Howie's threads have reminded me that I haven't been posting any of my bird and wildlife shots here for quite some time - I used to keep somewhat regular updates, so I figure I should share some of the past few months worth of Florida bird life - something I shoot often, when I'm not shooting at Disney of course. ; ; So, without further ado, here are some Florida birdies and other wildlife captured over the late fall into winter (All shots Sony A550, Minolta 300mm F4 APO lens unless otherwise noted. ; All posted at regulation 800pixel size, with link to larger 1024x pixel size under each photo - for better detail and sharpness, view the larger photo!): Black bellied whistling duck coming in for a landing: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Anhinga in flight: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Green heron: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Juvenile red-winged blackbird: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Tricolored heron flying low over the water: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Osprey with a nice big fish for dinner: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Palm warbler: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Pied-billed grebe: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Northern harrier, staring at the guy with the big white tube pointing at him: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Tricolor heron in a zen-like setting: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Yellow-rumped 'myrtle' warbler: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg And just to be different...here's a reason to be careful if ever out walking through the everglades sawgrasses and reeds in the shallow waters: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/image/1 ... iginal.jpg Hope you enjoyed a Florida birdie tour! ; I'll try to remember to bring more in here too - still have a few from the end of November before Pixelmania, and a few from this past weekend I need to get working on.
you have better looking herons than we do up here and I have never seen a nest with heron chicks here that you have posted on flickr which by the way is a great shot
Thank you...actually, our second big heron nesting season has just begun - the great blues have all started their nests or are sitting on them - mating occurred a few weeks ago, and eggs are dropping in. ; We should have the youngsters popping out in January. ; They seem to breed down here in the January season, and also in late July/August...along with the anhingas and cormorants (who are also on their nests). ; The tricolors tend to be mostly Jan/Feb...and the egrets are most often during the summer. ; I have a lot of nesting shots...Florida is one of the few places you can shoot nesting birds and young without breaking the birding 'code' of not disturbing nesting birds...because they build their nests right out in the open, just 15-30 feet away from where you can walk and see them. ; I've actually had birders from other places berate me for daring to disturb a nesting bird...and I have to explain that they're not being bothered - they CHOSE to nest right out in the open in a very public area! ; I have a theory they feel safer next to people walking by than being in the deep everglades where raccoons, foxes, bears, alligators, panthers, bobcats, etc can get to their nests.
sounds like your birders atleast have a little common sense. the ones up here are idiots. they constantly scare birds away when they slam there car doors or talk to each other real loud and also leave the keys in the ignition so when they open the door you hear the ding ding ding. you can drive through forsythe and boy does it bring out the morons. some even play hip hop real loud. the birders only seem to care about birds that are 100yards away or more and the heck with photographers getting the closer ones. I and some friends have lost a lot of shots to to these idiots
Justin, amazing shots!! ; Love the green heron, osprey and the northern harrier!! ; I just learned a few do's and don'ts from Howie for my trip to Forsythe! ; Hope to make a trip during my vacation in 2 weeks.
Thanks John. ; Have fun shooting - birding can get quite addictive! Howie, in general, the birders down here are quite courteous - ranging from antisocial to friendly, but usually respectful of the wildlife, and other photogs. ; Our biggest problem are people visiting the wetlands who aren't there to photograph - some folks just come to look, or a few actually come to jog/walk/exercise in a natural environment. ; The joggers can sometimes be a problem as they think they own the levees and boardwalks, and make fuss sometimes when you're stopped to take a photo with a tripod and another slower walker is passing you just as the jogger wants to pass without slowing. ; But the biggest problem by far are your modern-day parents who bring their demonseed to walk around and see the birds. ; Zeee-row control - the kids stomp loudly on the boardwalk, yell and scream at the tops of their lungs, chase birds that land on the handrails, throw seeds and rocks and fruits in the water...all while the parents walk behind them having their own conversations oblivious to the destruction and disruption their flock of trolls are causing. ; The only amazing thing is that due to the sheer numbers of these types of parents/kids in our area over the last few years, the birds have become fairly accustomed to it and don't scare off easily. ; I've watched a kid chase a tricolor heron sitting on a rail by lunging at it and yelling, and the bird just casually lifted off, flapped about 10 feet away, and landed on the rail again. ; Still, I'd love to see one of the big birds take a chunk out of one of the little brats one day...see if mommy will get off the cell phone when her precious gets bit (probably not...takes a lot worse to end a cell phone call).
yea we get that too. kids running around. people walking there dogs. dogs barking. motorcycles revving engines. I wish I could command a flock of seagulls to fly over and do there thing, the birds here are very skittish Justin and when they fly off it is a lot more than 10 ft. usually they fly out of photo range. John the secret is stealth. be as quiet as possible and keep low. I always take the key out of the ignition so I don't make the ding ding and scare them and also unbuckle my seat belt for the drive around as the speed limit through there is 15mph although you wouldn't know it with some of the morons flying around and scaring the heck out of everything oh well I am getting off my soap box now
So Forsythe is a drive-through? ; Sounds like our Viera Wetlands...it works that way too. ; The two I frequent most down by me are both walk-through only, over boardwalk or levees.
yea it is 8 miles to do the entire drive through. of course you can pull over to park and get out and shoot
