For any considering an excursion down here for some birding and wildlife shooting, I haven't posted any recent wildlife stuff in a while, as it's not a general topic too many are interested in. But thought those that are might like a glimpse of some of the stuff we've been seeing down here the past few weeks...so here's an appetizer of stuff taken since Christmas - a bit of wetlands tapas: Roseate spoonbill: Red-shouldered hawk: Great blue heron in flight, low over the water: Wood stork flying past: Alligator opening its mouth to exhaust excess heat: Brown water snake all coiled up on a palm frond fan: Pied-billed grebe: Female anhinga with a nice sized fish: Green iguana wearing his orange mating colors, saying hello: Osprey, fresh out of the water with a fish catch, shaking itself off while flying: Common yellowthroat down by the water: The hard to find and hard to catch in the open, sora: A Florida cooter, taking a load off his feet to rest high and dry: The lovely male least bittern, another bird that birders from abroad really hope to see down here: Tricolor heron, making the plunge for a fish:
This is really a great time of year down here - not only the wintering and migrating birds, but the cooler weather, and now the nesting is really starting in earnest. This past Saturday, 1/9/21, I had a couple of hours at the end of the day to pop into my local wetlands spots. Starting around 3:20pm and wrapping up at 5:15pm, just under two hours just taking a 2 1/2 mile slow walk and shooting what I came across...this will give an idea of the density and diversity: Really close up of a double-crested cormorant standing about 10 feet from me, and staring down at the water looking for fish: Pied-billed grebe cruising along: Red-shouldered hawk flying over me and circling: Tricolor heron flying past me, low and close: The gorgeous American bittern, enjoying some late afternoon sun: A little blue heron cruising past: Eastern phoebe perched on a branch: Tricolor heron flying overhead as sunset light kicked in: Roseate spoonbill flying past catching that warm sunset glow: A great egret passing high overhead, catching the final sunlight of the day: