Every year the IMSA WeatherTech sportscar racing series kicks off the year with the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. On the weekend before the race, all the teams participate in several practice sessions. This prelude to the 24-hour endurance race is known as the “Roar Before the 24”. Last Saturday I headed over to Daytona for some great action and photos.
View of the Front Stretch at Daytona International Speedway from the Garage Roof
This was my first time seeing these amazing race cars. What makes the Rolex 24 so unique is that 4 classes of cars race together for the entire 24 hours. It produces some exciting racing as the top-tier cars are much faster than the lowest-tier cars which can create some tricky driving challenges. 59 cars will start the race and each car will have a team of 3 to 4 drivers to cover the 24 hours.
85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche and 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari in Turn 1 at Daytona International Speedway – 2024
The top-tier GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) cars remind me of a combination of NASCAR and Indy cars. They are high tech, lightning fast and very aerodynamic. Last year they introduced hybrid power technology. A GTP car can cost over $2 million. The 2 levels of GTD (Grand Touring Daytona) cars are more like actual street cars. The difference in speed compared to GTP cars is stark. The faster GTP cars can complete a lap around the 3.56 course about 12 seconds quicker than the GTD cars. In fact, during qualifying for the race, the speediest GTP car completed a lap in just over 1 minute and 32 seconds.
This form of racing has been around for years. It’s easy to think of a person working in their garage at home souping up a car or building a car from the ground up to race against others. That’s the essence of sports car racing.
Also, during the Rolex 24 this weekend, producer Jerry Bruckheimer will be filming scenes for a new movie featuring Brad Pitt. Watch for this car in the movie.
120 Wright Motorsports Porsche in Turn 1 at Daytona International Speedway – 2024
As the end of 2023 approaches, it’s time to reflect on the past year. Although I didn’t get out as much as in years past, some of the photo opportunities were amazing. In February we located a bird that I had never seen in the wild. In fact, in 2022 we drove over 3 hours down past Lake Okeechobee to search for the same species but came up empty. However, this year we were successful in finding one over by Orlando.
Vermilion Flycatcher Perched in a Tree in the Sun
Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg was the real showcase spot. Weather played a huge part during the year. Back in the spring, a couple of cold fronts conveniently pushed through and created a fallout of migrating birds. We saw many tanagers, grosbeaks, buntings, warblers, and orioles. I captured some pictures of birds that I hadn’t seen in years. My favorite moment was coming across a male scarlet tanager who was so exhausted and hungry that he hopped within 10 feet of me sitting in the grass. He was more focused on food than his own safety.
Scarlet Tanager Male on the Ground Eating a Large BugBlue Grosbeak Male Perched on an Old Palm Frond
In September, hurricane Idalia accomplished something that no other storm has done for decades. The track of the storm created a corridor for many iconic American Flamingos to flee Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico north to the United States. The event captured news outlets across the country as some of the birds were spotted as far north as Wisconsin. Several showed up along the west coast of Florida and there are still reports of sightings.
American Flamingo Calling to Others
Unfortunately, the remnants of hurricane Irma in 2022 along with the heat wave and drought during the summer had an impact on several of our favorite bird spots. We lost a great bald eagle nest in Lakewood Ranch and our best place for seeing endangered snail kites near Fort Myers was severely damaged during the hurricane. It appears a large population of apple snails was wiped out, which is the main food source for the kites.
It looks like 2024 will get off to a good start. Migrating waterfowl have returned to the region and are much more accessible this year because of the lower water levels. Many areas continue to recover from the storms and habitat is improving. We participated in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count last week and were surprised to see one of the flamingos that remain in the area. Hopefully that will be a good omen for next year. We’re keeping our eyes on a report of a very rare duck that’s been seen over in Palm Beach County. If he stays around for a few more weeks, I think I see a road trip on the horizon. Stay tuned.
