White bird condos

I was going to lunch today and passed this big bush in the middle of a retention pond. It was full of egrets; great, snowy and cattle. I had to pull over on the side of the road and take a picture. They seemed to be hidden in the bush to stay out of the sun. (Taken with my old Fuji P&S).

Bug convention

It was sunny this morning so I made a trip to the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. Not many birds there today. I think they all flew north for the summer. Lots of cool insects though. There's a butterfly garden hidden away there that was full of butterflies. I saw a hummingbird there with the butterflies but was not able to get a picture. There were dragonflies, tadpoles, turtles and grasshoppers everywhere. I only saw one alligator, the rest must have been underwater.

I also ran into this woodpecker sitting high on a utlity pole. He was on the mulch path that runs around the retention ponds. Those utility poles are full of holes. He looks like he is left over from the 70's punk phase.

Feature: Harns Marsh Preserve

Harns Marsh Preserve, including a north and south marsh, located in Lehigh Acres, Florida, is a wildlife venue I strongly encourage you visit as I hope to many times in the future.

The Turkey Vulture above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

Currently at 578 acres in size, Harns Marsh is under control of the taxing authority, East County Water Control District (ECWCD), whose mission, in part, is to preserve and protect, in a financially responsible manner, water resources within 68,000 acres in Lehigh Acres (in Lee County), and about 2000 acres in western Hendry County.

Harns Marsh's construction was completed in 1985 after four years of effort after its initial design. 478 acres of property had been excavated at that time to improve storm water storage.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

It wasn't until 2007, when a drought in southwest Florida allowed dredging of 182 acres of the North Marsh's sediment and silt with removal of invasive plants and dead trees improving water quality and allowing significant water retention capability with hopes to minimize potential flooding of the Orange River and its adjacent communities during severe tropical storms or hurricanes.

Although not clearly noted in the source for the information above, there was hopefully revenue generated from the soil removed at that time to facilitate, at the end of the real estate boom, much needed repairs of the water structures in the area. ECWCD will be benefiting from federal stimulus funding in addition to local monies to progress with improvements within its jurisdiction.

The Limpkin above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

Harns Marsh Preserve will be undergoing major water storage facility improvements to its inflow and outflow weirs (small dams) in the winter of 2009 and in 2010. Harns Marsh Preserve is expected to become a Lee County Regional Park in 2011.

Improvements you will see at the preserve include a planned boardwalk. There will be extraordinary wildlife viewing opportunities going forward whatever happens, with plans as well to facilitate fishing at the preserve. The boardwalk will eliminate the experience of grasshoppers beating you in the chest as you currently must walk through the knee high grass they inhabit. I suspect there's a mowing of the grass at some point, but saw no recent evidence of it upon my first visit.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

I consider this venue as part of the Great Florida Birding Trail although it is not officially so yet.

It was here this week, upon my first visit to the preserve, that I was pleasantly surprised by what I observed. The water level from what has appeared an average summer rainy season was appealing. This may be perceived a classic case where water is an essential ingredient to viewing of relative wildlife rarities. Drought conditions would certainly negatively impact the presence of wildlife species here.

The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

What appeared to be the greatest amount of litter at the preserve were the shells of snails along the water's edge (hence the presence of the Snail Kite) which unfortunately included many plastic bottles and discarded shoes.

After reading of the abundance of fire ants here, I was pleased not to experience them at all, but there is poison ivy that should be avoided.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

I observed species of bird here that I have not seen anywhere else in my two years of diligent birding throughout southwest Florida which included the Limpkin. I found this species to be extraordinary in how its voice gave the venue the appeal of a jungle environment.

I also had the experience of observing a helicopter make a couple of flyovers of the marsh which included a landing that didn't seem as disruptive to the birds as was recently experienced at Bunche Beach Preserve.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

The chopper made its landing within the preserve beyond some trees and across the marsh which lasted for several minutes. I remember technical advice given to me to try to capture the blades of aircraft in motion which I believe I was able to master on this visit to the preserve. Unfortunately, I was not able to catch the entire "bird" in the frame.

