It’s that time of year again. I had an errand over in Maitland and stopped by the nest last Monday. They look like they’re doing well. I only saw one chick (which I’d guess was about a week old). I’ve read that one egg can hatch early and be followed by others later, so maybe this one will have some siblings.
Here are a few photos:
Dad watching the nest while Mom takes a break.
Mom, Dad, and chick.
Mom feeding fresh fish to her chick.
Mom and chick – looking for Dad to come back with more fish.
I enjoy following this nest each year. The setting is ideal for photographs: You can get relatively close but not stress the birds. And I like seeing these wild creatures thrive in the middle of all us humans.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, check on some of your wild neighbors. And make some photos!
The last time I was at Orlando Wetlands was February 10th. It was a nice walk but I didn’t get many photos I liked, so I didn’t post about it on the blog. Here’s one from that day that did turn out:
Spoonie!
I decided to go again last week to see what’s changed and I’m glad I did. There were many more photos there this time. Here are some of them.
I said hello as I walked by a couple of photographers and they were nice enough to point out this Barred Owl posing on a dead tree. It looks wet, like it’s drying off after plunging into water after prey.
“Who cooks for you?”
A Great Egret in the distance looked like it would head towards me so I followed it with my lens. It was nice to have several seconds to check my settings and adjust a few (especially exposure compensation). Things happen pretty fast and there’s usually no opportunity to do that. It touched down close by and I was able to capture a lot of detail in its feathers.
Graceful arrival
I spotted a single woodpecker staying very close to this hole in a dead palm tree. It was sticking its head into the hole like it might be feeding hatchlings, but I couldn’t see anything in the dark interior. I watched for several minutes and a second one landed on the same tree. After about a minute the first bird left and the second one took over with the same behaviors. Even though I couldn’t see inside, it seems clear they’re a pair and this is a nest. The male (with his red forehead) is on the left and the female’s on the right.
A Red-bellied Woodpecker couple
I got several images with both birds in the frame, but their poses hid one or the other’s face / eyes. In the image above I combined two frames in photoshop to best show both of them.
There’s a family of Sandhill Cranes there with two colts that are about three weeks old. I found them as I was getting ready to leave. The young ones took time off from following Mom around and learning how to forage to have a little friendly challenge match. It only lasted for a few seconds and all ended well.
Sibling Rivalry
The header photo is another view of one of the colts next to a parent.
I try to watch for possible landscape photos as I walk around. This scene near the entrance caught my eye and I photographed it with my iPhone. I shot in RAW mode and made two exposures (I’m still using this technique that I posted about a long time ago: https://edrosack.com/2011/01/21/two-image-pano-hdr-focus-stacking/). After processing and combining in photoshop, I’m pleased with how it turned out. iPhones are very capable cameras.
Wetland morning
Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, take a walk around a park close to you. And make some photos!
I realize I’ve been posting a lot lately about Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, but I have a good excuse: there’s a lot of activity there right now. This post is just a bit more encouragement in case I haven’t already convinced you to check it out!
Kevin M. was in town and wanted to go there, so we went on the 16th after lunch. I usually go in the mornings and wasn’t sure how much we’d see in the afternoon, but it turned out we saw plenty. Most of these images are from that trip, but I’ve included a few from my February 2nd trip that haven’t been in the blog.
Hidden wonders in a beatuful place: It doesn’t look like it in this photo, but Black Point Wildlife Drive in MINWR is full of birds and wildlife – especially at this time of year. (2/2/24)
Flamingos are found in Florida, but usually only in the Everglades. In late August / early September of 2023, Hurricane Idalia displaced Flamingos from the Yucatan to all over the eastern US. These four are still hanging out off the west end of Haulover Canal in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. They were about 1/2 mile from the kayak launch where we were standing – so it was a pretty tough shot with quite a bit of atmospheric distortion. I’m glad it turned out even this well. I might have gotten a better pic if we still had our kayaks.