Last night I had the opportunity to participate in the annual KelbyOne Worldwide Photo Walk. It’s an event created by Kelby Photography and features local photo tours and instruction in communities across the globe. My group met in downtown Tampa and featured nighttime photography along the Riverwalk.
It was a great chance to meet some new photographers and learn some different techniques and tips. It also gave me the opportunity to get to know more about where to go in downtown Tampa for future photo adventures. I have always been interested in nighttime photography because everything changes when the sun goes down and the lights come on. The colors and reflections can be striking. There are also fun possibilities to do creative things because of the longer shutter times needed for capturing photos in low light or the dark.
The Hillsborough River runs through downtown Tampa. The Riverwalk is an area about 2.5 miles long that, since the late 1970s, has been gradually renovated into a stretch of beautiful parks and walking paths. The University of Tampa is opposite the Riverwalk on the west bank of the water. The main development through the heart of the downtown business and entertainment districts began about 15 years ago and today the Riverwalk has become a destination location for Tampa visitors.
Plant Hall at University of Tampa Lighted at Dusk
Thankfully, the weather cooperated. A brief late afternoon shower brought in a cool front with lower temperatures and a wonderful breeze. While the group covered only a small section of the Riverwalk, we were given the freedom to branch out on our own. So, I ended up traveling quite a bit further for some additional photo views. It was a great evening for a hike and making some new friends. I’ve included a link to the KelbyOne website which describes the Photo Walks in much more detail.
This past week we took a trip over to Lake Wales to visit Bok Tower Gardens. It’s one of our favorite spots to go for hummingbirds. Bok Tower Gardens is a beautiful place built atop one of the tallest areas in all of Florida. It was originally built by Edward and Mary Bok in the early 1920s and was meant to be a bird sanctuary. He was a Pulitzer Prize winning author and the editor of Ladies Home Journal for 30 years.
Large Purple Crepe Myrtle Along a Trail
The gardens are beautiful with many native plants. Because it’s Florida, there’s always something in bloom. The property sits in the middle of huge citrus groves and the views stretch for miles. That also means the air is filled with sweet fragrances in the spring when the trees are full of blossoms.
Polydamus Swallowtail Butterfly on a Red Jatropha Flower
The tower was finished in 1929 and contains a 60-bell carillon. It is known as the Singing Tower. The Boks gifted the gardens and tower to the US and the tower was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark by President Calvin Coolidge. The music is played by a carillonneur. There have only been 4 full-time carillonneurs in the history of the tower. The current carillonneur, Geert D’hollander, has been there for 11 years. The bells are played each half hour during the day with short concerts twice daily.
Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens
The gardens are a mecca for hummingbirds, butterflies, and many other species of birds. Sometimes there are uncommon visitors during the fall and spring migrations. A few years back a hummingbird native to the western US made an appearance. This year another has returned. It’s called a rufous hummingbird and they are generally found west of the Rocky Mountains. The last time one was spotted in the gardens, it stayed for several weeks. With any luck this one will do the same. But, in case this one decides to continue south, we wanted to capture some shots before it left. Unfortunately, the adage “you should’ve been here yesterday” held true. We thought we saw a rufous, but we weren’t certain. It can be difficult to correctly identify specific birds when they are juveniles because their adult feathers haven’t filled in. Either way, we didn’t get the shots we hoped for. We’ll keep watching for updates from the park. Hopefully we’ll get another opportunity.
For more information about Bok Tower Gardens, check out the link below.
Every now and then there is a silver lining to a major hurricane. Despite all the damage that occurred with hurricane Idalia last week, there were some positive things that happened that astonished communities all along the Gulf Coast. For the first time in decades, American flamingos were spotted in several places after the storm. Even though flamingos are often associated with Florida, the reality is that, outside of places of captivity, there are only a few wild flamingos in the Everglades near Miami.
Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida on Wednesday, August 30. The following day, a group of 17 flamingos was spotted between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. As word got out about the initial sighting, more reports started to come in from other areas along the coast down to Fort Myers. Speculation was that the birds were carried from their native areas of Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula when the storm intensified in the region and quickly headed north. There were even reports of flamingos being rescued due to exhaustion.
