Observe. Explore. Share.
Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) - Oscar Scherer State Park, Florida
I have spent the last few days at my parents’ home in Orlando regrouping, finishing up a few projects, preparing for upcoming projects, and getting some good sleep. It’s been a great break, but I am eager to get back into the field and that will be Monday at Archbold Biological Station in south central Florida where I will spend next week photographing Florida Scrub Jays.
Florida Royal Palms (Roystonea elata) at Sunset - Royal Palm, Everglades National Park, Florida
Several of my favorite palm species are found in the Everglades and one of those is the Royal Palm. These magnificent trees are found only in tropical climates like that of South Florida. They have been planted throughout the Miami area, but they can be found naturally in the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp, particularly the area preserved by Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve.
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) in Flight - Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, Florida
Of all the wading birds found in the Everglades, the Wood Stork is possibly the ugliest. These large white birds with a bald head may not be the most beautiful of the wading birds, but they are quite interesting and the most endangered.
Oceanblue Morning-Glory (Ipomoea indica) - Roadside, Everglades National Park, Florida
The Everglades has a surprising number of beautiful wildflowers that receive very little attention from photographers. Most visible is the Morning-Glory family with their big, typically colorful blooms. These beautiful flowers are often seen in disturbed areas where their vines can grow quickly and take advantage of ample sunlight. This means that roadsides are one of the easiest places to find these plants.
Florida Butterfly Orchid (Encyclia tampensis) - Cypress Dome, Everglades National Park
One of my favorite things to do in Everglades National Park is to get off the road, off the trail, and go exploring by wading through the marsh. Last Wednesday morning I headed into a cypress dome that is one of my favorite places in the park. It had been five years since I had been in there and I was interested to see how things had fared.
Great Egret (Egretta alba) at Sunrise - Dwarf Cypress Forest, Everglades National Park, Florida
Sorry for the absence of posts the last few days. Starting Wednesday of this week, I have been doing some private, and we have been starting early and going hard all day long. I’ve gotten home each night exhausted and just crashed with no time to write. I’ll be done Sunday and hopefully will have a lot to show for it next week. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this image from sunrise a couple mornings ago.
Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus) with Apple Snail - Water Conservation Area 3A, Florida
One of the nation’s most unique and rarest raptor is the Snail or Everglades Kite. This spectacular bird feeds only on the large apple snails found in the flooded prairies and marshes of the southern Florida. It is currently listed as an Endangered species and can be difficult to find, much less photograph in southern Florida. It should be noted that a substantial population, though a different subspecies, can be found in marshes throughout Central and South America.
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) - Sweetwater Strand, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
The Green Heron is the smallest of our North American herons. Well, technically it is the smallest of the North American birds with the word “heron” in its name (the Least Bittern, a member of the heron family is much smaller). Semantics aside, this small heron is also one of our most colorful and always seems to carry a bit of an attitude.
Yellow Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata) - Turner River Road, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
As the temperatures have warmed up over the past week, so have the reptiles. Just last night, as I was driving back to my campsite, I saw at least 3 or 4 on the road trying to soak up the last bits of heat from the black pavement. On Friday, I saw my first Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake alongside a trail way out in the prairies of Big Cypress. As I thought back on it, I was shocked to realize that, despite the amount of time I spend in the woods, I had never seen an Eastern Diamondback before then. Unfortunately, I was purely scouting and wasn’t carrying a camera. [Read more...]
Stiff-leaved Wild Pine (Tillandsia fasciculata) on Cypress - Big Cypress National Preserve
Today is quite simply a rainy day and I am hiding in Starbucks at the moment trying to get caught up on image editing and write a few blog posts. The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind, but extremely productive. Essentially I have been in Big Cypress National Preserve covering every possible inch of road and potential photo location for an upcoming project (stay tuned for an announcement in the next few months) as well as scouting for upcoming shoots. I covered a ton of ground and saw some really cool areas. It was great to revisit some of my old haunts and discover new ones as well.
Most of my attention was focused on scouting, but I did squeeze in a bit of shooting as well. I have just queued up a series of blog posts for each of the next few days using some of these images, so stay tuned! I’ll be back in town with more stuff on Wednesday, if not before!
Drew Fulton
Photographer, Writer, Explorer, Educator, Tree Climber...
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