Lakeland, FL is aptly named with over 30 lakes within the city limits. The best lake for photography always seems to be Lake Morton. It’s famous for its population of swans. But the main reason we like Lake Morton is for the wood ducks and several migrating ducks that visit every year. It’s a nice easy walk of about 1 mile to go completely around the lake. But it can take over an hour because of all the photo opportunities.
Mallard Drake Resting Peacefully with His Head Tucked Under His Wing
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
In the middle of the city of Venice, FL is a very small pond with a little island on one end. Each year the island becomes home to dozens of herons, egrets and cormorants that build their nests and raise their young. It is a photographer and birder magnet because the island and its birds are so close to shore. The park is managed by the local Audubon chapter.
It’s a great time to witness the breeding plumage of the Great Egrets. They develop lacy back feathers and the coloring around their beaks turns bright green.
Great Egret with Breeding Plumes Blowing in the Wind
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
Myakka River State Park is a wildlife and nature gem. Located in eastern Sarasota County, it is one of the largest parks in Florida with over 37,000 acres. The Myakka River flows through the park and creates a variety of lakes, ponds, and flooded marshlands. Because of the diverse terrain, the park is home to a huge variety of wildlife.
There are many types of migrating birds that spend the winter and spring months in the park including several species of waterfowl. It’s also a good place to find roseate spoonbills which are one of the most desired birds for photos in the state.
Roseate Spoonbill Flying By
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
One of the most striking birds that we see around here is the nanday parakeet. Their colors are absolutely amazing. On the neon green bodies is an entire palette of blue and purple accents. They also look like they’re wearing orange and yellow socks.
Unfortunately, despite their beauty, nandays are annoying because of their constant squawking which can get extremely loud. They can also quickly wipe out feeders.
Nanday Parakeet Perched on a Cedar Tree
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
It started off being a rather quiet year for waterfowl. No matter where we went in December and early January, the numbers seemed down from years past. But the last couple of weeks have changed everything. Not only have the number of ducks improved, but we found a couple of species that we hadn’t seen in our travels. Most notably is the northern pintail. We located a small nature preserve near Tampa Bay that the ducks liked. In addition to the pintails, we found northern shovelers, widgeons, and plenty of teal, including my favorite, a green-winged teal. Hopefully they’ll stick around for a few more weeks.
Male Northern Pintail Flying By
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
Many owls now have little owlets. We visited a nest in west Bradenton recently and there were two new little great horned owls. There are a few other spots that we will check over the next few weeks. It’s always fun to see the little owls because they’re cute and curious.
Great Horned Owlets Snuggling in Their Nest
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
Last week ended with a fantastic day photographing scissor-tailed flycatchers. These migrants travel all the way around the Gulf of America 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 as they fly from perches to snag insects out the air. Their long-forked tails make them incredibly agile. They can twist and turn performing quite a show when chasing bugs.
Over the past couple of years there have been numerous sightings even though they remain quite rare in this area.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher with a Long Tail Sitting in a Tree
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
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 grey-headed swamp hen. It’s a relative to the brilliant-colored purple gallinule. The swamp hens are also very colorful. They are actually native to Asia but found their way to south Florida about 30 years ago.
Grey-headed Swamphen Looking Out from the Reeds
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
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 attention. They typically favor the pools along the beaches created by the receding tide where fish get trapped.
Recently we found one that was fishing shallow inland waters. He was alongside a large flock of white pelicans.
Reddish Egret Watching for Fish
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
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.
Roseate Spoonbill Looking for Food in a Shallow Pond
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
A few weeks ago, we headed out to look for owls. They are active now as the breeding season is underway. Our trip took us to the Sebring area and to Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County. We had success finding barred owls in both areas and also found a pair of great horned owls near Sebring. It was a fun day as the owls were very active which enabled us to get some rare flight pictures.
Barred Owl Taking Off from a Pine Tree
Our next photo shoot with the owls will surely include babies as many eggs have already hatched.
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
The bald eagles are back, and nesting season has begun. Last week we headed to our favorite nest site and watched the eagles continue repairing and rebuilding their nest that blew down over the summer. When reports of the nest falling started rippling through the rumor mills, it was easy to wonder if the birds would abandon the site and move on to another location. If that happened, we would lose the best place photograph bald eagles in this area. But, thankfully, the eagles like the spot as much as we do!
So, the rebuilding has begun, and the nest is growing larger every day. It’s amazing to watch each bird disappear and then return with large sticks or Spanish moss. They build the nest layer by layer until it’s deep enough to handle 2 full grown eaglets. The nest will be active until spring when the eaglets are old enough to leave the nest on their own.
Bald Eagle Leaving the Nest for Repair Materials
Because this site is so accessible, it’s also very popular with photographers which means we get to reunite with friends we haven’t seen all summer.
Fall is here …. finally. The northern birds are beginning to arrive, and migrators are starting to travel through the area. The next 6 months are prime time for wildlife photography in Florida.
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
