Pic of the Day

   Scrub Jay – Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida:  Florida host many endangered species.   One, the Scrub Jay can be found in scrub oak habitat across Florida in isolated patches. This bird was found along the Scrub Jay Trail at Merritt Island NWR on Cape Canaveral.  This bird, along with its mate was not only approachable, but showed no wariness to people.  While the female of the pair gathered nest material, the male gathered insects to feed her.  When the male caught an insect he would fly to the female and feed her the morsel.  The jays carried on their nuptial duties within a few feet of me, as if I were invisible.  It is always exciting to see birds behaving naturally only a few feet away.

   This bird was photographed as it perched atop a small tree between catching insects for its mate.  I captured the bird as it turned and looked into my camera lens.  The perspective of the image shows the Scrub Jay as if it were giving me a stern forceful look.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, digital capture ISO 200, 1/1000 sec. @ f9

Pic of the Day

     American Egret – Gatorland; Orlando, Florida:  In January a friend, who lives in Florida told me of the egret rookery at Gatorland.  Gatorland is a major tourist attraction who’s major draw is the American Alligator.  Yes, Gatorland host thousands of gators.  Some of the big ones live in the large natural (looking) ponds.

   In nature herons and egrets naturally nest above gator holes, as gators serve to protect the nesting birds from marauding coons, opossum and other predators.  The ponds at Gatorland provide the perfect nesting habitat for wading birds, and they come to nest by the hundreds.

   This American Egret, in its beautiful nuptial plumes stands over its nest and eggs to preen and adjust feathers before returning to incubation duties.  It was in a perfect location as the evening grew on.  The sun lighted the egret from behind rendering the delicate aigrette plumes in exquisite detail.  It was the delicate aigrette plumes that almost brought the American, and other egrets to near extinction a hundred years ago.  The fanciful plumes were in high demand at the turn of the twentieth century as a fashion accessory for women’s hats.  Fortunately the Audubon Society foresaw the consequences of the plume trade and dispatched wardens and legislation to halt the destruction of these elegant birds.

Nikon D3, Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8, Digital Capture @ ISO 200, 1/400sec. @ f5.6

For more information on Gatorland, log onto their website at:   http://www.gatorland.com

Pic of the Day

   Dancing Egret – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  Of all the birds feeding in Estero Lagoon it was the Snowy Egrets that put on the most flamboyant show.  Their only rival was a lone Reddish Egret as they dance wildly on the hunt.  As schools of fish moved through the lagoon the snowy’s were the first to pounce on the evasive prey.  As the fish zigzagged through the water, so did the snowy.  With out stretched wings for balance this snowy raced through the lagoon striking the water with precision as it plucked its breakfast from the shallows.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200, 1/1,250 @ f8

Pic of the Day

   Roseate Spoonbill – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  As the feeding frenzy at Estero Lagoon began to wane the spoonbills gathered along the shore of the lagoon to preen.  This adult, sporting fresh breeding plumage, took a few steps from the group and began sifting a feather or two through its bill.  Stepping away from the group a few fee  this spoonbill provided an opportunity for me to shoot a series of images of the bird by itself.  The image was captured as the spoonbill paused for a few seconds and looked into the camera, providing me with a classic spoonbill portrait.


Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm 2.8VR, Digital Capture ISO 200, 1/2,000 sec. @ f4.5

Pic of the Day

   Roseate Spoonbill – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  Among the half dozen Roseate Spoonbills feeding in Estero Lagoon, only one was an adult in breeding plumage.  The adult became my target for most of my roseate photos during the shoot.  At one point during the feeding frenzy it caught a fish and walked right up to me.  The spoonbill came so close I could not take a full frame photo of the bird,  I had to settle for a headshot.  Fortunately the spoonbill manipulated the fish in its bill as I shot, thus giving me the opportunity to shoot this detailed view of the prey and the spoonbills head. Shooting was hectic with so much activity going on around me.  So many birds feeding drew my attention from one activity to another without pause.  I did not realize that I had captured the sequence until I reviewed the image-files after downloading.  I love surprises like this.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm 2.8VR, Digital Capture, 1/1,250 sec. @ f4.5 

