I was not expecting to see a Bohemian! This is only the second Bohemian sighting in my life, and I have not seen one for at least 15 years. And that explains why the two Waxwings were not “flocking”. They are distinctly different species. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. (Image resolution is limited here by the distance and atmospheric wobble involved in shooting over melting snow.)
Costa Rica! Macaw feathers
Scarlet Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There is a free flying flock of close to 100 Macaws, mostly Scarlet and hybrid (there is one big male Great Green Macaw in the flock who seems to have been very active!) at a remote ranch in the Sarapique Valley, down a long dirt road to the end. The Macaws are used to humans and are easy to get close to. Ideal for photography, but I do have my reservations about the number of hybrid birds. I am not sure that is good for either species in the long-run. Still, it made for some stunning photo ops. This is a close-up of a preening Scarlet Macaw from just a few moments after we arrived. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. I actually still had the camera in my birds in flight and action mode (Program with modifications) so this is at ISO 3200 at 1/1600th. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! Great Blue flyby
Great Blue Heron: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida, USA, January 2024 — Photographing Pelicans and Spoonbills in the distance, I looked up just in time to see this Great Blue Heron on approach. I got the camera into Birds in Flight mode with a switch of the control dial, panned with the bird, and shot off a burst as it passed me. Such a beautiful bird in flight. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Florida! More Pelicans in flight
American White Pelican: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville Florida, USA, December 2023 — More Pelicans in flight from a close flyover out on Blackpoint drive. Pelicans are the ultimate soaring bird, riding thermals high and low, especially over water. Even in low glides between feeding spots they can go many minutes between wing flaps…and when using the high thermals for long distance travel they can glide for hours. These are big birds…among the heaviest flying birds in North America with a wingspread and depth to match. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Crested Quan
Crested Quan: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Another find from our morning photo walk at Selva Verde Lodge: the Crested Guan. Bigger than a chicken, slightly smaller than a turkey, this is a large bird of humid forests all through tropical Central America and the lowlands of northern South America. They forage both on the ground and on tree branches, generally in small groups and pairs. This shot was from quite a distance. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Writing or zig-zag spider
Spiny-backed Orb-weaver Spider: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — We found several of these “writing” or “zig-zag” spiders as the locals call them (because of the patterns in the web), under one of the cabins at Selva Verde on a morning photo walk. I put the macro capabilities of the 100-400 IS zoom to work. This is a member of one of two genus of spiders collectively called spiny-backed because they share the pointy spins. Both are in the Orb-weaver family. OM-Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 454mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. -1.0EV to keep detail in the spider against the dark background. This shot was at ISO 25600 by the way. 🙂 Processed in Photomator.
Florida! a stack of pelicans
American White Pelican: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — There is a fair sized flock of White Pelicans hanging around Blackpoint Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island this year. The first days I was there I only saw them in flight, but it was certainly a sight to see. This is a five bird stack from a lock of at least 30 that went over. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! The other Poison Dart Frog
Poison Dart Frog: Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — The other Poison Dart Frog, a completely different species, from Selva Verde. This is the Strawberry or Blue-jeans Frog, a member of the Oophaga genus. There are many different color variations in the genus, from this bright red, through various oranges and yellows, spotted and patterned. The Blue-jeans is by far the most common. Again these shots at take in poor light at the full 800mm equivalent of the 100-400mm IS zoom with 2x digital tele-converter. OM Systems OM-1 in Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and Pixelmator Pro.
Florida! Rosy in flight
Roseate Spoonbill: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — Another hoped for image from any trip to the Space Coast of Florida: a Roseate Spoonbill in flight. There is noting like that pink wingspread. To my eye, it outdoes even the flamingo. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 436mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight modifications. Processed in Photomator.