Pic of the Day

Reddish Egret, Egretta rufecens; Bolivar Flats, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas

Another of the many shots I took of a Reddish Egret while shooting on the Bolivar Peninsula in October.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4; 1/1600 second @ f8

Pic of the DAy

Reddish Egret, Egretta rufescens:  Fort Desoto State Park; Saint Petersburg, Florida 

     It looks as if this Reddish Egret is exploring a new method of fishing.  I call it the "pounce" method.  It didn’t work too well.  I never saw it catch a fish this way!

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/640 second @ f9

Pic of the Day

     Reddish Egret – Merritt Island NWR, Florida:  In one of the Black Point Drive impoundments at Merritt Island NWR I found this reddish egret searching for prey.  Like reddish egrets do, this bird was running through the water with its head tilted almost parallel to the water.  I followed the bird with my lens, panning back and forth as it chased for its prey through the water.  As I was panning with the bird, it jumped into the air and flew twenty feet or so before landing in the water again.  Fortunately, the focus was locked on the egret, and tracked the bird as it moved.  The tracking feature allowed me to capture this humorous series of photos.

All images:  Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,600 @ f6.3

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