I was tempted to wade in the water as I do at Great Florida Birding Trail venues for the enjoyment of it and to get closer to the wildlife as well. However, I didn't do so here as I was completely unfamiliar with the surroundings and especially didn't know if there were any alligators in the area. I didn't observe any in my hike around the marsh.

The aircraft above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in August 2009.

I observed a handful of bird species of the the 100 plus wildlife creatures identified by Cathy Olson, affiliated with Lee County Parks and Recreation, with cooperation of local wildlife organizations and chapters, thus far at the preserve.

I'm very much looking forward to further observations at this venue.

The Great Egret above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

The Snail Kite and Limpkin species are without question the highlight of Harns Marsh Preserve.

Shorebirds on the causeway.

Marbled Godwit standing in the water. Need a toothpick?

The black skimmer heads up the flock of seagulls.

A willet standing on one foot. How can this be comfortable?

A tricolored heron flying off in front of the causeway right before the storm.


Seagull taking a bath.

I stopped off on the Courtney Campbell causeway on the way home from work tonight. It was raining on the Clearwater side and hadn't started to rain on the Tampa side. I had my camera with me so I decided to get out and walk for a while and get some pictures. It has rained every night this week on the way home.

There was a large variety of shorebirds along the water. My first sighting of a marbled godwit. I love his long pink bill. He wouldn't let me get too close so the picture is very cropped. Same for the willit. It's funny how the seagulls will let you walk right up to them. There was a large flock of skimmers that kept flying back and forth across the section of the causeway.

Lots of bird activity before the rain. It started to drizzle so I headed back to my car and drove home.

Storms

Not much wildlife to see when nature looks like this every day for weeks. It's the typical August rain storms. Only they start around lunch and keep going all afternoon. This is my drive home every day this week so far. I have not been able to get out to a park to take pictures. Maybe this weekend. (Taken with my Blackberry)

Crescent Lake Park

It’s hot. It was so hot and steamy when I got up on Saturday morning. It looked like it might rain. I’m crazy when it comes to weather so I ventured out anyway. I had heard about a small flock of geese that live at Crescent Lake Park in St. Pete year round. When I got there around 9am there were tons of people everywhere. Everyone wanted to take advantage of the early morning sun before the afternoon rains hit. Lots of people walking dogs and kids were playing on the playground.

I found the geese at the south end of the lake. I only saw 2 couples. One goose looked very pregnant. These guys were very aggressive. I’m sure people feed them there. If you walk up to take a picture they come running up to you. If you don’t have food they attack your ankles. I saw this happen with a girl who had a point & shoot camera. Luckily I stayed far back with my 500mm lens. Not much else as far as nature there that morning except for the usual flocks of ibis and ducks.

I left the park and stopped by the St. Petersburg pier before heading home. Even the pier seemed quiet. Storms were brewing out in the bay. Not many people or birds there. A few pelicans were flying around. I was able to catch a few in flight before the rain started.

Pelican release

I recently had the good fortune to see around 140 pelicans released from the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.They were all injured birds that had been brought to the sanctuary to be fixed up and rehabilitated in the past several months.

My friend Laura who volunteers there emailed me about the release and said I should come down and take pictures. Brett and I went thinking we'd help out but when we arrived there were over 40 volunteers waiting in line to get a pelican, get it banded and walk it down to the beach and set it free. It was great fun watching the smiling faces walking the pelicans down the beach. I'm sure the pelicans were happy as well.

If you are in the Redington Shores or Indian Shore beach area you should stop in and see the place. They have hundreds of permanently injured seabirds there along with a few owls, vultures and hawks. They are non-profit and there is no charge to get in but there are donation boxes around the place.

Anticipation

With summer about to come to a close, the migratory action of numerous bird species will soon make their return. There are hundreds of additional bird species which I hope to observe in the future as I seem to miss each season.

For many of you, it may be seem an environment here in Florida in the habitat that these birds are otherwise comfortable in at this time of year when the climate is at its warmest.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in August 2009.

