May 21, 2010 by
Mike Hoffman
Local Tampa photographer Michael White messaged me today, asking about where to find owls in Fort DeSoto Park here in Pinellas County. Now, I’ve been going to Fort DeSoto for years and haven’t seen an owl, so my interest was piqued. After poking around on Google, I ran across a local blog mentioning a Great Horned Owl with a fledgling in a nest, easily accessible by the North Beach. As I had some free time in the afternoon, I set out to see if I could find them!
I started at the north end of the North Beach, and walking through the pines near the water, I spotted some interesting shore birds, including this Black-Bellied Plover:
Onward I went, and after much searching, I finally located the Australian pine with the dozing mother owl. I was able to get relatively close and take quite a few pictures:
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April 27, 2010 by
Mike Hoffman
On Sunday, I had the great fortune to make a road trip down to southwest Florida to visit Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, along with two friends from NAPP, Michael White and Bob Arlen. The late spring is generally a good time in Florida for birding, and we hoped to get a chance to exercise our photographic muscles. Rather than head out the night before, we toughed it and left our respective homes prior to 4am (!) in order to make it to the sanctuary by opening time of 7am. The weather cooperated, as the powerful storms that were threatening Florida held off until later Sunday night.
The tone was set for excitement as we spotted an 8-point buck near the park entrance. Deer that size are rare in Florida! We proceeded into the sanctuary, cameras ready and with bated breath. Alas, two natural occurrences prevented the day form being everything it promised: due to the cold Florida winter, there had been no wood stork nesting activity in the Sanctuary this year, and due to the unusually wet winter, there was a lot of water everywhere – so instead of the birds congregating in the center of the swamp, there were very few wading birds in sight.
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April 2, 2010 by admin
As I mentioned yesterday, my little unplanned afternoon by the bay turned into a most enjoyable birding expedition. Besides the photo opportunities, I had great fun explaining to my 2-1/2 year old granddaughter what was going on with the Reddish Egret you see below. As you may know from experience or from one of my earlier postings, Reddish Egrets are very animated when fishing, running and trotting in circles in shallow water with their wings out, in what is known as “canopy fishing”
We had a gleeful time watching the antics, and then he stopped directly in front of us, stared, and proceeded to shake himself vigorously. Click! I was able to catch these shots. The light was fading, so there is a good bit of motion blur, but I still like the shots!
These images were processed in Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS5. I’d like to give Lightroom 3 a shot at the noise, but I haven’t had time to install the beta version yet.
Tune in tomorrow for some travel photos!
April 1, 2010 by admin
Just when I was lamenting my lack of time for birding, I had one of those moments! My wife and I packed our granddaughter in the car and headed for North Shore Drive in Saint Petersburg, and luckily I brought the camera. For, what should happen to appear, in the golden hour before sunset, but two beautiful roseate spoonbills. And a reddish egret, in full breeding plumage and playful splendor.
Here are a couple of shots of the spoonbills; I’ll post some of the egret tomorrow.
Beautiful birds, aren’t they? These were processed in Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS5, with a tiny bit of help from Topaz Adjust (just an accent). Enjoy!
January 18, 2010 by admin
Over the past couple of months, I’ve presented a relatively complete overview of the heron family. It’s finally time to move on! This week we will take a look at the Ibis family, a very recognizable and culturally important bird, known throughout the world for its large curved bill.
Ibis are a group of long legged wading birds, and in the United States we have a few native species, as well as some wanderers from South America. We’ll cover them all here, starting with our cover bird, shown here, the White Ibis.
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January 4, 2010 by admin
Happy New Year to all, and welcome back! Over the past several weeks, we’ve taken a look at a variety of Herons, and this week it is time to close the chapter on herons with two of my favorites – the Night Herons.
Night herons come in two varieties, the Black-Crowned Night Heron and the Yellow Crowned Night Heron. As their name would imply, both are primarily nocturnal feeders, although it is not uncommon to find them out and about in the daytime as well.
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December 29, 2009 by admin
We see loads of tutorials online teaching aspiring photographers how to retouch portraits of people, but it’s not very common to see one that deals with our avian friends. Nevertheless, retouching in bird photography is every bit as important (maybe more so) than retouching people. Since most birds haven’t had the chance to apply makeup before the shoot, we’re going to have to give them a little bit of help in post production to have them looking their best!
So, join me as we apply a little bit of makeup, mascara, and maybe even (gasp) a little plastic surgery as we retouch our bird portrait – and take it from good to great.
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December 28, 2009 by admin
This week, we’ll take a look at one of the smallest herons – the Green Heron. This slight bird, when full grown, measures only about 44cm (just under 18”), and with its small size and variegated color, tends to easily blend in with the background.
Once you spot one, they are easily recognized – from the head, neck and breast ranging from a brownish to reddish color, the greenish feathers on the wings and back, and the bright legs (which range from a yellow to vivid orange color), this bird is not easily mistaken for anyone else!
As with other herons we’ve reviewed in recent weeks, this one is also a resident of the swamps and wetlands. We in Florida are lucky enough to have them all year around, but most of the US sees the Green Heron only as a winter visitor. They tend to summer in Mexico and Central America, and are spotted as a migratory visitor in the southwestern states of Arizona and New Mexico, as well as parts of California and Texas.
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December 21, 2009 by admin
I’ve been somewhat remiss in posting here lately – December has presented the dual challenge of getting ready for the holidays, combined with a rather aggressive travel schedule for me. However, I am back on track now, and will finish out this year with a couple of new postings discussing the remainder of the heron family – starting with the Tricolored Heron.
Formerly known as the Louisiana Heron (and I don’t know who changed the name, as I think it was just fine as it was), this is the third blue heron in our lineup. Recall that we have looked at the Great Blue Heron, followed by the Little Blue Heron. This third in line is often confused with the Little Blue Heron, but stick with me here and I’ll give you a few pointers for identification. Once you know what to look for, telling the two apart will be easy. Amaze your friends!
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December 8, 2009 by admin
Today we continue our exploration of the heron tribe by taking a look at the Little Blue Heron. A smallish heron, this bird is typically found in freshwater lakes, ponds and waterways, but also strays into salt marshes and estuaries. While not as ubiquitous and typically not as gregarious as its larger cousin, I wonder who decided which one should be given the title “great?”
These quiet little wading birds inhabit most of the eastern half of the US, as well as most of Central America and part of South America as well. They tend to associate with other herons, feeding on fish, crustaceans and insects as they pick their way methodically along the shorelines of waterways and marshes.
With their coloration, these herons are easy to overlook; often while scanning a canal, river or lake shore, you won’t see them at first – then suddenly there is one, no – two, no – three or more of them hidden in the weeds at the water’s edge.
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