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.
Marbled Godwit with its shadow
This Marbled Godwit had been feeding on the mudflats of a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto's north beach.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Willets – In Utah and Florida
Willets have returned to Utah, on the causeway to Antelope Island hundreds of them can be seen in the shallow water. They seem to spend some time there fattening up after migration before they get down to the serious business of mating and rearing their young.
Shades of Blue – Friday Photos
Just a simple image of a Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) today. I photographed this Egret as it stalked along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.
Hunting Snowy Egret
I love the challenge of photographing white birds and getting the exposures right, I like to nail it. Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) are great birds to practice getting exposures of the whites set correctly.
Adult Brown Pelican In Flight
Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) were common year round along the Gulf coast when I lived in Florida. I would see them floating in the water, resting on sandbars and beaches, diving for prey and in flight.
Great Blue Heron in Low Light
The sun had not yet crested the eastern horizon when I photographed this Great Blue Heron as it hunted in the shallow waters on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.
Double-crested Cormorant – Friday Photos
Double-crested Cormorants are the most widespread of North American cormorants where they are found in salt and freshwater habitats.
Greater Yellowlegs
Obtaining a low angle with small shorebirds can bring the viewer into the birds world by being down to their level. When I photographed shorebirds in Florida I was either constantly covered in sand or mud, wet or all three.
Great Blue Heron at Sunrise
Another one of the reasons I enjoy this photo is that the eye of the Great Blue Heron has a colored catchlight that is from the sun glowing yellow on the eastern horizon.
Low light Great Blue Heron with Earth Shadow
The Great Blue Heron images from the series I created that blustery November morning on Fort De Soto's north beach are still favorites of mine and likely always will be.
Black Skimmer adult in flight
I could always tell when a flock of Black Skimmers were flying in to Fort De Soto's north beach when I was photographing there because I could usually hear their soft, nasal barking yips or yeps before I saw them.
Playing Favorites – Resting Willet
There are images that I have created that as soon as I see them on my monitor become listed as one of my favorites.
Reddish Egret – aka Big Red
Worth the sand in my clothes, scrapes on my knees and looking like something the cat had wanted to drag in but decided it was way too dirty? You betcha!
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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ghost Crab
This Ghost Crab image was taken on the Gulf coast of Florida while I still lived there.
Shorebirds of Fort De Soto – Marbled Godwits
Marbled Godwits are graceful birds while on the ground, feeding and in flight.
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.
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.