This is another shot from the pool of mixed waders I had the privilege of observing at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge last week. As I mentioned in a few posts, I lost a good deal of my respect for Wood Storks on my visit to Gatorland in Orlando. At Gatorland the Storks have turned into the kind of panhandlers that make you uncomfortable on the streets of a major city. They walk right up on the boardwalks with the tourists, and are aggressive in their attempts to cage a handout. Out on Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, in their natural habitat, surrounded by the other birds of the marsh, they are much more attractive…if the word attractive can in any way be applied to such a magnificently ugly bird! It is a case of their being so ugly they are beautiful, if you know what I mean.

Digiscoped with the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL. 15-56x Vario eyepiece. Digidapter for ZEISS. Canon SD320HS. ISO 160 @ 1/1000th. 1230mm equivalent field of view. f5 as determined by the camera. Processed in Snapseed and Photo Editor by dev.macgyver on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014.