A nice way to end out a bad year...

While out taking care of business today, I decided to stop and bird a nice looking field adjacent to the Mill Creek in West Chester, Ohio (north of Cincy). Glad I did.

Birds seen included:

4 Wilson's Snipe
6 Eastern Meadowlarks
Several White-crowned, Song, American Tree Sparrows
3 Redtail Hawks
3 American Kestrels
Canada Geese, Mallards, American Black Ducks, Belted Kingfisher,

and this Peregrine Falcon diving on some Mourning Doves: (Keep watching, a Peregrine will soon appear!) P.S. - There is no sound!

Sandhill Cranes

Earlier last week I was headed to Lake Seminole Park and saw these 3 sandhill cranes wandering around by the St. Petersburg College in Seminole. Of course I did a u turn and stopped in a parking lot nearby to take pictures. These birds were so graceful and did not seem to be afraid of all of the people walking by (which is a little scary). You don't see sandhill cranes that often in Pinellas county. They are more of an inland bird than coastal bird. These are my first decent pictures of this bird. I rarely see them in the coastal parks I usually go to. When I showed the pictures to my husband he said "Oh, I see those on golf courses all the time." So much for excitement.

Mated pairs stay together year round so this might be a couple and their offspring from last winter. Hopefully if they stay for the winter we might see a baby or two next spring.

White pelican update

The white pelicans are now at Circle B Bar Reserve in large numbers. Some say in the thousands. It's really amazing to see a lake full of white pelicans all swimming together. They are constantly flying around in circles or flying back and forth between the lakes there.

Flowers and small birds

Palm warbler in the grass.


Mockingbird posing (as usual).

I think this is a grey gnatcatcher.

Dead flowers in the field.

Flowers trying to survive the wind.

Before we left for Atlanta to visit relatives for Christmas I visited the Circle B Bar reserve in Lakeland. It was cold and windy on Tuesday morning. There wasn't a lot of people there, nor animals around for that matter. For the first time ever I did not see a single alligator there. They must have been hiding under water. I did manage to catch a few pictures of smaller birds. The flock of white pelicans there seem to be growing. More on those later.

Outside Of The Box

The following is commentary that accompanies an image posted at Birdphotographers.net . . .

The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in December 2009.

It's intriguing to be back to BPN after joining the site 15 months ago. I'm perplexed by all the bells and whistles as I was the first time I explored the site. I'll hopefully get over it with additional time allowed.

This place appears to offer a great opportunity to advance in photography technique beyond trial and error.

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

I've become fascinated with the photography of birds and their identification. My greatest struggle is with the shorebirds that look too much alike even after observing them for several seasons now.

A 2009 Christmas gift was a book PHOTOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO THE SHOREBIRDS OF THE WORLD.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in December 2009.

I'm especially intrigued with it stating on the back cover "How do you tell the difference between a Western Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper at 100 yards?"

Well, there are regrettably other species that are much more indistinguishable at nine yards for novice bird enthusiasts as I include myself.

The Forster's Tern above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in December 2009.

I find great enjoyment in carrying a camera around. Sometimes the stuff attached to it can be a curse especially when walking with a view of the Gulf of Mexico or its nearby waters through sugar sand or muddy environs.

I haven't overcome the discomfort of potential threat of the gators in the area. I make every effort to avoid them and stingrays in the summer months.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in December 2009.

I've most recently observed and reflected on the proximity of dolphins in the water with me that could cause possible harm to the gear capturing images of them.

These are recent personal thoughts while I was reading Artie's blog where it offered a link to a wildlife enthusiast that met a gruesome end with a bear in the wild.

The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in December 2009.

His most recent personal musing on how dangerous it was to capture a good shot of a bird on a jettie should really be appreciated for one's passion in doing what he and others consider easy to do. I'd be prepared to lose the gear in a heartbeat if my life were in jeopardy.

Well, back to the reason you are reading this, I captured an image of birds with light that I especially like and offer it in this forum for criticism. The title of the shot is derived from the immediate thought I had in its colors. The reds should preferably be at the bottom of the image, but what the heck, it's the best I could do at the moment.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in December 2009.

I pushed the ISO higher comfortably than I have in the past with what I consider acceptable results.

The editing education available here in the forums is especially welcome although I'm currently a minimalist.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in December 2009.

My record at pbase may have you convinced otherwise.

Had to do a copy and paste of the shot. The other option is a mystery to me.

Lake Seminole Park

White duck looking for a handout.


Lone limpkin

Grebe all wet from diving under for food.

Great blue heron trying to hide in the reeds.