Extremes can be observed here in this part of the globe as I reminisce shivering due to the cool water and cold temperatures magnified by a breeze around the new year.

As each season passes, opportunities for you to have an observation of what appears here is documented when possible.

Have You Cleaned Your DSLR Sensor Lately?

Although I've kept the changing of lenses on my two year old Nikon D80 to a minimum, it was becoming increasingly apparent that my camera's sensor was in desperate need of cleaning as I was occasionally spending an inordinate amount of time editing an image to remove a dust spot on the edge of a bird's wing.

A few months ago, I contacted my local Ritz Camera store to inquire about their DSLR sensor cleaning service. When I was told that they would need to have the camera for a month, I realized I needed to consider another option and postponed the work.

When I was discussing the subject with pbase member and great friend, Tim Rucci, a few days ago, we agreed that he would do the cleaning of the camera's sensor for me. I shipped the camera to him via UPS on Wednesday around noon, and he received the camera Thursday. In less time than I thought of the camera's delivery to him, he advised me that he cleaned the exterior of the camera, cleaned the sensor (having made seven swabs to completely remove the stubborn dust to achieve his satisfaction), and shipped the camera back to me the same day.

I can't neglect to mention that I forgot to enclose the camera's owner's manual which I told Tim would be included to allow easy reference on how the camera's mirror would be locked in the up position to allow for the surgery. So, as a result, he also had to spend the time and effort to research and download the PDF owner's manual from Nikon for me.

I'm not sure if Tim would be interested in hearing from you for such a service, but I can't imagine less than your complete satisfaction in his resolving such an important maintenance of your camera to make your photos as appealing as they can be. I do know that if Tim would agree to clean your sensor for you, that the monies you would spend on such a service would be reinvested by him into his gear and the like to allow him to continue to bring us his beautiful images and education.

Tim's work in bringing my Nikon D80 back to life can be seen by clicking here.

Gatorland Bird Rookery

This past May I went to Gatorland. I didn't have any desire to go to an alligator attraction but I heard there was an unusual bird rookery there. The big alligator lake had mangroves all along the boardwalk and big wild water birds were coming there to breed.

Brett and I got up early one Saturday and drove over to Orlando. We got there when it opened at 9am. We walked straight back to the boardwalk. I thought we'd be one of the few people there that early. Coming around the corner there were at least 15 guys there already taking pictures with their big guns (big cameras, big lenses, big tripods). I found out later you can buy a photo pass to get in as early as 7am.

The mangroves were filled with birds: cattle egrets, great egrets, blue, tri-colored and great blue herons. I heard there were spoonbills (didn't see any). There were so many babies, from months old to days old. The parents were busy feeding them. It was very loud with all those babies crying. If you're into birds it's a great spectacle to see.

The alligators were fun to see as well. You can feed them and wrestle with them (we did neither). They had parrots, snakes and a few other animals. It was a fun morning.

Atlanta trip

Today I am on my way back home from Atlanta for a quick trip. Yesterday was such a beautiful day there I had to go to the zoo.

When I first arrived I noticed the baby flamingos. There were 7 babies. They were so cute in their grey fuzz. It's the first time I've seen kids get excited over flamingos.

Then I headed to the back of the zoo to see Xi Lan, the baby panda. She turns one this month but is still so funny rolling around and climbing the structure in the exhibit. A warning if you visit in the summer, the glass to see into the dayroom stays fogged up so it is hard to get good pictures. Because the dayroom the pandas are in stays around 60 degrees and the outside glass is so hot it stays fogged up.

The elephants there have an orange tint to them because of the good ole Georgia clay all over their enclosure. People always comment on their color.

Before I left I caught the lions running around for a few seconds before they plopped down for a nap. It's rare to see them playing, they usually sleep so much in the heat.

Feature: Brown Noddy

This is an account of the first documented sighting of the Brown Noddy at Lovers Key State Park, Fort Myers Beach, Florida USA. I made this observation of the species on 19 September 2008.

The Brown Noddy above was photographed at Lovers Key State Park in September 2008.

