Pic of the Day

Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentals (male):  Causeway to Sanibel Island, Florida

      On a recent jaunt to Florida I stopped along the second island of the Sanibel Island causeway to photograph brown pelicans diving into the water.  There were more than a dozen pelicans fishing in perfect light.  This fellow, with is 6 1/2 feet wingspan has just made the turn in its stoop to dive.  I happened to capture the pelican with wings extended and head in perfect profile.  What a beautiful, symmetrical pose. 

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4, 1/2500 second @ f/7.1 on tripod

Pic of the Day

Sunset with jet contrail casting shadow on clouds:

Blind Pass; Sanibel Island, Florida

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/6400 second @ f9 

Pic of the Day

Sanderling, Calidris alpina:  Sanibel Island Causeway, Florida

        Sanderlings are among my favorite shorebirds.  I love to see them scurry along the beach as the surf rolls in and out.  Sanderlings chase the receding surf to glean crustaceans and mollusks from the exposed sand.  

     Sanderlings are cicumpolar Arctic breeders, and winter on most ot the Sandy beaches of the world.  In the United Staes they can be found wintering along the shorelines of the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts.  I found this sanderling on one of the spoil islands that connects Sanibel Island to the Florida mainland.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/4000 second @ f4

Osprey, Pandion haliaetus; Sanibel Island Causeway, Florida

     The causeway that connects Sanibel Island to the mainland is one of my favorite places to shoot.  It was there that I found this Osprey perched atop a wooden sign eating its catch of the day.   I used my van as a blind and mounted the camera and lens on a window mount to get the shot. 

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1600 sec. @ f9, from van using a window mount for camera and lens.

Pic of the Day

     Tri-collored Heron, Egretta tricolor: Fort Myers Beach, Florida

    For every photo I publish on this blog I have dozens, and sometimes hundreds of photos from the same shoot.  These two shots of a tri-colored heron are from a shoot at Fort Myers Beach, Florida in March of 2011.

     I shot more than half a dozen images of this heron with a fish before the fish went down the heron’s gullet.  I posted an image from that shoot on March 19, 2011.  Recently I came across those images so I thought I would show you a couple more from the shoot.

You can see my earlier post about Tri-colored herons here:  http://bobbyharrison.blogspot.com/search/label/Tri-colored%20Heron

(Both Images): Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, 1/1250second @ f 4.5, Handheld

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

     Thunderstorm over Fort Myers Beach from Sanibel Island Causeway -- Florida:   Summertime in Florida is a great time and place to photograph thunderstorms. I shot this image from one of the spoil islands on the causeway to Sanibel Island.  The view from the spoil island is looking northeast over San Carlos Bay.  The image was originally shot in color and converted to black & white in photoshop.

Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-85 zoom-set to 24mm, 1/500sec. @ f10, Handheld

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

   Osprey – Sanibel Island, Florida: By the late 50’s and early 60’s the Osprey or Fish Eagle was a threatened species in grave danger of extinction. DDT, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane is a pesticide synthesized in 1874 that was used extensively during the mid 20th century. The use of the potent pesticide had a detrimental effect on birds of prey and other animal life. The pesticide worked its way through the food chain to the top avian predators such as eagles, falcons and ospreys. The pesticides ingestion resulted in the thinning of the birds eggs causing the eggs to crush under the weight of the incubating adult.
     It was Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring that cataloged the environmental impact of DDT in the United States and its threat to humans and wildlife. The book created a gigantic outcry that let to a ban of DDT in 1972. As a result birds of prey began to recover. Now, the Osprey along with many other birds of prey that were affected have made a remarkable recovery.
     This Osprey was photographed on Sanibel Island at a natural nest in an old snag as it was adding nest material. Osprey use the same nest year after year adding new material to the nest each year. Nest can become extremely large, resulting with the weight of nest eventually toppling the tree, which did happen to this nest a few years after this image was taken.
Nikon F4, Nikkor 500mm f4 with 1.4 teleconverter, Kodakchrome 64

Pic of the Day

For those of you who look at the blog often --- my apologies for not posting since September 4. I have been a bit under the weather with a cold with flu like symptoms, and just no energy to think of anything, much less blogging. I have been home in bed since Tuesday and am just now beginning to feel better. Hope you enjoy the following post.
Bobby

White Pelican – J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge; Sanibel Island, Florida: White Pelicans are winter migrants to southern Florida. When the birds arrive in the fall the pelicans have molted into their winter plumage, but come late winter and early spring, when this photo was taken, the pelicans begin to attain their breeding plumage. Note the horns that are beginning to grow on the pelican’s beak.
This image was shot at high tide when the birds had gathered on a submerged sandbar to preen and rest after a morning of fishing. Unlike Brown Pelicans that fly high and dive into the water to catch their prey, White Pelicans gather in groups to form long lines, then swim toward shore to corral fish in the shallows so they can be easily scooped up in their pouched bills.
Nikon F5, Nikkor 500mm f4, Ektachorme 100

Pic of the Day

  

     Roseate Spoonbill – Ding Darling NWR; Sanibel Island, Florida: The Roseate Spoonbill is a wading bird found along the cost from South Carolina to Texas. J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife refuge on Sanibel Island is one of the best places to see these graceful waders. This adult spoonbill was photographed in July as it paused during a feeding foray in one of Ding Darlings many brackish water impoundments.

    Spoonbills stand near three feet tall and have a wingspan of almost five feet. With their beautiful pink plumage non-bird watchers often mistake them for flamingos. Flamingos are sometimes seen in Florida Bay between the Florida mainland and the keys, but are very rarely seen as far north as Sanibel Island.

The spoonbill is a tactile feeder. Dipping its spatula shaped bill into the water, the spoonbill swishes its open beak left and right, then snaps shut when it comes in contact with its prey of small fish, amphibians and aquatic invertebrates. The spoonbill gets its beautiful pink plumage from crustaceans that form a major portion of its diet.

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