The weather was inclement on my days off from work which made for a challenge to get some fresh wildlife photography included in this post.
The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.It wasn't until hours ago that it all came together for a message you will hopefully appreciate.
The sky finally cleared on Friday and offered some of the best light I remember from experiences I've had the last couple of years during the rainy season in southwest Florida.
The fellow visitors above were photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.Weather conditions were ideal with little chance of rain with a low tide a couple of hours before sunset at Matanzas Pass.
Therefore I chose to visit Bunche Beach to see what kind of wildlife action was happening there.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.Just before I left for the venue, I sent an email to Tom Obrock reminding him of the low tide at the preserve.
I was pleased to see that he had made the effort to travel there to observe the wildlife as well.
The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.He told me of future plans he has to visit Idaho where he will undoubtedly report in his blog some exciting observations.
After parking the car in the late afternoon, I headed toward the west channel with relatively light winds at the time and more birds seen that direction.
The Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.The tide at the beach was about as low as it gets in the summer months and offered an interesting scene where numerous sand bars are beginning to form into the bay perpendicular from the beach.
They will allow great opportunity for birds to rest, feed, and be observable in the future.
The Western Sandpiper above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.If the wind was strong from the west, I think I would have made my way to the east channel as I've had success with photographing wildlife under those conditions in the past.
Under such conditions I think I would have also been concerned about the possibility of methane in the air due to the British Petroleum gusher feeding oil to the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.It seems unfathomable to me the potential adverse impact to this venue from the BP disaster.
With the west channel much shallower than that to the east, it attracts much more fishermen.
The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.Today was no exception as there were a lot of patrons to the preserve that were throwing cast nets for bait certainly with plans to fish elsewhere as they didn't have poles with them.
Their activity caused most of the birds I was observing to exit the area on a few occasions as the men made their way back and forth along the channel.
The fisherman above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.As usual, when I plant myself down for viewing of the birds at Bunche Beach in the west channel, it was a little unnerving as small fish, crabs, and plant debris made contact with me in the water that is very murky.
I had the opportunity to experience a tide change and the resulting stillness of the water that seemingly lasts only seconds.
The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.An unusually cloudless sky to the west at the time of sunset had me completely focused on the birds in great light more so than the opportunity to capture the setting sun.
I walked much further west than expected after both Tom and another visitor to the preserve had told me of the black-crowned herons observed beyond where I was.
The Sanderling above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.The view of the preserve and San Carlos Bay from a scenic point of view was stunning under such great weather conditions.
With the loss of my Aunt Nettie this past month, I've decided to name my long lens in remembrance of her.
The Semipalmated Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.Fellow Pbaser,
Susan Rovera, made a comment at my Bunche Beach Preserve gallery recently expressing the thought, "You get the most from your (70-)300mm zoom."
Just before my latest trip to the preserve this past week, I made settings on the 5DM2 as recommended by Artie Morris for the 1DM3 as best was possible with what can be done with the former camera.
Tom Obrock above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.The most radical change made was setting the "picture style" to Neutral.
Most recently I was using "landscape" thinking that it might provide some more sharpness and color in the wildlife images I take.
The Black-crowned Night-Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.I'll have to report later if I see a significant improvement in image quality.
One of the better results in changes the camera's settings apparently has improved the loss of quality while brightening dark shadows.
The Black-crowned Night-Heron juvenile above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2010.Closer to the wildlife is definitely better if you can manage it with great care.
New pine cones growing in the summer? No, it's not Tampa. I stopped by Zoo Atlanta for a quick visit while I was visiting my in-laws recently. Hey, anything to get out of the in-law house for an hour, right? The pine cones were bright green and looked pretty against the blue sky. They were in the asian section next to the panda house. The pandas were all sleeping while I was there so that was not fun. Below are some of the animals at the zoo. Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa does not have pandas, gorillas or lions so I was trying to get some pictures of those.