On Friday, we journeyed out to Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg in search of these rare birds. Being connected to the birding community helped tremendously. My friend Art Nadelman was receiving emails and text messages with updates. We checked out several areas in the park and talked with other photographers, but it seemed like everyone was striking out. As we started to head back home, a text came in about a sighting nearby. Apparently, a pair had flown into an area we just left. We found one of the two birds a long way from where we were standing and were able to get some photos.
After hearing that the birds were still being seen in the evening on Friday, we decided to go back to the park the next morning hoping they hadn’t left overnight. It turned out to be a great decision. When we arrived at the park, there was a group feeding in the tidal pools along the beach. But, by Friday night, the flamingos had become one of the top news stories and the park was quickly flooded by photographers and people wanting to see them. It didn’t take long for the masses to get too close to the birds and they flew off. But we got word that they didn’t go too far and were even more accessible. Fortunately, we were able to get great shots.
Group of American Flamingos Preening at the Edge of a Lagoon
Fort De Soto is a wonderful park. It has miles of beautiful beaches and since its located right at the point where Tampa Bay flows into the Gulf of America, it’s known to birders and photographers alike for its amazing access to so many species of shore birds. One of the most sought after is the reddish egret. I’ve posted stories about these beautiful birds in the past. While my wife Pam was busy shell hunting, I photographed one of the reddish egrets along with a few other birds. And you never know what other critters you may find in the sand and receding tidal pools.
Reddish Egret Walking through a Small Tidal PoolFiddler Crab Crouched Next to a Piece of Sea Grass
For now, our hope is that some of the displaced flamingos will find our area to their liking and make this their new home. Only time will tell. But as of Monday evening, several were still here. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. I’ve attached a couple of links to recent articles.
There is a great park located near Sebring, FL called Highlands Hammock State Park. The topography of the park is like a lot of areas across Florida with a very diversified landscape. At the far back of the park is a flooded swamp with a large tree canopy. It has a jungle feel. In the middle area of the park, the terrain transitions to an upland forest with huge live oak trees. There is a very nice campground and recreation area here along with several walking trails.
Our favorite place in the park is called the primitive area. It is a large open area dotted with tall pines and scrub oak brush. There is a dirt road that winds through so we can drive and watch and listen. That’s a nice feature in the summer with temperatures in the mid-90s.
Although summer isn’t the best time to visit the park, there are certain bird species that are present in larger numbers. Those would include red-headed woodpeckers, Northern flickers, Florida scrub jays, Eastern towhees, bobwhite quail, and great-horned owls. On this day, we saw or heard 37 different species along with several whitetail deer. Our best photo opportunity was with a male great-horned owl who posed for us for several minutes.
Great Horned Owl Watching from a Pine Branch
The drive over to Highlands Hammock takes us through mostly agricultural and pastureland. There are many fields of crops like citrus, tomatoes, and blueberries along with plenty of cattle. These areas also offer chances to see crested caracaras, bald eagles, wild turkeys, and lots of egrets, herons, and sandhill cranes. There is a citrus grove just a few miles from the park that is home to a family of crested caracaras. We usually see one of the family members every time we go to the park. This day was no different as one of the adults stood watch on top of an orange tree for a few minutes.
Crested Caracara Sitting on Top of an Orange Tree
For more information about Highlands Hammock State Park, check out the link below.
One of our favorite spots for bird photography is a little place in Hillsborough County, FL called Bahia Beach Preserve. It sits on the east side of Tampa Bay only ¾ of a mile from the bay and just ¼ of a mile from the Little Manatee River. Because of its proximity to the bay, it can be a magnet for water birds.
Bahia Beach Preserve has provided some amazing photo opportunities for waterfowl in the past. We’ve usually visited the preserve during the winter months after the migratory birds have arrived. But we decided to give it a try after reading some promising reports from local birders. It did not disappoint. We made two trips over the past 10 days.
