Tag: #wadingbird

Bringing Color to the Shadows

The start of every wildlife photography outing is overshadowed by doubt. Will I see anything today? Will the wildlife come to me? There is a great deal of luck involved in success: while we plan for weather, the angle of the sun and the tides, we don’t control the wildlife. We just pray for it.

The other half of the success equation is preparedness. How often do we go out there? I tell myself that I won’t see anything staying home or sleeping in! How good is your equipment? How well do you use it?

On my last trip to Sanibel Island, Mother Nature gave me a gift. The sought after Roseate Spoonbills were feeding at low tide in the shadows of the mangroves. I was there with my Sony mirrorless camera, a 600mm lens and a tripod. All the pieces came together.

The pink plumage of the roseate spoonbill brings a splash of color to the shadows of the mangrove in Sanibel Island, Florida. Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.

I delight in the pink hues of the Roseate Spoonbill’s plumage. In this photo the splash of pink contrasts the dark shadows of the surrounding mangrove and water.

Narcissus: Beauty on the Surface

This Great Egret is no Narcissist. He’s just foraging for fish on a Tuesday morning. But his clear reflection in the lake reminded me of the Greek Myth about Narcissus, the character who fell in love with his reflection. This moment frozen in time in a still image gives the impression that the egret may have stared at his reflection for a few minutes. Of course, this moment passed in an instant.

This morning the colors reflected in the water and the ripples surrounding our Great Egret gave this image a unique ethereal quality. The smooth white egret and its reflection contrast with the color and texture of the water, bringing our eye to rest on the bird and its mirror image.

#egret, #greategret, #mirror, #reflection, #colors, #ripples, #symmetry, #narcissus, #greekmythology, #naplesflorida, #naples, #naturephotography, #morninglight, #texture
Great Egret looks beneath the water for fish, while I quietly capture the reflections and ripples on the surface. Naples, FL 2020.

Cleared for Take-Off

Watching and waiting for this Great White Egret to take off, I was rewarded by this sighting of outstretched white wings. With my Nikon camera shutter set at 1/1000 second, I was prepared to capture this image to share with you.

#egret, #whiteegret, #greatwhite, #greatamericanegret, #wings, #takeoff, #flight, #birdphotography, #naturephotography, #wildlife, #howto, #nikon, #tamron, #outdoorphotography, #morningsun, #sunlit, #llittoralplants, #golfcourse, #contest, #photography,
Early morning sun shines through the white egrets wing feathers, as the egret lifts off from the littoral plants.

Since I also set my Nikon D800 on “continuous-high,” I have two more great frames to share. You can help me decide which one is best. I will submit one or two of these photos to the Royal Poinciana Members’ Photography Contest. The submitted photos have to be shot on the property.

He Will Not Be Stepping Back

This Great Blue Heron looks like royalty and he knows it. He lives a great life on Sanibel Island, Florida and he doesn’t mind a few photographers pointing long lenses at him first thing in the morning. In fact, he rather enjoyed it until the photographers got bloody sick of it and packed themselves and their gear in the car to go home. He just stood on the rock, posed and stared us down.

While Prince Harry and his wife Megan will be “stepping back as senior members of the royal family,” this character likes the spotlight and doesn’t mind the paparazzi. This Great Blue Heron is indeed royal.

I loved the close up view of the Great Blue Heron’s intricate feathers, brilliantly lit by the direct sun. We photographers we so lucky that he lingered with us.

Great Blue Heron in Flight

Ten days ago, I was biking in the Everglades National Park, working hard to get some photographs of the Great Egrets and Great Blue Heron in flight. I write to you today from my desk in Pennsylvania, because my efforts paid off and I have more images to share!

Great Blue Heron is up and away, spreading those enormous blue wings and stretching out its long body. Shark Valley, Everglades National Park.

For you photographers out there, I had to use ISO 2500 in order to freeze motion with a shutter speed of 1/1000 and keep the aperture wide enough to achieve enough depth of field that the heron would not fly out of my focus zone too quickly. My camera is the Nikon D800, with the Nikon 70-200 mm lens, handheld. When birds take flight, it is a challenge to keep them sharp in the final image.

