Sunset and a Roseate Spoonbill
The tide was rushing out of the tidal lagoon very quickly when I photographed this Roseate Spoonbill at the "Magic Hour" and the light on the Spoonbill and the Spartina behind it enchanted me.
Long-billed Curlews are back in Utah!
I saw my first of the year Long-billed Curlews two days ago on Antelope Island State Park flying overhead. They weren't close enough to photograph but I know that soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.
Tranquil Tricolored Heron
There is a quality that feels very tranquil about this Tricolored Heron image for me. It may be the still, silky texture of the water or the soft pastel color of the water created by the early morning light.
Something Is Fishy
Long ago in a subtropical clime with plenty of heat, humidity and the occasional hurricane I used to photograph with a small point and shoot camera from Canon and had great fun doing it.
Long-billed Curlews are winging their way to Utah
Long-billed Curlews have begun to leave or have left their wintering grounds and should be winging their way to Utah and arriving here any day now.
Adult and juvenile Laughing Gulls
Laughing Gulls are commonly seen at Fort De Soto County Park but novices to birding and bird watching might think they are three different kinds of gulls depending on their age and plumage.
Roseate Spoonbills on a foggy Florida morning
As soon as I crossed the north beach footbridge I spotted several Roseate Spoonbills in the tidal lagoon on my right. There were adults and a few juveniles, some were resting while others preened.
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.
Four Intimate Gull Portraits
I like gulls. I especially like being able to see them up close when the opportunities arise and will take advantage of my close proximity by taking portraits of these beautiful but often disliked birds.
A Ring-billed Gull – Light on Dark
The day I photographed this Ring-billed Gull at Fort De Soto's north beach there were baitfish in the hundreds of thousands running just off shore and pelicans, egrets, terns and gulls were all in a feeding frenzy.
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.
White Ibis in breeding and nonbreeding plumage
There isn't much of a change between the plumage in breeding and nonbreeding White Ibis, primarily the differences are in the legs, bill and lores.
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.
Displaying Sandwich Terns in low light
These Sandwich Terns were courting early one morning at Fort De Soto's north beach and even though the light wasn't "sweet" I felt their courtship behavior was interesting.
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.
Piping Plover on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico – 900th Post
Shorebirds; like this tiny Piping Plover I photographed on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, are the primary reason I became addicted to bird photography.
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.
Things that bug me – Golden-silk Spider
This is a female Golden-silk Spider I photographed way back in September of 2007 while wandering Arrow Head Trail at Fort De Soto County Park.
Black-bellied Plover in beach habitat
This Black-bellied Plover was standing on a dunelet that wasn't much higher than the sand around it that had sparse short grasses which I found appealing.
Spots before my eyes – Spotted Sandpipers that is
So I finally have images of the breeding plumage of this small shorebird that show the spots that gave this bird the name Spotted Sandpiper!
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.
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.
Tricolored Heron in Breeding Plumage
I was digging through my image files yesterday and came across a series of Tricolored Heron images that I had never edited from a May morning in 2009 when I was photographing birds at Fort De Soto's north beach.
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.
Royal Tern Over
Royals Terns make amazing dive bombs for their prey which are usually small baitfish running close to the surface and sometimes if you are lucky you get to see them "Tern Over" in mid air.
Lance-leaved Arrowhead
I photographed this Lance-leaved Arrowhead at Roosevelt Wetland in Pinellas County, Florida several years ago.
Marbled Godwit on Fort De Soto’s north beach
Several years ago while I was photographing at Fort De Soto's beautiful north beach I saw a Marbled Godwit flying in with a dark Tubeworm in its bill and took a few images of it from a distance.
Ruddy Turnstone in early morning light
I photographed this Ruddy Turnstone in early morning light at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida several years ago as it stood on the sandy beach.
Brown Pelicans on the Gulf of Mexico
The forecast is calling for snow today and there is already a heavy cloud cover so looked back through my files and found some Brown Pelican images taken on a warm February morning in Florida to post today.