Monthly Archives: January 2025

Lady lady!

Anhinga: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, Florida, USA, January 2025 — The Anhingas at Orlando Wetlands are just coming into breeding plumage and this lady had found a perch right next to the boardwalk on a cold, dark, dank morning. She will be happier when the sun comes out. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent…one from further away than the other). Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Costa Rica! Green

Green Kingfisher: Male and female, Caño Negro Wetlands Reserve, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Continuing on the theme of American Kingfishers, here we have the Green. I have seen the Green along the border in Texas and Arizona, where they are fairly common…and I often see them on river and wetland trips in Costa Rica. Smaller than the Amazons who share the habitat. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Florida! Purple is the color

Purple Gallinule: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, Florida, January 2025 — Two more shots of the amazingly close Purple Gallinule that was feeding on the cold, dark, dank Thursday morning at Orlando Wetlands, right next to the boardwalk. We watched it reach out from its floating branch and pull in whatever it was eating from about as far as it could reach while still staying on the branch. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 354 and 436mm equivalents. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Costa Rica! Amazon

Amazon Kingfisher: Caño Negro Wetlands Reserve, Costa Rica, December 2024 — Kingfishers are among my favorite birds, and the Amazon sits kind of right in the middle of the pack…not too big and not too small. It was also the most common Kingfishers we saw at Caño Negro on our rainy day boat tour. This is a female. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Florida! pink on grey

Roseate Spoonbill: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, Florida, USA, January 2025 — Still a damp cold Thursday morning at Orlando Wetlands, but actually quite nice light for the Spoonbills in flight. A composite of three images. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator and assembled in Pixomatic. Frame added in LikeAFrame.

Costa Rica! Wet and bedraggled

Grove-billed Ani: Caño Negro Wetlands Reserve, Costa Rica, December 2024 — From the boat on the Caño Negro in the rain, this Grove-billed Ani looks like just what it is, wet and bedraggled. We had sun and rain off and on the whole trip, but saw a lot of good birds. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm (from the moving boat). Program with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Florida! Special delivery

Roseate Spoonbill: Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, Florida, USA, January 2025 — On a cold dark dank Thursday morning at Orlando Wetlands this Roseate Spoonbill was flying back and forth between a little one tree hummock right by the boardwalk and his nest in the larger hammock, further out, diligently gathering nesting materials. Slim pickings, and already well picked over, but he was finding enough to keep him busy. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.

Costa Rica! Night and day

Common Pauraque: Caño Negro Wetlands Nature Reserve, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The last bird we encountered on our Owl Prowl was a Common Pauraque hunting over the road. We tried to find it perched on a fence post, but the best we could do was this shot in the road. The next morning on or boat tour of Caño Negro, we found the second Pauraque on a roost deep in the tangle of the bank. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. (Night shot by the light of a handheld torch/flashlight.) Processed in Photomator.

Costa Rica! Denisons of the night 3

Pacific Screech Owl: Caño Negro, Costa Rica, December 2024 — As we continued our Owl Prowl around Caño Negro, we stopped at little pull off near flooded fields and played the call of the Pacific Screech Owl…and at least 3 individuals answer and continued to call around us as we searched. We found two of them. Again photos are by the light of a hand-held torch/flashlight. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. ISO 25600. Processed (including noise reduction) in Photomator.

Florida! Roseate Art

Roseate Spoonbill: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2025 — So sometimes art just happens. The lone Roseate Spoonbill in front of the dead snag in the middle of the pale blue water early in the morning says it all. Just a matter of lining it all up and putting a frame around it. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and framed in LikeAFrame.