Pic of the Day

Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sitta pusilla:  Guntersville Dam 

Recreational Area near New Hope, Alabama; USA

     In June of 2015 I made a day trip to Guntersville Dam Recreational area near New Hope, Alabama.  The recreational area is home to Brown-headed Nuthatches, a species that I had been trying to photograph for many years.  

     No sooner had I arrived and started my search, I heard the high-pitched piping notes of the nuthatches above me in the canopy of loblolly pines.  The birds, a small family group of half a dozens birds were searching for insects and spiders in the tree tops. 

     I knew that photographing these birds would be difficult as they spend much of their time in the canopy some sixty to seventy feet above the ground.  So, I put a couple of suet feeders on some trees that I wanted the bird to visit.  I chose trees that I could park close to, which allowed me to use my van as a blind.  I also chose trees that had an unobstructed view of distant foliage as a background.

     It took almost three weeks for the nuthatches to find the feeders, but when they did, they began to go to them on a regular basis.  Getting the birds where I wanted them was a bit time consuming, but it allowed me the opportunity to get this and many other shots.  I love it when I can simply go out and shoot, and come back with good images.  But sometimes you have to really work to get a shot, but usually its worth the trouble.

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

Pic of the Day

Snowy Egret, Egretta Thula:  Saint Augustine Alligator Farm, 

Saint Augustine, Florida: USA

    I have posted this image before. Back in August 2015, I posted it on my blog, and must confess that it is one of my favorites photographs.  It was shot in April the same year at the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida.

The Alligator Farm is a great place to photograph nesting herons, egrets, storks and spoonbills.  On the north end of the facility is a lake, supplied by a natural water source.  Once Gators reach a certain size they are moved into the lake.  Trees surround the lake, and the wading birds move in each spring to nest above the gators. 

     Gators and nesting birds are about as natural as you can get, even though this situation is in one of Florida’s most popular tourist destinations.  In the wild, wading birds naturally nest over alligators as they provide protection against predators such as raccoons, opossums, and bobcats.  This is not to say that the birds are completely safe.  I have often seen nestlings fall out of a nest to be quickly gobbled up by a hungry gator. 

     Natural predators are not the real threat to this beautiful species.  The real threat comes from man.  This photo shows a male Snowy Egret with it aigrette feathers raised in nuptial display.   Aigrettes are graceful ornamental plume feather tufts of egrets and some herons in their breeding dress.  

    The demand for these delicate aigrette plumes in the millinery trade was the reason that these beautiful birds were driven to near extinction at the turn of the twentieth century. 

     The mass killing of egrets for the millinery trade was also the catalyst that initiated the formation of the Audubon Society.  Its members were instrumental in passing the Lacey Act (1900), which ended the use of birds and feathers in the millinery trade.

     Fortunately the conservation measures worked, and these exquisite birds made a tremendous rebounded.  However, now, more than one hundred years later these bird and others are being threatened by rapid habitat loss.  Habitat loss across the world is one of this century’s greatest threats and all will be lost unless we do something.  The real question is; what do we do?  Whatever the answer, it must be achieved on a global scale.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, 1/1250 @ f7.1

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

1/2 + Million Hits

I must say that I am very excited!  It has taken six years, but I have reached more than 1/2 million hits on my blog and have had viewers from 130 different countries.  I know that 1/2 million is not a lot compared to trendy sites, but for an old man like me, I think it's pretty good!

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