Shades of Blue and a Willet Too
As we go into a holiday weekend filled with loud noises and flashes of fireworks I wanted to share something more peaceful, a simple image of a Willet walking on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.
Use of Decoys for Colonial-nesting Seabirds and the Need for Protected Nesting Areas
On an extremely hot April day I was out on Egmont Key for a Florida Master Naturalist class and from a distance I thought I saw some Black Skimmers and Least Terns resting on a beach but they turned out to be decoys.
An American Oystercatcher’s running lift off
American Oystercatchers are one of my favorite shorebirds to photograph along the Gulf of Mexico because of their unusual appearance.
Snowy Egrets on the Gulf Coast
I'm hoping to add images of Snowy Egrets to my portfolio this summer that might be taken at Farmington Bay WMA or up north at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge.
Roseate Sunset
I have always loved the pinks of the Roseate Spoonbills and the evening sun just made the colors even more delightful looking.
Preening Great Blue Heron
I picked this Great Blue Heron image to post today because when I took the photo it was bright and sunny.
Happy Mother’s Day 2015
For every Mom everywhere
Semipalmated Sandpiper Foraging in a Tidal Lagoon
I'm sharing a simple Semipalmated Sandpiper image today that I photographed at Fort De Soto's north beach back in May of 2009.
Whimbrel Threat Display
This Whimbrel wasn't reacting to my presence when it exhibited this threat display instead it was reacting to the presence of two other Whimbrels that are outside of the frame.
Listening for Willets
I have often written how I long to hear the first Long-billed Curlew in the spring but I feel I should mention that I also anxiously await the first calls of migrating Willets too.
American White Waterlily and a Honey Bee
Once upon a time I paid more attention to wildflowers and insects and photographed them extensively when I had the chance so today I thought I would resurrect one of my old files.
Greater Yellowlegs at the wrack line
I get excited when spring arrives in Utah and the shorebirds return because they were my spark birds, they are what got me into bird photography
Resting Ruddy Turnstone male
When I photographed this resting Ruddy Turnstone male on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico in 2009 I knew it wouldn't be long before he migrated to a rocky arctic coast to breed.
Whimbrels and Long-billed Curlews
When I lived in Florida I was able to see and photograph two of our largest North American shorebirds during winter which are Whimbrels and Long-billed Curlews.
Dark and White Morph Reddish Egrets in Breeding Plumage
One May morning in 2009 I was able to photograph both the dark and white morph Reddish Egret in breeding plumage just minutes and yards apart at Fort De Soto's north beach.
Red-shouldered Hawk Surveying Fort De Soto’s North Beach
This Red-shouldered Hawk was just a few feet away from a tidal lagoon and just yards away from the Gulf when I photographed it in November of 2008.
A few quiet moments with a Black-bellied Plover at low tide
Shorebirds. They were what sparked my passion for bird photography. They were what drew me back to the Gulf Coast of Florida as much as I could be there.
A few minutes up close with a Great Blue Heron on the Florida Coast
Photographing this bird brought back memories of a day I spotted a Great Blue Heron struggling because it was caught in a trotline in the Chattahoochee River in Georgia
Preening juvenile Brown Pelican in Florida
It rained most of the day here so I looked at a few Brown Pelican images taken in December in Florida where it was much sunnier in 2008.
An Anhinga’s Bad Hair Day
If I were an Anhinga and stretching it even further if I were a male Anhinga this is what I would look like today.
Being Squirrely – Eastern Gray Squirrel Photo
Time got away from me today and I am feeling a little squirrely tonight so I thought what better to post than an Eastern Gray Squirrel?
Marbled Godwit and the Gulf of Mexico
I have always thought of Marbled Godwits as graceful, elegant shorebirds and I still do.
Semipalmated Plover with its eye on me
This morning I wanted to keep my post simple and how much more simple could this image of a Semipalmated Plover with its eye on me be?
Tricolored Heron In The Waves Of The Gulf
Just a simple Tricolored Heron image this morning that I created at Fort De Soto County Park in March of 2009.
Sandwich Tern and a pastel sky
I have tons of images I haven't processed and last week while searching for a Royal Tern to post I came across this Sandwich Tern I had taken in Florida in 2009.
Solitary Willet in soft morning light
This Willet image was taken on August 12, 2007 which is now over seven years ago and I can easily recall how thrilled I was to photograph this shorebird.
A Royal Bath
These two bathing Royal Tern images remind me of the warm April morning when I spent time photographing different species splashing around in the Gulf of Mexico.
Morning treasures from six years ago today – Birds on the beach
These images of birds on the beach were taken at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach six years ago today on a beautiful morning.
Snowy Egret at dawn
Snowy Egret at dawn next to the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County, Florida
Birds of the Shore: American Oystercatchers
American Oystercatchers are specialized in that their diet consists of bivalves and they do use that flashy orange bill to pry some of them open.