One of the birds we were hoping to see was an American Avocet. Their general range is across the western US, but some do travel closely along the far southern coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico during the winter.
American Avocet Resting ion Shallow Calm Water
Avocets have long necks and legs. Their black and white markings are striking when they fly. Avocets are mostly white, but their head, neck, and upper chest turn a brownish-peach color during breeding season. Their long, thin, black bills turn up at its tip. The bill is really the only way to distinguish the males from the females. The bill of the female is more upturned at the tip while the bill of the male is slightly longer. They like to feed in shallow waters like small ponds or pools along tidal mud flats. Avocets swing their bills from side to side through the water to stir up prey. They eat mostly aquatic insects and small shrimp.
American Avocet Taking Flight
In addition to the Avocets, we also found many other water birds such as egrets and herons. As a bonus, we also came across several colorful roseate spoonbills.
Roseate Spoonbill Trio Feeding in Quiet Water
Follow the link below for more information on Bahia Beach Preserve.
While we get ready for the start of the fall migration, we like to find some new spots to check out. Recently, at the suggestion of one of our birding friends, we took a trip to Deer Prairie Creek Preserve South in North Port, FL. The park sits along the shores of the Myakka River at a point before the river widens and joins the Peace River and flows into Charlotte Harbor by the Gulf of America.
We arrived at the park that morning right before a thunderstorm moved by. It was a typical summer day in Florida with the storms forming over the Gulf of America and coming onshore. The storms can often create some great photo opportunities like interesting cloud formations, lightning shots, and rainbows. This day we had some good cloud and rainbow shots.
Thunderstorm Clouds Billowing Up into the SkyBroken Rainbow Over the Myakka River
While little tributaries of the river flow through the park, most of it is flat prairie and scrub land along with pine forests. There are lots of trails that are easy to hike. It seemed like a great spot to find the elusive Florida Scrub Jay. But we were on a mission to find a Brown-headed Nuthatch. We had gotten reports of sightings of these little birds at the park and decided to try and find them. While eventually identifying one by its call, we only got a brief flash of the bird as it flew off. Unfortunately … no photos.
While going on a nice long hike, there were a few occasions to capture some images of herons and egrets fishing.
Immature Little Blue Heron Grabbing a Tadpole
See the link below for more information on Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and the Brown-headed Nuthatch.
This week we took a little trip out to the village of Cortez, which is located on the shores of Sarasota Bay where it empties into the Gulf of America. Cortez is known for its commercial fishing fleets. There are still places to go to get fresh shrimp and several kinds of fish caught daily.
But our visit wasn’t for seafood, it was to try and find a group of nesting Magnificent Frigatebirds. We got a tip that there were large numbers of them seen in Cortez. They are found along the coast in the southern United States, most commonly in Florida, and Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Magnificent Frigatebirds are unique and peculiar. They are large seabirds that appear to be a mix of a few other species. They have the head and bill of a cormorant, the wings of a nighthawk and the split tail of a swallow-tailed kite. They are the only seabirds where the male and female look different. The males are all black and have a bright red pouch on the throat, which they can inflate like a balloon to attract females. The females are bigger than males and have a white chest. Juveniles have varying amounts of white on the head, chest, and belly. They start with a white head and belly and have a pale tan streak on their upper wings. They have the largest wing to body difference of any bird species. They tend to take flight later in the day when winds and thermals are greatest. As a result of their massive wingspan, they can drift on thermal winds for days while barely flapping their wings. Even though they have webbed feet, they rarely land on water because their feathers are not waterproof.
