Black Skimmers – Down and dirty
My friends say when my images have such a low angle that I must have been "Down 'n dirty". Well I know for sure I was dirty, I had sand everywhere!
American Oystercatchers – Juvenile and Adult
I watched this American Oystercatcher juvenile and its sibling from the time they were just tiny chicks beginning the day after they had hatched.
Red Knots – A species on the edge
Red Knots are on the edge of extinction and without further regulation of Horseshoe Crab harvesting in North America plus additional protection and conservation measures for Red Knots they may well disappear in our lifetime.
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron
This young Yellow-crowned Night Heron moved very slowly and it seemed to do that deliberately.
Friday Photos: Greater Yellowlegs
When looking at a Greater Yellowlegs there is NO mistaking how they got the name "Yellowlegs".
American Oystercatchers
American Oystercatchers are fascinating birds to photograph, They can strike unusual poses and their plumage is spectacular in flight. I enjoyed watching them pry open bivalves with their long bill
Shorebirds: Spotted Sandpipers
Spotted Sandpipers are fun to watch as they walk along the shoreline as they teeter, bob and bounce their rear ends up and down.
Limpkins
Limpkins may not be as beautifully colored as a Roseate Spoonbill or as common as Sandhill Cranes in Florida but to me they are uniquely interesting and appealing birds.
Common and Red-breasted Mergansers
Mergansers are considered "diving ducks" and one of the things the three species of mergansers found in North America all have in common are their serrated bills.
Nanday Parakeets
Any bird that eats those nasty sand spurs is a hero in my book and Nanday Parakeets are one of them.
Brown Pelicans – Feeding Behaviors and Identification
Brown Pelicans feed by diving head first into the water to trap fish in the pouches of their bills.
Fish Crows
Fish Crows are fairly commonplace along the coast of Pinellas County and they are often ignored by photographers because they are a "plain" common bird.
So ya think ya want to be a bird photographer?
Be prepared to become addicted to birds. You will have withdrawals if you don't shoot often enough, your shutter button finger will develop a nervous twitch
Bye bye Blackbirds? The USDA is killing birds with DRC-1339
Recently the USDA accepted responsibility for a smaller die off in South Dakota which brought to light a little known program called "Bye bye Blackbird" which uses DRC-1339, a poison that is also called an avicide.
Reddish Egret, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls
There were quite a few Laughing Gulls on and near the shoreline, a few Ring-billed Gulls and two Reddish Egrets hunting on the beach that day.
Roseate Spoonbills
Cotton candy pink... are the descriptive words I thought of when I saw my first Roseate Spoonbill.
Laughing Gulls
Laughing Gulls are quite common on the east and Gulf coastlines of the US, during breeding season they are usually found near saltwater but in nonbreeding season they are known to wander widely.
Black-bellied Plover
I love watching Black-bellied Plovers hunting. They take a few steps, stop, look and listen, then do it all over again.
Anhinga Portraits
Anhingas have always fascinated me. These are portraits of both the male and female.
Black-crowned Night Heron portrait
Since I moved to Utah I have never been able to get as close to Black-crowned Night Herons like I was able to approach this bird in Florida.
Shorebirds of Fort DeSoto – Ruddy Turnstones
One of the easier medium-sized shorebirds to identify on Fort De Soto's beaches and tidal mudflats are the Ruddy Turnstones. The only other turnstone that frequents North America is the Black Turnstone and it occurs on the Pacific coast.
Shorebirds of Fort DeSoto – The Plovers
Throughout the year you can see and photograph many different species of Plovers on Fort De Soto’s beaches, tidal lagoons and spartina marshes.
Great Blue Herons
Great Blue Herons are North America's largest heron and one of the three largest herons in the world.
Pinto Bean Laughing Gulls
On several occasions I have seen and photographed Laughing Gulls that have strange colored markings on their bills and legs. I have assumed that they are partially leucistic though I could be wrong.
Hungry Yellow-crowned Night Heron
It didn't take long for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron to grab the crab and send the sand flying.
Some Days are Magic
Each time I look at one of the images of this Little Blue Heron I have to smile and relish that amazing morning. Yes... some day are magic. I treasure each one.
Nesting American Oystercatchers
Nesting American Oystercatchers create simple scrapes on coastal beaches, dunes and salt marshes to lay their eggs in. They usually lay between 2-3 eggs around April to May.