Audio Visual

In my hope to observe the Scarlet Ibis, I finally found it at Lakes Regional Park this past week.

The scene above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

I had brought my kayak with the expectation that I would find it roosting in one of the park's many very small islands within it.

Mere minutes after getting the watercraft on the ground upon my arrival, I caught a glimpse of a red spot out of the corner of my eye.

The scene above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

The Scarlet Ibis was in a group of White Ibis feeding in the shallow water at the park's south beach.

As I stealthily approached to get my first photograph of the creature, from about 50 feet, all the birds nonetheless took flight and I missed the shot.

The scene above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

Within minutes all the birds returned after circling the park, except for the Scarlet Ibis.

I launched the kayak to have an enjoyable morning attempting to find the Scarlet Ibis roosting, though was disappointed to find that the prime area for that possibility is off limits to public paddle boats.

The Green Heron above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

There are tremendous opportunities to capture images of a diversity of birds in flight at Lakes Park and I will return to take advantage of that.

Yesterday evening offered another first for me when I made another trip to Cape Coral to observe the Burrowing Owl.

The juvenile Bald Eagle above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

While I initially captured a few still images of the birds I was observing, the primary intent was to create a movie of the owl's mating behavior which the Canon 5DM2 is capable of doing.

After finding a burrow and birds that might accommodate my mission, I settled down and prepared the camera's settings.

The White Ibis above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

With patience, I was rewarded with documenting the event at the burrow which I had only observed the male at the last few occasions I drove through the area.

Regrettably on this first attempt, the male's wings were clipped out of the frame and the composition of the birds could have been much improved.

The White Ibis above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

The quality of the audio recording could also be much improved with an external mic as the wind was buffeting the camera gear pretty hard.

When I acquired the latest version of Photoshop Elements this past week, I chose the basic version, so back it will go to be exchanged for the version that can edit movies.

2009 Year In Review I

JANUARY
The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2009.

The beginning of the year was an exceptionally exciting time as I was getting the feel for some newly acquired photography gear that would give me great pleasure and grief. I made a trip to San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve (SCBBBP) early in the month and one to Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve towards the end.

FEBRUARY
The Red-shouldered Hawk above was photographed at Picayune State Forest in February 2009.

A number of Great Florida Birding Trail sites were visited in this month including those in the area of the Florida Everglades while nearly getting lost in Picayune State Forest. I also made a trip to "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge where I observed the Common Merganser for the first time. I made a trip to the east coast where I visited Wakodahatchee Wetlands and Green Cay Wetlands and Nature Center (both venues highly recommended at this time of year). Shore and wading birds were observed in beautiful breeding condition at SCBBBP.

MARCH
The Northern Mockingbird with Bald Eagle and juvenile above was photographed at Lovers Key State Park in March 2009.

I made six trips to Lovers Key State Park to observe the successful nesting of a pair of Bald Eagle fledglings. One of the most exciting sights I've made in all my birding was simply watching an Osprey aggressively defending its territory against an adult eagle. The aerobatics were stunning and never to be forgotten. My trips to National Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the middle and towards the end of the month offered some extraordinary views from the boardwalk of the wading birds and alligators in very close proximity to each other in the dwindling waters of the "swamp." It was at this time I realized how essentially critical it is to be using flash with one's photography there. To end the month, I made a "day" trip to Key West visiting three clusters of the South Region of the Great Florida Birding Trail and six venues within them. I captured an image of a Palm Warbler at Crane Point Museum and Nature Center in Marathon that I would later enter in Audubon's inaugural photo contest.

APRIL
The Great Egret juvenile above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in April 2009.

I visited Lovers Key State Park, Lakes Park, SCBBBP, Bowditch Point, and Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area, at least once. Without doubt, the highlights were the visits to "Bird Island" at SCBBBP including one with fellow wildlife enthusiast and photographer, Alena King, whom had earlier told me of the prolific breeding activity at Bunche Beach Preserve. It was at this time that there was a shutter mechanism failure with my Canon 1dm3 camera coincidentally three months to the day after my first shots with it.

MAY
The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Tigertail Beach in May 2009.

A follow up trip was made to "Bird Island" with Alena at the beginning of the month. The experience for me was extraordinary in the observation of hundreds of nests and the diversity of bird species using them. I used the Nikon D80 solely on these trips to the island with ease of carrying it and the accompanying 70-300mm lens on the Kayak. Also in the early part of the month I visited 16 venues within five clusters of the West Region of the Great Florida Birding Trail (slightly North of the Tampa Bay area and South). An image of a pair of Laughing Gull taken at Sand Key Park in Clearwater would be a second of four images submitted to Audubon. Three trip to Lovers Key State Park were made with hopes to observe the Least Tern breeding on the beach. Their numbers were dramatically lower than those seen in 2007. My first trip to Tigertail Beach was also made for the first time early in the month.

JUNE
The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Lovers Key State Park in June 2009.

Early in the month, I made my second trip to Tigertail Beach that was cut short by a thunderstorm that began to unleash a maelstrom a mere hundred yards from the car. A final trip to Lovers Key State Park was made, not to happen again for six months. The nesting Least Tern activity at Lovers Key was regrettably minimal. Three additional trips were also made to Bunche Beach Preserve. While I've yet to visit Tigertail Beach in the winter months, I greatly favor Bunche Beach by far for its wildlife opportunities in comparing these two similar venues as I've experienced thus far.

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.