The success of this image reminds me of why I prefer still photography to video: with a print, one can freeze this moment to enjoy forever. All of these camera settings worked to create an image you can enjoy as a 10″ x 10″ print, available on my website.

More Dance Moves (Reddish Egret)

Bird photography gets really fun when you are trying to capture unique behavior. This Reddish Egret I observed on Sanibel Island, Florida had some cool moves. I was amused by the head tilt that began his feeding dance. In this image, it looks like he is given the duck some attitude.

#reddishegret, #egret, #heron, #feeding, #fishing, #dance, #headtilt, #nikon, #tamron, #sanibel, #dingdarling
The Reddish Egret begins his feeding dance with an amusing head tilt. You can see the transmitter attached to his back.

#reddishegret, #egret, #heron, #dance, #feeding, #fishing, #sanibel, #dingdarling, #wing, #tamron, #nikon, #birdphotography, #bird
Using one outstretched wing to shade his prey, the Reddish Egret takes a better look at his dinner.

 

Reddish Egret Dance

I drove three hours roundtrip last evening to Sanibel Island, hoping to observe and photograph some birds during low tide at the Ding Darling Nature Preserve. It seems you never find what you expect to find — the white pelicans or the roseate spoonbills — but lucky for me, I met a  big bird that was new to me: the Reddish Egret.

The medium-sized heron is not too common, categorized as “Nearly Threatened,” and this bird wore a transmitter on his back. Some naturalist is keeping track of his movements. I enjoyed watching the unique way the Reddish Egret fishes by wading in shallow water and using his wings to shade the prey right before spearing it. With my 600mm Tamron lens, I had a close look and spent about a half hour tracking it as it moved about in the shallows. Of course, I had to use a tripod to steady the heavy lens.

#reddishegret, #heron, #dance, #feeding, #sanibel, #dingdarling, #behavior, #florida, #wadingbird, #bird #tamron, #nikon
The Reddish Egret shades its prey using its wings like an umbrella. Look at the evening light on its translucent pink bill.

#reddishegret, #bird, #wadingbird, #heron, #sanibel, #dingdarling, #fishing, #behavior, #dance, #tamron, #nikon, #florida
The “gotcha” moment for the Reddish Egret as it spears a fish. See its unique red and blue coloring.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

This tall and tranquil bird stood still for quite some time at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary as I set up my tripod to make this photograph. He/she is a classy bird, seeming confident, or should I say, comfortable in his feathers.

#nightheron, #yellowcrownednightheron, #heron, #bird, #florida, #naples, #Corkscrew, #birdphotography
Stepping out to look for a bite to eat, this Yellow Crowned Night Heron looks striking in his vivid feathers.

Aggressive behavior on the golf course

I was lucky to have my camera focused on this Tricolor Heron when the Great White Egret landed alongside and began to intimidate him. The egret scared the daylights out of the heron, and the heron’s crown feathers stood up on end! I captured a series of photos of the interaction, but the heron appeared a tiny bit blurred in some of the photos, because he was running from fear. I’m not sure if the egret wanted the heron’s fishing spot, but I have seen these egrets get aggressive with each other. Drama in the life of a wading bird! And so early in the morning!  It was fun to witness and capture these  images.

#egret, #heron, #aggression, #birds, #drama, #feathers, #getout, #birdphotography, #nature, #wildlife
“Yikes! I’m out of here!,” the Tricolor Heron seems to cry, as his crown feathers stood up straight.

 

Standing tall

The Great Blue Heron is my favorite bird to watch in Florida. I love the dusty blue color, the impressive size (4 feet tall perhaps), and its graceful movement. The heron typically stands still like a statue in shallow water, then  slowly takes long, deliberate steps and snatches underwater prey super quickly. He will often fly if a person approaches him, so getting a good photograph can be a challenge.

I sat quietly in the grass while observing this Great Blue Heron recently. He stalked through the water  and grabbed a fish. Then he kept taking giant steps until he paused on the shore. As he stood tall to look around with those brilliant eyes, I made this photograph.

#heron, #blueheron, #greatblueheron, #eye, #breedingplumage, #standing, #wildlife, #birds, #florida
Framed between to palms, this Great Blue Heron displays his breeding plumage.