Harns Marsh With 2X Extender

Bob Blanchard and I were in agreement this past week that an earlier arrival at Harns Marsh Preserve might be opportunistic in getting a better read on where and what wildlife would be offered in the best light of the day, also known as the golden hour.

The Greater Yellowlegs above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

I've not seen it noted before the potential impact cloud cover has on this event.

In the morning, I believe clouds to have an impact for good or bad with certain conditions extending the time for photography in the best light by hours or of course missing the opportunity completely.

The Black Vulture with Turkey Vulture above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The light was brighter much earlier than expected under the circumstances of the morning with an unusual absence of clouds to the east that sometimes mutes the sunlight beneficially as was the case just this past May 9th.

The majority of my visits to the marsh have had heavy cloud cover on the horizon to the east.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

There was a significant thunderstorm that rolled through the area since last week's visit to the marsh which offered only a negligible rise in the water level seen at the marsh.

This was made clear as the spit of "land" utilized to place my elbows in the mud last week was just a bit smaller.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

I was intrigued by Bob shooting with his 2X extender allowing a much closer view of his wildlife photography subjects last week.

I had acquired a 2X extender for planned trips to STA5 at the beginning of the year to photograph the subjects that had been reported at greater distances than is the norm in Florida bird observation.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The extender is certainly useful for photography at STA5 where most wildlife observers I've seen there utilize spotting scopes and you're typically observing the birds over prolific numbers of alligators.

With the sky so remarkably clear on my return visit to Harns Marsh Preserve this week it seemed like I arrived later than I should have.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

Approaching the tractor I caught sight of a pair of Black-crowned Night-Herons at the north side of the lakes.

I backtracked with hopes of photographing them in their slumber as I walked along the vegetation only finding myself almost knee deep in muck.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

On higher ground I continued toward the area I had seen the unidentified species of bird I hoped to get a glimpse of again.

With its second sighting, I'm quite confident it was Least Bittern.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

After I settled down to observe the scene, I again I had the sense that I was at one of southwest Florida's most remarkable places for wildlife observation.

There weren't any BCNH seen further which was surprising and leads me to believe that they are possibly nesting.

The 1st Spring Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

Black-necked Stilt were again observed while I thought there was a sixth of the species briefly, but determined there were again only five.

Almost immediately after my observations at this point I was sure that I was not going to get the images of the wildlife I had hoped.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The wildlife was too close and mobile for me to effectively capture what I was seeing with the camera with the 2X extender attached resulting in far fewer "keepers."

I should have the extender with me at the marsh, but certainly won't keep it attached to the camera for the entire visit as was the case this week.

The Bald Eagle above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

American White Pelican were again observed, but never close enough to photograph effectively.

A Mottled Duck was observed with an orange band on its left leg.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

There were also four Sandhill Crane seen flying north at a great distance.

I'm envious of Tom Obrock photographing the crane with juveniles in the area of the marsh a couple of weeks ago, as I haven't been so fortunate.

The Great Egret above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

It was a treat to see what I believe were about a dozen migrating Semipalmated Sandpiper in breeding plumage while I find it very difficult to distinguish this species from Western Sandpiper.

The sandpipers seemed out of place so far from the beach where the peeps are much more frequently seen.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

By far the vast majority of my time this week was observing the behavior of the Black-necked Stilt.

I believe that the stilt is very territorial and calls in alarm if you are within their territory.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The Black-necked Stilt will also flap it wings in a very animated manner for an extended period.

The species was noted to be quite aggressive to birds even much larger than itself while harassing a spoonbill this week.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

If you're ever in the situation of having to photograph your wildlife subject into the light, you must use extreme care not to underexpose the image.

I perhaps go a little heavy with the setting, but believe the results to be satisfactory under the circumstances.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

This effort was made intentionally to test all the lighting conditions at hand without neglecting wildlife observation for the sake of the better photograph.

Investigate my image's EXIF data to understand what's involved.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The image of the Roseate Spoonbill presented last week was overexposed by at least a couple of stops, but was glad to get an image I thought worth presenting.

The Black-necked Stilt worked extremely hard for a meal and I was fortunate to capture a feeding shot which I did not realize in real time.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

I had never seen this species with a catch before not withstanding that my observation time of this species has been very limited.

I hope to photograph the feeding behavior again with a fish in beak while stilt are extremely fast and offer a great challenge.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

A near complete review of images taken of the Black-necked Stilt this week revealed why the species is so aggressive toward birds so much larger that itself.