Pic of the Day

  Tri-colored Heron – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  While shooting the feeding frenzy at Estero Lagoon this Tri-colored Heron caught a sheepshead and walked straight toward me.  The heron stopped less than 10 feet from me and began to  manipulated the fish in many position before sending it down its gullet.  This is just one of many shots I took.  I shot six frames, which took about a second, then the event was over.  So, there was no time to switch cameras to get a full frame shot.   With that said I must confess that I do like the close-up image,  as it shows much more detail in the prey, and centers on the action itself.  I will eventually post more images of this sequence.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm 2.8VR, Digital Capture, 1/1,250 sec. @ f4.5

Pic of the Day

  Snowy Egret – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  After spending a week driving from Fort Desoto in Saint Petersburg south to Sanibel Island, east to Anhinga Trail in the Everglades then North (with stops along the way) to Merritt Island National Refuge, I finally had a couple of mornings of good shooting at Estero Lagoon on by second drive around the state.
   Estero Lagoon begins, or ends, depending on your perspective at the Holiday Inn in Fort Myers Beach.  I arrived at the lagoon just as the sun was rising and was excited to see about fifty or more waders feeding in the shallow waters of the lagoon.

   The morning was perfect.  The sea breeze was cool, and the birds were bathed with the warmth of sunrise light.  More than a dozen species of birds filled the lagoon and each searching and catching food from the shallows.  Spoonbills waded back and forth along the stretch of water in front of my camera while egrets, herons, ibises and shorebirds stalked the waters.  Herons, egrets and spoonbills were catching Sheepshead, each about four to six inches in length.  Ibis were busy gleaning blue crab and least sandpipers were pulling marine worms from the mud. 

  Great opportunities were present at Estero Lagoon and I took advantage of as many as possible.  While I took many shots that I am very pleased with, so many good shots got away.  I was shooting three cameras during the feeding frenzy.  I used a Nikon D300 with a 500mm f4 lens mounted on a tripod.  I also used a Nikon D7000 with a 300mm f2.8 VR lens hand held.  Many of the close up shots were taken with this particular set-up.  I also used a Nikon D3 with a Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 for shots of birds when the came too close for the other lenses.  And, the birds did come close.  I sometimes moved out of their way instead of them moving out of mine.  The birds seemed to pay me no attention.  I am not surprised since Fort Myers Beach is a popular tourist destination and is heavily used.

   I photographed this Snowy Egret using the D7000 camera and 300mm lens set-up.  I saw the snowy catch the fish and then start flying.  Using a fast shutter speed and panning with the bird I was able to get a focusing senor on the eye which allowed for a tack sharp image.  I shot two frames of the bird as it flew by.  This one was sharp, the first image was slightly out of focus.  The VR (vibration reduction) feature , fast shutter speed, and ability to hand hold the lens made this image possible.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, Digital Capture ISO 200,   1/800 sec. @ f8

Pic of the Day

  Green-backed Heron – Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands; Viera, Florida:  As I drove along the west side of a water impoundment at the Ritch Grissom wetlands in Viera, Florida I notice a photographer busy taking photos.  As I drove past I could see that she was taking photos of a Green-backed Heron.   The setting was very nice, but not wanting to disturb the photographer I drove on past about 300 feet and parked.  My plan was to back-up to the site when the photographer had finished and shoot the heron my self.  It was not long until I saw the photographer pack-up, get in her vehicle and leave.  But before I could get back to the spot, another photographer pulled-up and began to shoot.  Still I waited.  After five or ten minutes the second photographer left and I was able to back-up to the spot where the heron stood.  Much to my pleasant surprise the green-backed was still there, patiently waiting for a fish to swim by.

In slow motion I pulled all my gear together and slid down the road bank to the waters level and began to shoot.  The heron was motionless at it perched atop lily pads that were in various stages of flowering.  I shot a few photos as the bird lay in wait.  Like lighting it suddenly lunged forward and came up with a minnow.  Then it arose from its fishing spot, walked a few feet left, then right, and back left before settling in to a slightly different spot.  I photographed the heron from about fifteen minutes as it moved across the lily pads.  The heron was most patient with me, and my wait for the opportunity was well worth the time it took.  

