Keith H. and I took advantage of our annual photo passes and stopped by Gatorland yesterday morning. If you’ve planned to see the wild bird rookery there, don’t wait too long. There’s a lot going on now and it won’t last forever.
Cattle Egrets and Cormorants are still incubating eggs and should start hatching soon. Great Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, Anhingas, and Woodstorks have hatched and you can get great photos of parenting activity including feeding, nest maintenance, displays, and flight to / from nests. All of the birds are in peak breeding colors.
Tri-colored Heron in flight
Gatorland is a great place to practice flight photography. Observe the bird behavior for a while, pick a likely place with a good background (hopefully in the shade) and wait. Opportunities will occur!
Cattle Egret
Most of the Cattle Egrets were back in the bushes, in bad light and obscured by twigs. Be observant and patient you’ll find one out in the open and maybe even in front of a dark background.
Here’s a couple more photos from yesterday:
Anhinga in flight – they’re very different (and attractive) in breeding season.
Double Crested Cormorant – very pretty eyes if you can catch them in the right light
We also saw several other birds types including a Swallow-tailed Kite.
If you go during the week, take advantage of the early entry option. We got there at 7:30 and there were only a few other photographers there. As we were leaving about 10:15, there was a huge line waiting to get in. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to photograph in the early morning light and when it’s peaceful.
Another reason to visit Gatorland is to see the new Panther Springs exhibit. These animals are very impressive – I didn’t realize how large they are. These two are a brother and sister pair that were raised in captivity and so can’t be released back to the wild. The Florida Panther population is estimated at only 100 – 160 in south-west Florida. Well worth seeing.
Hello kitty!
You can read other Central Florida Photo Ops blog posts about Gatorland from this link. And this set on Flickr has many other photos I’ve made there
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
Great write-up, and fabulous shots, as ever!
Thanks, Rhona. There were a lot of pretty birds there.
BEAUTIFUL
Many thanks, Donna.
Hi Ed,
Having fun seeing your photos and suggestions. Have had a great time at the Rookery with many great shots.
I went to Goodwin’s Stick Marsh 10 am saturday and had wonderful time. I was prompted by 2 friends that also have great photos of this incredible area. It also the leads into the Blue Cypress lake and conversation area. 6.5 miles of dirt road and well worth it. Lots of water, marshes, lakes, and huge canal. I took only photos of spoonbills and osprey, but there has got to be lots of other birds there also.
Portia
Hello Portia,
Thanks for stopping by the blog. I’ve been to Blue Cypress Lake, but didn’t make it to the Stick Marsh. I’ll add it to my list for a future visit. Great suggestion!
Ed