Pic of the Day

Green-backed Heron, Butorides virescens

      Over New Years I was at Merritt Island NWR.  I arrived on the refuge before sunrise and drove along Black Point Wildlife Drive looking for birds to photograph.  I found this Green-backed Heron perched on a shrub.  With the sun still below the horizon I increased the ISO on my camera to 3200.  This allowed me to increase my shutter speed to 1/250 of a second.  As I photographed the heron it turned its head, raised its crest, and stretched its neck into a perfect pose.  A wonderful start to the day.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/250 second @ f/8, ISO 3200

Pic of the Day

 Alignment of Moon, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury
January 1st, 2019

                                         Alignment of Moon, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury

                                                      identified with Mercury magnified

                                                 (both images best viewed when enlarged)

     Mercury is always hard to spot.  Especially where I live, here in North Alabama.  But on January 1^st, 2019, I was on the causeway between Titusville, Florida and Merritt Island NWR awaiting the rising sun.  The sky was dark, the waning moon shown bright, but so did two bright planets.  I assumed the planets to be Venus, and Jupiter and when I checked the positions of the two planets I discovered I was correct.  But, I also saw from the chart that Mercury was in the morning sky, below Jupiter and very low to the horizon (as always).   Sure enough, I found it just above the horizon in the glow of dawn. I used binoculars to find Mercury, but once found I could easily see it with the naked eye.

     I was so excited!  The last time I remember seeing Mercury was at least 50, maybe 52 years ago.  An exception of course was the Mercury transit on November 10, 1973.  Mercury was easy to see as it crossed the face of the Sun. (with filters of course).  

     I quickly set up my tripod to take a photo of the event.  I did a number of exposures and settled on this one to post.  The first image shows the moon and all three planets, but mercury is hard to see in the wide-angle shot as it is much dimmer than Venus and Jupiter.  If you can view the image full screen you can see Mercury half way between the left side of the image and the middle of the image in line with the clouds on the horizon. In the second image I have enlarged Mercury, and named each of the planets and moon.  Mercury is inside the white circle.

What a great way to start the New Year.  I hope its not another 50 years before I see Mercury again!  By the way, Florida has a great horizon line for seeing Mercury. Lucky Floridians.

     If you’re interest, Mercury will transit the Sun on November 11, 2019.  The entire transit will be visible from the eastern half of the United States and most of it visible from the entire continent. The transit will last over 5 hours, very long for a transit.

     If I am lucky enough to see this transit it will be my last.  Though there are two more transits, one on November 13, 2032 and another on November 7, 2039 neither will be visible from the North America.  The next transit visible from North American that will be, May 7, 2049. 

Camera: Nikon D800, Lens: Nikkor 16-80mm, f/2.8-4   set at 16mm
Exposure:  2 seconds @ f/5.6,  on tripod 

Pic of the Day

American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus: 

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near Titusville, Florida

     I have seen many American Bitterns over my birding career, but seldom have I seen them out in the open like this bird I found along the Black Point Wildlife Drive in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.   Most bitterns I see are hidden or partially hidden within the reed beds.

       This image was taken just after sunrise, just as sunlight began to ripple over a water impoundment berm of the refuge drive.  As the slight glow of light on the bittern began to intensify it quickly turned and walked back into the mangroves to escape the brunt of the morning light.

       A beautiful bird, the American Bittern is created to blend into its natural environment.  It striations of white, cream, cinnamon, and browns make this species the king of camouflage.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4,  Exposure 1/80^th second @ f/5.6

Pic of the Day

Spoonbill in Pastels

Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja:  Black Point Wildlife Drive, 

Merritt Island NWR near Titusville, Florida

     This photo was taken on a very cool morning right before sunrise.  The clouds in the western sky were glowing pink from the light of the rising sun.  Their reflection in the water provided a perfect match for the tones of the spoonbills feathers.  The pastel colors certainly give the image a light and soft feel.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/200 second @ f/7.1

Pic of the Day

Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja:  Black Point Wildlife Drive; Merritt Island NWR, Florida

    Spoonbills were just splendid on my last couple of trips to Merritt Island NWR near Titusville, Florida.  I always love photographing these birds.  They often put on a great show either feeding or preening.  This spoonbill was walking through one of the impoundments and happened to start squawking at nearby ibis (out of frame), giving life to the image.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/640 second @ f/10

Pic of the Day

White Ibis, Eudocimus albus:

Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR

     I recently made another, quick trip to Merritt Island NWR.  Though the birds were not as plentiful as the trip I made right before Thanksgiving, they were still pretty good.  I shot this White Ibis right after it had finished its early morning feeding soiree.  It had been preening, but I took this shot as it moved into a clean background.

Great Blue Heron, Ardea hernias:

Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR

     This Great Blue was shot shortly after photographing the White Ibis above.  It was still fishing when I came across it at the backside of the refuge.  I do like the posturing in this image.  It gives the bird intent of action, and the concentric circles in the water certainly draws attention to that action.

Top:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/2000 second @ f/9

Bottom:  Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/1600 second @ f/10

Pic of the Day

White Ibis, Eudocimus albus:

Black Point Wildlife Drive; Merritt Island NWR near Titusville, Florida

Nikon D800, Nikor 500mm f/4, 1/1250 @ f/9

Pic of the Day

Snowy Egret, Egretta thula:

Black Point Wildlife Drive; Merritt Island NWR near Titusville, Florida

     One of the things I had a great time doing on my recent trip to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was photographing backlit egrets.  This Snowy Egret was shot late in the day while driving around Black Point Wildlife Drive.  The sun low on the horizon produced a beautiful rim light while the clean background isolated the bird. 

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/800 second @ f/9

Pic of the Day

Woodstork, Mycteria americana: (aka) Flinthead

Black Point Wildlife Drive; Merritt Island NWR near Titusville, Florida

Pic of the Day

Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja:

Black Point Wildlife Drive; Merritt Island NWR near Titusville, Florida

     Roseate Spoonbill capture as it was landing along side the Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island NWR.  A number of birds were feeding at this locations which attracted a few more spoonbills.  I saw this fellow flying in from the west and panned my camera and shot a burst of frames.  This is just one of the many that I liked.  I do love Merritt Island.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/2500 second @ f/9