Pic of the Day

   Roseate Spoonbill – Alligator Farm; Saint Augustine, Florida:  As the day wanes at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm the birds in the rookery begin their evening duties before settling-in for the night.  As the sun dropped closer to the horizon this Roseate Spoonbill flew to a nearby tree and began preening.  During the course of preening, rival spoonbills landed nearby.  As they landed the roseate lifted its head and pointed skyward, letting the others know that he was king of the roost.  
   The spoonbill was perched around twenty-five feet up the tree.  I used a 500mm lens to shoot the image from a distance.  Keeping my distance and using the long lens decreased the angle of view between the camera and bird.  This techinque gives the illusion that the spoonbill was closer to ground level.               
Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1.600sec. @ f10