In the immediate area where a flock of spoonbills, storks, and egrets flew in for a pause in their routine was the nest of the stilt with a pair of unprotected eggs that could so easily be crushed.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The nest seemed precarious with so many factors against the hatching of the eggs and survival of the next generation of Black-necked Stilt.

Three Weeks and Counting Down

Although Sibley's Guide to Bird Life and Behavior fails to note the incubation period for Burrowing Owl eggs specifically, the guide and my most recent observations seem to indicate that there may be fledglings at the burrows within a few weeks.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

Sibley notes smaller owls to have the shorter incubation period while the largest owls have incubation periods of up to five weeks.

I was able to make four trips to Cape Coral to observe the Burrowing Owl since my last post and also made a trip to Harns Marsh Preserve in Lehigh Acres.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

My speculation of the timing for the hatching of the owls is based on what appears to be strong evidence.

Every single burrow observed along a residential street parallel to Skyline Boulevard south of the Cape Coral Library had a sole owl at the entrance to the burrow on the evening of 8 April 2010.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

Just days before, in most cases, both owls were observed at the burrows so there's the possibility that the females have most recently been in the burrows laying and incubating eggs.

My research of the Burrowing Owl has led to the understanding that owls will typically lay one egg every day or two in favorable conditions of food availability (thus far I have only observed food consumption on two occasions) and lay up to five eggs.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

I've found the Burrowing Owl sex to be extremely difficult to distinguish as the bird's appearance is so similar.

There was a pair of owls I observed on Wednesday at the Cape Coral Library where one of the bird's breast was significantly whiter than the other.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

The birds mated and, with a close look at the photographs taken, I will be able to determine which of the two was making enhancements to the burrow by digging at its entrance which I observed for the first time.

I am quite confidant to note in my study of the Burrowing Owl that the male stays at the entrance of the burrow while the female will sometimes leave it briefly prior to sunset.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

Under such occasions where the female leaves the burrow entrance, she most often returns at the bequest of the male with his call where mating has often been observed immediately thereafter.

There is a burrow south of the Cape Coral Library that still does not have the PVC pipe installed to indicate its presence.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

While I considered immediately reporting the burrow and its owl activity when found, I am glad now in hindsight that I had not.

A story has been told to me by my work acquaintance Stephanie Sikora that Burrowing Owls that were active at a Publix Super Market on Cape Coral Boulevard abandoned the burrow when protective measures were put in place.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

Although I've spent quite a few hours observing the owls at this particular burrow south of the library, I have not observed them to mate which I cannot explain more than unusual.

There were several mating events again observed in lighting conditions too dark to photograph.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

This past week also offered me the opportunity to photograph the Swallow-tailed Kite for the first time at Harns Marsh Preserve.

While I had observed the kite in the area of the Southwest Florida International Airport on several occasions late last fall and most recently this past week as well, I didn't have my camera with me.

The Burrowing Owl activity above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in April 2010.

There were numerous waterfowl at close range at Harns Marsh Preserve including several species.

A highlight in their sighting was the Common Moorhen which involved a chase as I've observed once before at Green Cay Wetlands and Nature Center near Delray Beach.

The Common Moorhen above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in April 2010.

Although I didn't see the Snail Kite at Harns Marsh on this week's visit, it was reported to have been observed that morning by a fellow visitor and world travel I met named Hemant Kishan.

I also met other interesting people including the mother (recovering from a broken ankle yet insisting on walking a great distance at Harns Marsh Preserve) of the Chairman of the Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation department, John P. Hayes, at the University of Florida.

The wildlife enthusiasts above were photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in April 2010.

I encountered Cheryl, Gloria and Wes as well visiting from Venice, Florida, where I was told of some extraordinary bird activity and recovery around the Venice Rookery.

Linda from Michigan was also a pleasure to speak with as she told me of a seasonal wildlife photographer that has studied the Scarlet Ibis with great success and most recently reported to have been observed at Little Estero Island Lagoon.

The wildlife enthusiasts above were photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in April 2010.

Certainly off the subject of wildlife though in fitting with the title of this blog entry, I want to note that I witnessed the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery on the morning of 5 April 2010 from Fort Myers.

It was quite extraordinary as the light from the shuttle's engines was comparable to the brightest anti-collision lights of large commercial aircraft flying overhead at night toward the above mentioned airport.

The Swallow-tailed Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in April 2010.

Although I didn't photograph this event, it will always be a fond memory, and may be seen as witnessed in close proximity to Cape Canaveral by pbaser and blogger Tim Rucci.