Observing a Great Blue Heron pair in Venice, Florida, I witnessed some special body language. It was an hour before sunset in March when this scene unfolded.
In the next blog post, I will share some rare photographs of the pair mating. I was super excited to be ready to capture this moment with my camera mounted on the tripod with all the right exposure and focus settings, ready to click.
While the female Osprey perched next to the massive nest, high in the pine, the male Osprey flew in over my head with more sticks to make that nest just right. For several minutes, he installed the new sticks and “smoothed the sheets,” as the female Osprey cried out every few seconds.
I kept my 600mm lens focused on the osprey pair as the male lifted off from the nest. Our birding guide Brian Beckner asked, “Cathy, are your ready? Do you know what comes next?”
Landing next to her on the branch, Female Osprey is all eyes.
Inching along the grass in the Florida wetlands, I tried to get as close as I dared to the wading birds having dinner last night. I kept checking around me for alligators, but luckily, they were hunting somewhere out of sight. I was able to get a close look at two Yellow Crested Night Heron. It’s not terribly common in my neck of the woods, and I wasn’t sure what kind of heron it was at first. But I quickly became a fan of its zebra striped face, yellow crown, red eyes, distinctive accent feather, light and darker grey feathers and its long coral colored legs. This fellow kept a careful eye on me and in no time took flight to the safety of a nearby mangrove tree. But not before I got off a few nice shots.
I was curious to see this Royal Tern standing on top of his partner while walking the beach in Florida. In all my travels and observations, I’d never seen that cute little stunt before. A little research revealed that behavior is part of the mating process, and it is the male bird balancing on top, proving himself to her. When I shot this photo, I stayed a good distance from the flock, and later cropped the image dramatically to isolate the busy couple. It is important not to disturb birds when you observe them in their natural habitat.
Spring is also a great time to admire the breeding plumage on some of the larger wading birds, like this Great Blue Heron in the Everglades National Park. I love the long and delicate feathers hanging in front.
Blog: Cathy Kelly Photography 