4 Years ago today when Hurricane Ike stirred things up at Fort De Soto
Four years ago today Hurricane Ike was out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and the waves that it generated made a strong splash at Fort De Soto County Park.
Resting Black Skimmer Juvenile – My Banner Image
Several people have remarked on how much they like the resting Black Skimmer juvenile image that was in my rotating banner at the top of this blog so I thought I would post it to show the whole bird.
Caspian Terns
Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) are North America's largest tern with a wingspan of 50 inches and weighing in at 1.4 pounds.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron or Orange-eyed Day Heron?
Despite having "Night Heron" in their name Yellow-crowned Night Herons (Nyctanassa violacea) are not strictly denizens of the dark, they can and do stalk their prey during the daylight hours too.
Snowy Plover
A simple image of a beautiful Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrius) in a rather goofy looking pose.
Bathing Laughing Gull in breeding plumage
I photographed this adult Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) in breeding plumage while it bathed in the shallow waters of a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto's north beach a few years ago.
Reddish Egret at Low Tide
This adult Reddish Egret was going into breeding plumage, it has the pink and black bi-colored bill and the lores are turning bluish purple.
Ruddy Turnstones in breeding and nonbreeding plumage
Ruddy Turnstones in breeding and nonbreeding plumage can appear to be two different species to novice birders and bird photographers as can several other bird species.
Dunlins in breeding and nonbreeding plumage
Dunlins exhibit a vast difference between nonbreeding and breeding plumage, so different that a novice birder might mistakenly believe that they were two different species.
Fish Crows – Why I Can’t Dislike Them
I was going to do a simple post about this image of a Fish Crow with a young Gopher Tortoise in its bill that was taken on Egmont Key State Park (also Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge), an island located just to the west of Fort De Soto, Florida.
Landing Wood Stork
Wood Storks (Mycetaria americana) are the largest wading bird in North America and the only stork that breeds in the U.S.. Wood Storks are considered endangered primarily due to loss of habitat.
Laughing Gull – Small in the Frame
On the day that I photographed this Laughing Gull either Hurricane Ike or Gustav was out near the center of the Gulf of Mexico that was churning up the water
Least Sandpiper – The World’s Smallest Shorebird
Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) are the world's smallest shorebird, weighing in at a mere 0.7 ounces (20 g), a length of 6 inches and a wingspan of 13 inches.
Great Blue Heron Portrait
This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) got up close and personal with me a few years ago in Florida, it largely ignored my presence altogether as it stalked prey on shore of the Gulf of Mexico.
Ruddy Turnstone Bathing
This Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) image was created several years ago at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in central Florida.
Reddish Egret
I photographed this Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) in October of 2008 at Fort De Soto's north beach.
Ole Blue Eyes – White Ibis
I think it is great to see a bird with sea blue eyes feeding along a shoreline with water nearly of nearly the hue.
Willet in the surf of the Gulf of Mexico
Getting "Down & Dirty" pays off when photographing shorebirds like this Willet in the surf I photographed in Florida as it walked along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.
Three and a half months with a young American Oystercatcher
In 2008 I had the great pleasure of observing and photographing a family of American Oystercatchers from the day after the chicks hatched until three and a half months later.
American Oystercatcher In A Tidal Lagoon
I've been working up images for a long post and this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) image is a clue as to what that post will be about.
Foraging Marbled Godwit
I love how peaceful this image is with the Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) paying absolutely no attention to me as I sat very still in the warm waters of a tidal lagoon photographing it.
Odd Black Skimmer Behavior
The Black Skimmer had a Mangrove seed pod in its bill and it was twirling the seed pod with its bill, at times the seed pod even went over the top of the bill but unfortunately I didn't get any images of that.
White Morph Reddish Egret in Stormy Light
In my two previous posts of a Snowy Egret and a Great Egret I mentioned how the early morning light and a nearby storm gave those images a feeling of drama. These white morph Reddish Egret images were taken that same morning not long after I created the Great Egret photos.
Great Egret on a Stormy Morning
Yesterday I posted a Snowy Egret hunting in early morning light and mentioned that early morning or late afternoon light can add drama to an image, in today's post I will explain a bit more about the dramatic light in the Snowy Egret image and these images of a Great Egret (Ardea alba).
Snowy Egret hunting in early morning light
Light plays a huge part in my photography, I try to be at my location just before the sun comes up or goes down to take advantage of the beautiful light that occurs at those times of the day.
American Herring Gulls
Two Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) at different stages of life, one an adult in breeding plumage, the other an immature gull in flight.
White-winged Doves
White-winged Doves (Zenaida asiatica) are one of the larger gray-colored dove species in North America and they are more at home in semi-arid and desert areas than Mourning Doves.
Western Sandpiper on the Go
It dawned on me this morning that I haven not posted an image of a Western Sandpiper here yet so I pulled this one out of my archives that I photographed at Fort De Soto as the small shorebird ran in front of me on the shoreline.
Snowy Egret – Moody Blues
This Snowy Egret image was taken just after the sun had risen above the horizon in about the same location as the egret image I posted yesterday but at a completely different time of the year.
Snowy Egret – Show Me Those Golden Slippers!
I was photographing at Fort De Soto's north beach on May 30th, 2008 when I had a very cooperative Snowy Egret start fishing in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico right in front of me.