Florida offers so many opportunities to explore. We’ll chronicle our encounters with nature and interesting places and share our stories about the fun events we attend.
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Vermilion Flycatcher
Earlier this spring, my wife Pam and I got our cameras out and took a ride over by Orlando to find a rare bird that had been reported in the area. The bird is a Vermilion Flycatcher, and the males are beautiful. They are normally found in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the very
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All Quiet on the Posting Front
The past several months has been a quiet period for getting out in nature. We had been focusing all our energies on our beloved and precious 4-legged girl Izzy. Sadly, she passed. Just a few weeks shy of her 14th birthday. We lost her best friend, Gabby, back in October and Izzy was never the
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Sarasota County Eagles
For the past several years, we’ve had the opportunity to photograph a family of bald eagles in Lakewood Ranch. Their nest was incredibly accessible and gave us countless great shots. Unfortunately, hurricane Ian took out the nest and several surrounding trees last fall and the eagles moved on to another location. But we have a
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Rare Butterfly
The area has a new group of guests this year. In fact, these visitors are quite rare. A flock of Atala butterflies has found their way here from southeastern Florida. They were once feared to be extinct in Florida due to the elimination of their host plant. The butterflies only lay their eggs on the
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Audubon Bird Count
Over the holidays, I joined my friend Art Nadelman for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The event takes place across all North America and parts of South America. This was the 123rd Christmas Bird Count. We were assigned a specific area to record. We started around 7:30 am and completed around 12:30 pm. We
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Back in the Field Again
This past Friday my good friend Art Nadelman and I got back out with our cameras again after a 3 month hiatus. Art’s arm has healed enough that he can carefully carry his equipment. We decided to visit the Celery Fields which is a favorite among local birders. Over the course of a little more
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A Long Autumn
It’s been 3 months since my last post and a lot has happened. September began with a bout of Covid for Pam and me. As soon as we started to feel better, Mother Nature sent us hurricane Ian. We spent the last week of September making preparations for the storm and then spent the first
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A Day at the Beach
One of our favorite all-around photography locations is Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde near St. Petersburg. For this visit we decided to target the shore birds. With 3 miles of beach, there are LOTS of shore birds. The park is located where Tampa Bay connects to the Gulf of America. In the spring
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Snail Kites
This past week my friend and fellow photographer Art Nadelman and I ventured down to the Fort Myers area in search of snail kites. I’ve written about snail kites on a couple of occasions in the past. Most recently we had a great day photographing kites near Gainesville. But this week was the best yet
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Central Florida Kites
Summertime in Florida is generally a quiet time for bird photos. Many of our winter visitors have gone north and won’t return until fall. But there are some species that migrate here for the summer to nest and raise their young. One of those is the beautiful swallow-tailed kite. They travel all the way from
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Cape Coral
Springtime in Cape Coral, FL means one thing …. burrowing owls. Nesting season is almost finished and most of the new owls have grown as large as their parents. They can fly and are learning to hunt. The family units are still intact so it’s fun to see several together outside their burrows. The city
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Highlands Hammock State Park
Now that the summer is upon us and the weather is getting hot, a favorite location for us to visit is Highlands Hammock State Park just outside Sebring. Like many other parks in Florida, it has a diversified habitat. The park transitions from a dry, primitive area with scrub oaks and pine trees to a