Snowy Plover on a sugar sand beach
Shorebirds like this tiny Snowy Plover on a sugar sand beach were my "spark" birds when it comes to my bird photography and they are what made my passion for bird photography catch fire.
Snowy Egret resting in the mangroves at Fort De Soto
My 1000th post was long and contained many images so for my 1001st post I am keeping it simple with a Snowy Egret resting near the mangroves of the north beach at Fort De Soto.
An Osprey in flight with a huge Flounder
This Osprey flying in from the Gulf over the north beach of Fort De Soto came as a surprise to us so I had little time to prepare and get my setting right due to how fast the Osprey was flying.
Snowy Egret landing on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico
I found this image of a Snowy Egret landing on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico that I photographed on a hot May day in Florida five years ago.
Red-shouldered Hawk In Flight
This Red-shouldered Hawk photo was taken in Florida in November of 2008 just after the hawk lifted off from an old snag near a Great Blue Heron I had been photographing.
Willet Delight
For those of us; including myself, who are tired of gray, cold days I thought this Willet photographed in Florida might delight in the sweet light, sea foam and warm Gulf waters the image contains.
Marbled Godwit Blur
This morning I wanted to share another "happy accident" of this Marbled Godwit blur in flight taken along the Gulf of Mexico in coastal Florida.
Great Egret on the hunt
Just a simple Great Egret hunting in a quiet tidal lagoon today that takes me back to warmer memories spent with good friends on Florida's Gulf Coast.
Juvenile Brown Pelican portrait
I like Brown Pelicans and even though I don't see them here in Utah I have plenty of images on file that I took during the period of time that I lived in Florida.
Black Skimmers in flight
I photographed these Black Skimmers in flight at the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park in Florida one cool January morning.
Snowy Egret in the mangroves
Snowy Egret in the mangroves below the footbridge so I ducked down and hid behind the mangroves at the base of the bridge to photograph the egret
Male Red-winged Blackbird singing on a Mangrove
I don't if this male was successful with the female Red-winged Blackbirds but he sure had me mesmerized with his sleek black feathers and his flashing red, orange and yellow epaulets.
Adult Roseate Spoonbill on the Gulf Coast
Of the six species of spoonbills only the Roseate Spoonbill is found in North America and it is the only Spoonbill that is so vividly colored.
Juvenile Brown Pelican In Flight
After posting an image of a American White Pelican lifting off two days ago I thought I should post an photo of a Brown Pelican today for comparison.
Great Egret In Breeding Plumage
Great Egrets develop fancy plumes when they are in breeding plumage and seem to be quite famous for that but their lores also change color from yellow to a lime green
Snowy Egret in a hurry
Snowy Egret in a hurry that I photographed almost exactly 5 years ago while sitting low in a Florida lagoon.
Marbled Godwits – A Grassland Shorebird
I hope that in 100 years Marbled Godwits will still be on this planet and future generations won't know them only from images like mine.
Female Long-billed Curlew in a Florida lagoon
It has been another very long week so I thought I'd post a female Long-billed Curlew because of her very long bill but unlike the way my week went this curlew is graceful, elegant and serene.
Waves and a Forster’s Tern
The nonbreeding Forster's Tern in these two images is the same bird and the images were taken ten frames and a few seconds apart as the tern stood on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.
Great Blue Heron up close and not so close
One December morning in 2008 I was sitting in the sand at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida when a Great Blue Heron came up and perched on a driftwood stump that had washed up onto the shore.
Why Do They Call Them Laughing Gulls?
Laughing Gulls are quite noisy when they are in a flock but I never minded listening to them, in fact they often made me laugh.
Great Blue Heron Portraits from Florida and Utah
In Florida I found it easy to get close up images of Great Blue Herons because quite often they are used to the presence of humans but here in Utah that isn't the case and Great Blue Herons are sort of skittish.
Laughing Gulls in breeding and nonbreeding plumage
Both of these Laughing Gull images were taken at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida, the image above shows a Laughing gull in nonbreeding plumage that was taken in September of 2008.
Eastern Willet in flight at Fort De Soto
There are two subspecies of Willets which Western and Eastern, here in Utah I only see the Western subspecies but in Florida I could see both during the course of a year.
Tricolored Herons Times Three
I actually like the backgrounds in each of these images, all of them show the habitat that Tricolored Herons might be found in and highlight the birds too.
Adult and juvenile White Ibis
White Ibis can be strange looking birds to people who have never seen them before, they have soft, sky blue eyes, skinny legs, long necks and a bill that could be compared to Jimmy Durante's nose.
Snowy Egret on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico
This Snowy Egret was photographed as it stood in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach one early August morning in 2007.
Spot the Sandpiper on the Seawall
It really isn't too hard to spot this Spotted Sandpiper on the seawall, I just thought it was a catchy title. I saw my FOY (first of year) Spotted Sandpiper this past week and that got me excited.
Gulf Coast Whimbrel
Among the shorebirds I enjoyed seeing and photographing while I lived in Florida were Whimbrels, I could see flocks of 25 or more during the winter along the coast.
Ruddy Turnstone and a Laughing Gull
Five years ago today I was laying in the warm wet sands of Fort De Soto County Park's north beach as the salty water from the Gulf of Mexico soaked my skin while photographing a Ruddy Turnstone doing what they do best, turning things.