Snowy Plover, Charadrius nivosus:  Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida

     A couple of weeks ago I was in Florida.  Yes, I was in Florida the first week of July, and yes it was hot, hot, hot, but not as hot as Alabama. I went because I heard that there were a few Black Skimmers with young chicks at Indian Beach.  So, I was off to try and photograph them. 

     I found lots of skimmers with fledgling three or four weeks old, but I also found four pairs with chicks less than a week old.  I also discovered that Estero Lagoon on Fort Myers beach still had a colony of skimmers as well.  After a couple of mornings at the Indian Beach colony I went on down to Estero Lagoon.  There at Estero, I found a large colony of skimmers.  All the skimmer chicks I found were fledging, or about to fledge and I had plenty of opportunities to shoot. 

     The biggest surprise however was not the simmers, but three Snowy Plovers, still on eggs.  These plovers must have been birds whose earlier nest had failed, but there is no way to really know that.  They may have simply been late nesters.  Whatever the reason I was very shocked to see them on eggs.  There was also another pair of plovers that had chicks that looked about a day or two old.

     I shot this Snowy Plover from ground level laying on the sand with a bed sheet over my body as camouflage.  The bird was quite at ease as I shot the first few images and even closed its eyes and seemed to be sleeping at times.  I must admit, that when it closed its eyes mine became very heavy as well, and I had to force myself to look for any behavior to photograph. 

    As I lay on the sand with the morning sun beating down on me I thought, “will this plover ever move.”  Finally, and much to my relief, a least tern chick resting about seven feet away began running right toward the Snowy Plover.  When the tern chick was a foot away form the plover’s nest, the plover, like lighting bolted toward the chick hitting it with such force as to cause it to tumble head over heels for about three revolutions.  I grabbed this shot as the plover returned to its nest and settled over its egg.  Without that Least Tern chick, the only photos I would have of Snowy Plover would be birds sleeping on the sand. 

    By the way, the little tern chick was just fine.  Once on its feet it made a Bee-Line to mama.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/2500 second @ f9

Pic of the Day

Least Tern, Sternula antillarum and chick:  Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida

     You can offer a chick a fish, but you can't make him eat it.  This Least Tern offers its chick a fish, but the chick refused the offerings.  This was just one of many fish that the parents of the nestling brought, but, by the time this morsel was offered the chick was just too full.  

     The male flew in and handed the fish off to the female who then attempted to feed the little one. The baby would have nothing to do with it.  With actions that looked like frustration, the female handed the fish back to the male, but he had no luck getting the youngster to take it.  After what seemed to be some parental scolding the male finally ate the fish himself.  Afterwards, all seemed content.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/640 second @ f/13

Pic of the Day

Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja:  Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Pic of the Day

Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla - Winter Plumage

     Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  While photographing the spoonbill in the previous post this least sandpiper strolled past me probing the mud for invertebrates.

     Least sandpipers nest in extreme northern Canada, from the Island of Newfoundland, westward to the Yukon Territory, into Alaska.  After spending the breeding season on the tundra this little bird, six inches long from tip of bill to tip of tail, flies south to winter along the continental coast from Vancouver, Canada  southward and eastward to Virginia.  On its wintering grounds it is usually found on mudflats with a variety of other peeps and long legged shorebirds, and is easily identified by its slightly down curved bill, dark back and yellow legs.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,600 @ f6.3

Happy New Year to All

    Roseate Spoonbill (audlt in its most splendid breeding plumage) – Estero Lagoon: Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  As the year draws to a close and the North Alabama winter days wax colder, My thoughts turn to the warmth of Southern Florida and its birds.  January is the month that begins the best time to shoot in Florida, with February to mid March being my favorite (I’m already planning my trips).
     This will most likely be my last post for 2011.  I will post again on the 1^st of January, or so.  I leave this year with a portrait of one of Florida’s most colorful birds, and a memory for myself of one of the best times I’ve ever had photographing our beautiful wild birds.

     With less than 24 hours until 2012, I wish all of you a Happy New Year.  I look forward  to the next year of images and posts.  Bobby

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/640 @ f 9

Pic of the Day

     Roseate Spoonbill – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers, Florida:  This image is from my shoot at Estero Lagoon, I mentioned in my last post.  As sunlight broke the horizon and hit the tide pool the spoonbills stopped their predawn feeding and began preening.  Consumed in their preening duties the spoonbills ignored my presence and I took full advantage of the warm light that bathed the birds.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/200 sec @ f13

Pic of the Day

     Common Egret -- Estero Lagoon, Fort Myers Beach Sandbar:  I posted a number of images from this shoot back in March.  While looking for some images to post, I came across this Common Egret. 

     The morning I shot this was incredible.  The image was taken at a huge tide pool that had been cutoff from the Gulf waters because of the low tide.  The tide pool was filled with fish and I photographed bird feeding for two mornings.  This is just one of the many birds I shot.  Many species were feeding before the sun rose, but after the sun breeched the horizon many birds began to fly to the tide pool.    

     I particularly liked how the wing provides a background and frames the bird’s head.  Also, as this image demonstrates, the birds paid little attention to me, giving me great photo opportunities. 


Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,600 @ f8

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