Northen Parula (Parula americana) - Foster Pond, Finger Lakes National Forest, New York

On Friday morning at the Finger Lakes National Forest, one of the better birds of the morning was a Northern Parula.  We had at least two individuals but, as typical with Parulas, they were high in the canopy.  At one point, I set up on a blooming apple tree to sit and see if anything would come into feed, as I had seen a several Yellow Warblers do just that.  A few minutes after setting up, this Northern Parula visited briefly for about 30 seconds.  I came away with a couple good frames, the best of which you see here.

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) - Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

It’s hard to come to Big Cypress and the Everglades and not take a few photos of the abundant American Alligators.  I have hundreds in my files but they keep attracting my attention and my lens.  This image is simple and I have little to say about it except that the reflections attracted my attentions and I simply love the deep greens in the water.

Bald Cypress Trunk - Kirby Storter Boardwalk, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

One of my favorite spots in all of Big Cypress National Preserve is the boardwalk at Kirby Storter.  It’s a beautiful cypress dome that always has something going on and typically a surprise for the careful and patient observer.  I’ve spent a couple evenings there since I have returned and seen deer feeding belly deep in the water, a turkey feeding in the canopy of a tree, a Swallow-tailed Kite fly over with a warbler in its talons, and so much more.

Bald Cypress Trunks - Kirby Storter Boardwalk, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

On my first night back in the Glades, I arrived just before sunset and headed into the dome, sans camera.  I hadn’t made it more than 50 yards down the trail, before I discovered this beautiful light on the trunks of the small bald cypress.  The light, the textures, and the somewhat monochrome scene caught my eye and forced me back to the car so I could retrieve the camera.  A few minutes of playing with a 24-70mm lens and these were the result, a pair of simple, yet elegant, images.  I can’t say I have a favorite, but am equally pleased with each.

Kirby Storter, despite being right on Highway 41, is a beautiful place that keeps drawing me back every single trip.  Check back in the coming days for more images from this beautiful cypress dome.

Fog, Palms, and Prairie - Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

As I am always attempting to make interesting images out of difficult situations, I had to try this the other night when a heavy fog rolled over the prairie just after sunset.  Before I explain what my goal for the image was, take a minute to study it.

Now, click to read on and see if my idea actually worked.

My goal was to isolate a single hammock, particularly a palm hammock for its graphic shape, among the fog. My hope was to draw the viewer in, force them to study the image, and discover the hammock themselves.  I imagine the viewer first saying “why the white image?” and then the discovery of the hammock becomes a surprise.  Did it work?

I’d love to hear about your experience, as a viewer, when you first saw the image.  Thanks for providing the feedback!

Common Moorhen (Fulica americana) in flight - Lake Jackson, Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, Florida

Continuing with the theme of something new and totally different, at least for me, I am posting this Common Moorhen.  I rarely shoot anything like this, nearly an abstract.  While unusual for me, I sort of like the image.

I had spent almost an hour doing some audio recording at the edge of Lake Jackson in Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area and one of the main things I was recording was a flock of American Coots as they woke up, gathered into a flock, and then a few birds at time, flew across a section of open water.  I had wanted to capture this flight of birds with my camera as well but unfortunately, all the birds had crossed the gap by the time the sun came up.  Instead, I had a chance to photograph a Common Moorhen has it crossed the gap.

The light wasn’t what I had in mind, but I liked the graphic nature of the image.  The silhouette of the bird on nearly white water with the trailing feet and reflection caught my eye.  I increased the contrast significantly for the image and took the nearly white water to the extreme and this is the image that results.  What do you think?

Do I keep it?  Do I continue to shoot stuff like this?  Do I forget it and go back to the more traditional approach.  Let’s hear those opinions!

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in Flight - Lake Jackson, Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, Florida

I put this image montage together a couple weeks back and wanted to share it.  I’m not totally sure how I feel about it or even if it is exactly what I am after.  I like the concept, and this is my first try.

I was photographing at Lake Jackson in the Prairie Lakes Unit of Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area south of Kissimmee when I saw this Great Blue Heron.  He was too far away for a standard portrait so I decided to try something a little bit different.  Since the bird looked agitated, like it might fly, I decided to try this.

What you are seeing is a series of frames showing the Great Blue Heron preparing for take off and then flying the first few wing beats.  Each frame is stitched together, using the background as a reference.  This allows you to see the path the bird takes as it leaves its perch to fly to the other side of the lake.

What do you think?  Is this a successful image?  Does it work for you?  I want to know!

Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) - Oscar Scherer State Park, Venice, Florida

As I continue to plan for my upcoming trip to Florida in January and February, I am spending time going back through my files and finding gaps that need filled.  The only endemic bird to Florida is the Florida Scrub Jay and I only have a few photos of this cool bird.  This species is found in the few remaining patches of scrub in the central portion of the peninsula.  I have grown up seeing them in a number of occasions but only photographing them on a handful of occasions.  I dedicated some time to photographing one social group at Oscar Scherer State Park a while back and got some great images.  Now I plan to return to a few other locations and supplement these photographs with images of the bird’s habitat as well as some video and audio recordings of these incredible birds.

Florida Scrub Jays have been well studied over the years and they demonstrate some really cool social behaviors.  First off, they are cooperative breeders where one year old birds assist their parents in raising the current brood rather than breeding themselves.  They are extremely curious birds and I actually had the above bird sitting on my head at one point.

White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) - Flamingo, Everglades National Park, Florida

Yesterday I was putting together a photo submission for a magazine and was digging through some old files and came across this image.  The image was taken in the Everglades in 2005 when I was living in the park.  I was living in the tiny community, Flamingo, on Florida Bay and spent many evenings at Eco Pond photographing White Ibis as they flew from the island in the pond to their roosting sites on islands in Florida Bay.  Some nights the light was great, some nights it wasn’t.  When I had very little light, or after the sun had dropped below the horizon, I experimented with slow shutter speeds and pan blurs.

The basic idea is to use a slow enough shutter speed that you can pan blur the birds wings a bit.  My goal also is to pan well enough that the bird’s eye stays relatively sharp and recognizable.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  I took a lot of images with this technique and there are only a few in my files today.  This one has made it through and I rediscovered it yesterday.

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) - Everglades National Park, Florida

I am currently in the planning stages of a visit back to the Florida Everglades and am getting really excited.  After living in the national park for five months back in 2005, I have only been back briefly a couple of times.  This January and February I will have at least three weeks in the region and I am really excited.

I plan to spend at least one day at this rather special location.  It is an hour canoe ride but if the timing is right, the birding and photography can be excellent.  Last time I was there I photographed numerous shorebirds, skimmers, and these wonderful American White Pelicans.  As I keep planning, I just get more and more excited!

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) - Private Ranch, Florida

This past weekend was opening weekend for deer season here in central New York.  I thought I’d take a moment to remind everyone that this is not the best time of year to be in the woods impersonating a White-tailed Deer.  Be sure to wear hunter’s orange and be safe!

Fun Fact, did you know that the reason hunters wear the bright orange vests is because deer are color blind?  The bright orange isn’t an issue for deer and that’s why you sometimes see hunting vests that have camouflage but include that brilliant orange.  It’s enough for other hunters to see but it doesn’t scare aware the deer.  Unfortunately, birds do see the full color spectrum.  I’d love to see a study examining the reaction of birds to hunter orange vests.