Pic of the Day

Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinicus:

Shark Valley Slough; Everglades National Park, Florida

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/400 second @ f/8

Pic of the Day

Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps:

Shark Valley Slough; Everglades National Park, Florida

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/500 second @ f/9

Pic of the Day

Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinicus:

Shark Valley Slough; Everglades National Park, Floirda

     One of my favorite places to photograph Purple Gallinules is along the Shark Valley Slough on the Northern edge of the Everglades National Park.  At Shark Valley, the gallinules walk on lily pads searching for flower buds, which seems to be its favorite food, making them easy to reach with short lenses.  This bird paused for a moment in its search, allowing me to capture its perfect pose and beautiful purple and aqua plumage.

Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinicus:

Shark Valley Slough; Everglades National Park, Floirda

Both:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/400 second @ f/8

Pic of the Day

Green Heron, Butorides virescens:  Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/1250 second @ f8

Pic of the Day

Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus

Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park

          The eye posted yesterday belongs to this fellow, Double-crested Cormorant.  Cormorants often perch on the wooden railing that separates Anhinga trail from the slough.  The aqua colored eye is a marvel in itself.  With out the reference of feathers and Lores the eye itself looks like it could be a deep space nebula photographed by the Hubble Telescope. These birds are so tame that they allowed me to shoot the eye with a 105mm macro lens with 30mm of extension tubes.  My shooting distance was about two inches from the bird.  Where else, but Anhinga Trail can you get so close to birds with out traumatizing them.

Pic of the Day

Who's Eye?

Hint:  This bird was photographed in South Florida.

     Leave your guess in the comment section below and come back to the blog tomorrow night and see if your answer is correct.

Pic of the Day

Green Heron, Butorides virescens:  Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park

     Last week I arrived at Anhinga Trail at sunrise looking for any birds I could find to photograph.  I expected to find the trail overrun with birds, but that was not the case.  In fact there were few birds, but the few I found were very cooperative.  I spotted this Green Heron shortly after the sun breached the horizon perched atop a rock looking for fish in the slough. 

     The setting was great, the lighting was great, but the heron was turned with its tail toward the good light, not what I wanted to photograph.  I set up hoping the bird would turn, and within seconds it turned profile to the camera and then raised the hallux (1^st digit) on its left foot.  That slight gesture heighted the potential energy and interest of the pose.  I shot a burst of images, but only one captured the raised hallux, but one was all that was needed.  I just love it when everything comes together.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4,  1/1250 sec. @ f8, ISO 640

Pic of the Day

Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors; Mrazek Pond, Everglades National Park

     I headed toward Florida the morning after the big ice and snowstorm hit the south on the evening of January 28 and early morning the 29th.  I thought that I could find a way around Atlanta with no problem.  I was wrong!  All the interstate highways were clogged with abandoned and wrecked vehicles, and every secondary road had a jack-knifed trailer that made the road impossible to pass. The way back west and north became congested and it was impossible to head backhome or go forward to my destination. I was about to give up, after six hours of trying to get through Atlanta when I-285 and I-75 began to show movement (indicated on my ipad).  I made a b-line for I-285, and once I got there I found very little traffic.  Six hours earlier I-285 had been at a stand still.  Once on I-285, I found the ice was mostly melted and travel was easy, though I did have to drive around many vehicles that had been abandoned in the middle of the interstate.  After I got on I-75 the road was clear and I had no trouble heading south.  I arrived in Central Florida late on the 29th, and was to begin shooting on the 30th.  However, rain and cold weather made finding birds and shooting difficult.  This morning I headed further south to Everglades National Park where the sun was warm and bright.  I found this this beautiful Blue-winged Teal on Mrazek Pond bathed in evening light and just waiting to be photographed.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/500sec. @ f7.1

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/500sec. @ f7.1

Pic of the Day

Anhinga, Anhinga anhinga; Anhinga Trail; Everglades National Park, Florida

     I have traveled to the Everglades dozens and dozens of times over the last 46 years, and I have never tired of Florida’s magnificent “River of Grass.”  Pollution, agriculture runoff, water rationing, and habitat loss has certainly taken its toll on the glades and its wildlife.  Today, there is less than 10 percent of the number of birds in Everglades, than there was 125 years ago. 

     The Anhinga, or Water Turkey is a common bird in the glades.  It has a dagger-like bill that it uses to spear fish while swimming underwater.  While submerged the Anhinga spears a fish, then rises to the surface to flip the fish into the air and catch it head first.  

     This Anhinga was photographed along its namesake, “Anhinga Trail,” that runs a quarter mile along Taylor Slough.  It had settled on a perch to preen feathers after its morning of fishing.  Anhingas are very easy to approach along the trail and allow people to get up close, and personal.  This bird paid little attention to me and my camera while I snapped dozens of images.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/200 second @ f8,