Magnificent Frigatebird Male Flies by to the Right with his Red Neck Pouch Inflated
The Magnificent Frigatebird feeding and nesting habits are also unusual. They primarily eat small fish and squid, which they grab from the surface of the water without getting wet. They also eat plankton, crabs, jellyfish, and other items on the surface of the water. They can be a common sight around fishing boats, where they wait for scraps to skim off the surface of the water. Sometimes they will even eat hatchling turtles, young terns and other birds, and eggs. What makes their feeding habits unusual is the way they steal food from other birds. Sometimes Frigatebirds will harass other birds until they regurgitate recently captured food, and then swoop down to steal the meal before it hits the water. Like swallow-tailed kites, they will swoop down and drink from small freshwater ponds and lakes. We were hoping to capture some shots of them swooping to drink but they didn’t cooperate that morning.
Large Flock of Magnificent Frigatebirds Leave their Island to Soar
However, we were successful in finding a nesting colony. Frigatebirds breed and roost in colonies, with nests often very close together. The female usually builds the nest with materials brought by the male. It’s typically just a simple flimsy platform of sticks. They typically build their nests in mangroves and in low trees and shrubs on islands. In our case, we found their colony on a small island covered with mangroves. What’s unusual about the breeding habits of Frigatebirds is the relationship between parents and their young. They care for their young for up to a year after hatching. This is the most extended parental care cycle in the avian world. Juveniles often don’t leave the nest for 6 months and females will continue to feed them until they are one year old. The parents never leave the nest unguarded until young are half-grown, as other members of colony will eat their eggs or young at an unattended nest. Because of the long breeding cycle, most females likely don’t breed every year.
Magnificent Frigatebird Male with Red Neck Pouch Flies with a Juvenile
When the juveniles finally leave the nest, they practice stealing “food” from one another by playing games with sticks. They hold sticks in their mouths and chase each other. When one of them drops the stick, the other dives below to retrieve it. I’ve included some links to articles with more information about these interesting and strange birds.
One of our best destinations to look for the uncommon snail kite is a large marsh just outside of Fort Myers. The kites nest in the area and the waters around the marsh are full of enormous apple snails, which is the main diet of snail kites.
This day was not the best for snail kites. But their relatives, the swallow-tailed kites, put on quite a show for us. We know that there is a significant roosting area for the swallow-tailed kites not far to the east of this marsh. We were fortunate that a large group of them chose to feed above us. They are amazing to watch as they circle and glide chasing bugs and frogs and lizards.
Swallow-tailed Kite Glides by to the Right
We’ll head back later in the summer after the young kites have grown and their parents are actively hunting for food. There will also be more apple snails that have hatched providing a better food supply. Stay tuned.
For more information about this endangered species, go to the link below.
Each spring and fall the migration brings an amazing variety of birds through the area. Like their human counterparts, several choose to make Florida their winter home. But many are only passing through on their way to more southern destinations.
One species that spends a brief period here is the bobolink. They are related to blackbirds and travel in large flocks. It’s not unusual to see 100-200 birds in a group. They are seed and insect eaters and most often can be found in open grassy areas where there are plenty of insects and seed pods present. The males are easily identified by their black and white bodies with a large buff colored patch on the back of their heads. We were fortunate to come upon a large group that made a brief stop at the Celery Fields in Sarasota last month.
Juvenile Male Bobolink Eating Ragweed Seeds
The links below provide more information about bobolinks.
An area in eastern Sarasota County that was once farmland, was purchased by Sarasota County in 1995 and eventually transformed into a park. The area was known for growing celery and is comprised of ditches and wetlands. Today it is a popular destination for birders, walkers, and runners. There is a manmade hill in the center of the park that provides a nice challenge for fitness enthusiasts. The Sarasota Audubon Society has a small nature center on site, and they offer tours and educational services through a network of volunteers.
Black-necked Stilt Chick Walking through the Water
But for us, the main attraction is the habitat. The park has a series of flooded marshes, lakes, creeks, and grasslands. The great habitat means a lot of birds. It’s also a hotspot during the spring and fall migrations and attracts not only the birds, but bird enthusiast from all around the world. There have been almost 250 bird species reported at the Celery Fields.
Great Egret Flies by to the Left in the Morning Sun
For more information about the Celery Fields, please visit the links below.