Nikon D7000, Nikor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200, 1/1000 secon @ f 9

Pic of the Day

  Osprey – Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands; Viera, Florida:  My first visit to the Viera wetlands was in January of this year.  I found it to be a wonderful place to shoot.  My return this March found the wetlands green and lush, but fewer birds.  Most of the ducks had moved north, and most of the Limpkins and herons seen in January had dispersed to breeding grounds. 

Even though there were fewer birds than my January visit, the last evening at the wetlands on this trip was quite productive.  Green Heron, Glossy and White Ibis, a few herons and Limpkins were quite active.   While driving around the impoundments I saw numerous osprey fishing.  I saw this osprey flying into the marsh about 500 feet from where I was standing.  It began hovering above the water looking for prey.  I quickly jumped into my van and drove toward it.  It continued to hover, then fly to a new spot and hover again as it searched for fish.  Within a few seconds I was at a good shooting distance.  I then jumped out of the van and began shooting while handholding a 300mm vibration reduction lens.  Of three shots taken, this one was tack-sharp, and captured the Osprey as it looked down into the water for a fish.  I shoot the image while standing on the running board of the van and panning with the Osprey as it flew over.  The VR lens and a fast shutter speed gave me the advantage to capture this image.

Nikon D7000, Nikor 300mm 2.8 VR lens, Digital Capture, 1/1,600 sec. @ f8

Who's Looking

  I would like to welcome viewers from Iran and Finland.  Iran and Finland becomes the 80^th and 81^st countries from which viewers have logged-on to Bobby's Photo Blog.  Thanks for logging-on and please visit the blog often.  Bobby

Pic of the Day

   It has been a week since my last post.  I make my apologies to those of you who check the blog more frequently.  As I mentioned in my last post, I have been in Florida shooting for more than a week.  While birds have been scattered I have been able to come-up with some shots that I really like.  I had two exceptional mornings at Estero Lagoon where I photographed feeding Spoonbills, Tri-colored Herons, Ibises, Snowy and American Egrets.  I will post images from Estero once I’m home and have more time to write.

   Boat-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus major – Wakodahathee Wetlands; Delray Beach Florida:  Earlier this week I was at the Wakodahatchee Weltlands in Delray Beach.  Usually this location is inundated with birds, but not this trip.  There were a few nesting egrets, cormorants and anhingas, but they are not in what I consider a good shooting location.  One species that was abundant is the Boat-tailed Grackle.  Breeding season is on for the grackle and this bird was singing his heart out to attract a mate. 

   What I found most fascinating about the image was the background.  I have mentioned in previous post that it is the backgrounds that often make or break the image.  I found this complimentary background to be perfect.  I chose to do a head shot because the bird was perched on a distracting handrail.  The image was shot as the sun was only a half hour from setting.  The background was yellow-green foliage.  The setting sun intensified by the foliage and struck the grackle at an angle that illuminate the iridescent of its plumage.

    Though the number of birds on this trip have been sparse, I have been happy with some of the results.

Nikon D300, Nikor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200 

Pic of the Day

     Hello everyone.  It has been some time since I have made a post.  I am in Florida shooting, or should I say trying to shoot.  I have come south to photograph wadding birds in breeding plumage, but waders have been few and far between.  I have not seen any significant number of birds.  Even the colonies that I frequent this time of year have only a third of the birds I normally see.  I talked with a biologist, and was told that after doing aerial surveys if southwest Florida, no large colonies of heron or wood stork have been found this year.  No one seems to know what’s going on this breeding season. 

   Though the birds have been far and few between I have been able to get some shots.  This Reddish Egret was photographed at Fort Desoto Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.  There were only a handful of (visible) birds in the area when I made this shot.  Fortunately the egret was actively feeding which allowed me to get this in-flight shot.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200,  1/640 sec. @ f9