Saturday morning I paid a visit to Lake Seminole Park. I hadn't been there in while. It was pretty cold and windy when I got there. I wasn't sure if I would see much wildlife. There were a handful of birds there. The usual osprey, herons and ducks. This past spring there was an osprey nest with babies and a great blue heron nest with babies at the large center pond. I'll have to check again this spring to see if they are back. When I was driving out of the park I saw a big group of ducks by one of the small parking areas. I pulled in to see what kind of ducks where there. As soon as I drove into a parking spot the ducks all came running to the car. They have obviously been feed there often. When I got out with my camera they came running up to me as if to attack my feet. I jumped back in the car and took a few pictures from the window. The ironic thing is there is a big sign there that says "Do not feed the wildlife" with a picture of a duck.

Low Tide

Night heron walking along the shore of Courtney Campbell Causeway at low tide.


Great blue heron

Abandoned sailboat sitting on the sand in low tide.

Tourist feeding the seagulls on the causeway at low tide.

The tide has been very low this past few days. At noon on Monday I was driving across the Courtney Campbell Causeway (from Clearwater to Tampa) and stopped to take a few pictures. There were a handful of birds braving the wind. They were out on the sand looking for food. There weren't too many fisherman since there was not a lot of water close to the road. It will probably stay this way during the day for a month or two.

Cold windy day

Osprey flapping in the wind.

Seagulls resting on a quiet dock.

Birds feeding around a fire hydrant on Davis Islands.

You can almost always find oystercatchers around Davis Islands.


Willet looking at himself.

Bad hair day.

Brett & I decided to brave the cold (yes, here it's cold at 55 degrees) and wind late Sunday afternoon and get some excercise walking around Davis Islands by the airport. A huge blanket of clouds hid the sun right after we got there so it got even colder. We lasted about an hour. There were still a handfull of birds around. I figured they would all head for Miami. I would have if I could fly off anywhere at anytime.

Backyard birds

I came home from work Friday just before dark and this little kingfisher was sitting on my backyard fence. I took these pictures through the bedroom window.

Then it started to rain. He still sat there for a while. He left before dark.

Then Saturday morning I peeked out the bedroom window and this immature ibis was eating bugs in our backyard.

Circle B Bar Part 4 - other animals

There were turtles everywhere.


Black racer on the trail.

Smaller alligator on the trail.

The big one in the bird pod.

The big one up close.

There are lots of other animals at Circle B besides birds and ducks. Sunday I saw at least 10 alligators. Turtles were everywhere in the water. Several people reported raccoons there on Sunday. I've also heard about many other animals that are there but I haven't seen yet: otters, raccoons, foxes and wild pigs. The wild pigs come out on the trail when it gets dark. A group of 10 wild pigs were sited recently by someone taking sunset pictures there.

Little Estero Lagoon V

A fifth trip to Little Estero Lagoon was not a disappointment on Thursday.

The Bottlenose Dolphin above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

I arrived before sunrise with the tide reaching its low 30 minutes later when the water would continue to rise although not reach a peak all day. A single tide in a day is a rare occurrence.

The lagoon was absent of the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron for the first time in all my visits. The Belted Kingfisher, Mottled Duck and Killdeer were immediately observed, however.

The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area after getting bumped by a Bottlenose Dolphin in December 2009.

I was compelled to make my way to the beach with no other action in the lagoon. I walked around the lagoon although I could have easily walked through it.

Initially, waves on the Gulf of Mexico were absent. I wouldn't encounter them with concern until later in the morning when I waded out in an attempt to get better light.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

Brown Pelicans made frequent passes by me from the north.

I met some interesting travelers as usual. One of them had told me of the observation of the Long-billed Curlew and Black-necked Stilt the day before. They were not seen on my most recent visit.

The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

I observed the Ruddy Turnstone consuming mollusc attached to vegetation along the shore line. Typically the behavior of the species would involve it merely flipping shells, sea grass, or small twigs on the beach. Setting up in position for the shots was a very risky endeavor.

The Sandwich and Forster's Terns were actively feeding all morning. I made a great effort to take images of them as they just broke the water's surface. They are much too small and fast for me to track effectively.

The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

I'm still struggling to do the same with the much larger Brown Pelican.

It was at this point that I waded about 30 feet into the Gulf to get the sun behind me. As the wind picked up a little, the swells were not predictable. I was compelled to lift the photo gear out of the water a couple of times to avoid damage to it.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

As I made my way further south along the beach, the numbers of birds and activity increased.

At one point I observed a large group of Pelicans at rest. What I thought was a call from one of them I've concluded to have been from a Double-crested Cormorant among them noted in a photograph of them later.

The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

I had immediately thought of the Limpkin or at least Harnes Marsh Preserve with the call seemingly appropriate for a jungle like environment.

Both the pelican and cormorant are considered to be silent outside of their nesting areas.

The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

The southern lagoon I found to be much too muddy to walk in after an initial attempt. I wasn't willing to lose my shoes in an effort to get a better perspective on an early Little Blue Heron juvenile.

The experience of the day was much more impressive than can be described here.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in December 2009.

A future trip to Little Estero Lagoon Critical Wildlife Area is assured.