More Scissor-tailed Flycatchers
Last week ended with a fantastic day photographing scissor-tailed flycatchers. These migrants travel all the way around the Gulf of Mexico from Oklahoma and Texas to spend the winter here. They like open areas like farmland. We found them around the strawberry fields southeast of Tampa. They are beautiful birds that are fun to watch […]
Marsh Birds
The area marshes have become vacation destinations for many migratory birds. Again, this year we have been so fortunate to see yellow-headed blackbirds and bronzed cowbirds, among the many species enjoying their temporary stays. Another bird that has managed to work its way into the area from the southeastern part of the state is the […]
Reddish Egret
One bird that has become a favorite of photographers is a reddish egret. They are acrobatic feeders. There is one that people search for at Fort DeSoto Park in St. Petersburg. If you find a group of people in the tidal flats, you can generally figure that a reddish egret is the focus of their […]
Rosies
One of the most cherished birds to photograph in Florida is the roseate spoonbill. The beautiful pink colors are always stunning to see. People from around the world visit Florida on photography tours just to see the spoonbills. They are particularly colorful this time of year as breeding season is underway. A few more pictures […]
Burrowing Owls on The Move
One of my favorite birds to photograph is the burrowing owl. They are absolutely adorable. The past few years we’ve had to travel 90 minutes to Cape Coral, FL to find them. The city of Cape Coral has become a sanctuary city for the owls. But this year, thanks to a tip from fellow photographers […]
More Owls
The young great horned owls are growing quickly. Last week we checked in on our favorite family and they are still doing great. On Friday we visited an eagle nest for the first time in several months and to our surprise, the eagles had been displaced by great horned owls. In fact, their lone owlet […]
Port Manatee
Last week I had the pleasure of joining a group of some of the top birders in Manatee County, Florida for a field trip to Port Manatee. The trip was hosted by the Army Corps of Engineers due to a number of highly restricted areas. The fields and ponds consist of silt dredged from the […]
Great Day For a Great Horned Owl
Yesterday turned out to be a great day to capture some photos of a female great horned owl guarding her nest. Great horned owls usually find the absolute worst spot in a tree for a successful photograph. It seems like they always want to sit on the darkest branches facing away from the sun amongst […]
Bald Eagles
Bald eagles have gotten very active as the mating season has begun. This always offers some good photo opportunities. The birds are active hunting for food and nesting materials. We are fortunate to have a pair that built a nest a few years ago that is very easy to photograph. A few pictures from this […]
Snail Kites
Yesterday we endured a 2+ hour ride with hopes of finding some beautiful scissortail flycatchers. But the flycatchers apparently decided to move to a different undisclosed location. So instead of photographing flycatchers, we had the pleasure of watching and capturing some images of 3 snail kites. These are amazing birds that glide across shallow waters […]
Wood Ducks
This past Friday we visited Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL. It was a great day for photos. We saw several beautiful wood ducks and mallards. There were a few ring-necked ducks that have arrived from their northern summer homes. The lake is famous for its flock of mute swans and black swans. For anyone visiting […]
Whooping Cranes
On Wednesday I had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of another endangered species. The whooping crane was near extinction in the 1940s with fewer than 30 birds alive. Today there are still only about 800 of these beautiful birds remaining in North America. There have been substantial efforts to increase their population over the […]