My visit to the park on this day was not unusual as I walked to New Pass at the southern end of the venue where numerous bird species can be seen with regularity. I happened to time my visit during an unusually low tide where the "flats" were well exposed. Visiting the sand bar required a walk across a channel that had a very strong current. This can be a little unnerving as the water's flow on one visit to the same location nearly swept me off my feet. Certainly not something you want to have happen while carrying photo gear.

When on the sandbar, you can experience its size shrink to the size of a bus or have it completely disappear as the tide rises. This is not something I recommend you do. The sandbar is a refuge for shore and wading birds at times. Regrettably, I have observed a disturbance of them by passing boats and the disembarking of families from watercraft on the sometimes small island that is created by the tides. Shellers, whom frequent the park, will sometimes have a disregard of the birds as well.

The Brown Noddy above was photographed at Lovers Key State Park in September 2008.

My Sibley field guide indicates the Brown Noddy to be extremely rare in the vast range of the state of Florida. The solitary individual of its species, which I had the incredible luck in seeing, was in the company of about 1000 birds including an American Kestrel (a flyover that caused massive panic as virtually every bird on the ground reacted as I'd liken to a wave in the crowd at a sporting event), Black Skimmers, Brown Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Laughing Gulls, Lesser Yellowlegs, an Osprey (overhead), a Reddish Egret, Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, and Willets.

I was able to observe the noddy for 21 minutes before it took flight with all the birds due to a passing boat. Many of the birds settled back down after a few minutes, but not the noddy. It moved to another location where I have yet to see it again.

The Brown Noddy above was photographed at Lovers Key State Park in September 2008.

Lovers Key State Park is north of the normal range for the Brown Noddy while the bird species is known to breed in the Dry Tortugas National Park to the south southwest.

The Brown Noddy was once observed at Cape May, New Jersey after accompanying Hurricane David up the Atlantic seaboard in 1979.

The Brown Noddy above was photographed at Lovers Key State Park in September 2008.

According to LKSP Park Services Specialist, Brie Ochoa, after researching the vertebrate database for the entire southwest district, the Brown Noddy was last seen at Del-Nor Wiggins Pass State Park in Naples, Florida 15 years prior to this sighting. Lovers Key State Park, on the Gulf of Mexico, is a stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail and the Great Calusa Blueway.

Zoo visit

If you're ever in the Tampa bay area you have to visit the Lowry Park zoo. Of course in August it's a million degrees with 125% humidity but if you get there early you should see some neat things. There's been a lot of babies this spring and summer. Baby manatees, white tiger cubs, orangutans (the baby just turned one), baby ducks and a baby hippo to name a few.

Last weekend I went to see the new baby rhino that was born on July 7th. Who would have thought a baby rhino could be so cute. She had so much personality and all of the kids were having a great time watching her play.

Going to the zoo for me is not a leisure event. I'm always out to get the best pictures when the animals I want to see are most active. I don't casually follow the path. I started last weekend going straight to the rhino exhibit. They weren't out yet. Ran across to see if the koala was awake. No such luck. Over to the baby tiger cubs (who now look almost fully grown). They were passed out (it was a hot morning). Made a complete circle through the zoo and ended up back at the rhino exhibit. They had just come out. After pictures of the baby rhino it's back to the koala, then to the manatees, etc. I get a good workout.

Starting out

I spend most of my weekends out in a park or the beach in the Tampa Bay area taking pictures of the wildlife or anything interesting I see. I bought my Nikon D60 camera last October and have been slowly learning how to use it. Books have been great. I have the Nikon D60 for Dummies (much more information than the useless manual the camera came with) and David Busch's Nikon D60 photography. I plan to take several classes in the next coming months. I love Flickr as well.

This past weekend I spent some time on Davis Islands walking around the area by the airport and Davis Islands yacht club. There are so many birds there to see. There are always dolphin sightings around that area as well.

The hubby came with me and rode his bike around while I was taking pictures. It was hot but beautiful.

Pictures are of Oystercatcher with a ruddy turnstone and a blue heron. Lots of shorebirds on the jetti this weekend.