If you click on the image, you’ll open a higher res version on Flickr. Then click again once or twice to zoom in to see the flamingos a little bertter.
For the record…
There were mostly Great and Snowy Egrets in this gathering, with some Spoonbills, Woodstorks, and a few Grackles mixed in. They weren’t going after the fish very hard so most of the fish were gone or the birds were full.
A great gathering
I wasn’t looking closely enough and didn’t notice this Great Egret until Kevin pointed out its bright green lores and breeding feathers (aigrettes). Thanks Kevin!
Fancy Feathers
Terns were busy fishing along the west side of Black Point. We watched them swooping, hovering, and diving for several minutes.
Forster’s Tern after fish
Kevin also found this Merlin near the Black Point exit. Zoom into the Flickr version and you’ll be able to see the dragonfly in the Merlin’s left talon.
Merlin with prey
A lady Painted Buntings was enjoying the seeds at the visitor center feeder. There was a male there too, but I wasn’t able to get a photo.
Lady Bunting
We spotted other birds: Kestrels, Hawks, Ospreys, Skimmers, Hooded Mergansers, and several species of duck. Keven also saw Florida Scrub Jays. A very good trip!
Here’s two final photos to close out.
Lesser Yellowlegs
Wading near the shore (2/2/24)
The header image is an early morning (2/2/24) iPhone photo near the entrance to Black Point Wildlife Drive. That was a good trip too!
Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog . Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, check out a NWR close to you. And make some photos!
This is the best time of year to visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I made another rewarding trip a week ago and came home with many images I like. Here are some of them.
Clouds added a dose of drama to early scenes along Gator Creek. And with the calm winds and long exposure, the water surface doubled the golden light.
Dawn across the creek.
Once it was brighter, I headed over to Black Point Wildlife Drive and one of the first things I came across was a group of Black Skimmers doing their thing. The iBird app says these are along our coast year round, but I hardly ever see them except in the winter. This one showed off some fine form as it flew right in front of me. I was able to capture a number of frames – this was my best and it’s only slightly cropped.
In Central Florida we only see American White Pelicans in the winter months. They’re very large and it’s always fun to spot them. They can be difficult to photograph. Be careful with your exposure if you want to preserve detail in their white feathers (and black primary feathers too). These four were preparing to land along the trail at the SW corner of BPWD.
Final approach
This group / pod was preening in the shallow water along the same trail near the first bird blind. I liked this framing with the mangrove in the foreground, so I made two exposures (one focused on the mangrove and one on the pelicans). Then I was able to blend them in photoshop so both are sharp.
Preening Pod and mangrove
And two last birds, both also winter only around here. They aren’t easy to find as they usually skulk around in the mangrove roots and / or reeds along the canals or shorelines. They’re also a bit of a challenge to photograph since it’s dark back in there where they hang out! I was lucky to see them both!
Clapper Rail
Wilson’s Snipe
To close out this post, here’s a bonus landscape photo. This one is after sun up near the entrance to Black Point Wildlife Drive. I like the way the mist looks in the distance.
P.S. I walked around Orlando Wetlands Park for a little bit yesterday. Bird activity is starting to pick up there too! I’m planning to revisit over the next month or so and hope to catch some of the bird courting / nesting activities. They started to pick up around this time last year.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog – I really appreciate it. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, check out a NWR close to you. And make some photos!
I hope everyone had a wonderful time during the Hollidays and that you’re all having a great start to the New Year! We had a lovely (and busy) time with lots of family here at our home.
But … December is a very good time to visit MINWR. I wanted to stop by before most of the folks arrived. MK was already here and wanted to go too, so we took off early one morning to see what was going on.
It was chilly (to a Florida person anyway) and very clear. Sunrise wasn’t nearly as good as the last time I was there (https://edrosack.com/2023/08/13/5-photos-in-45-minutes/). I struggled a bit trying to make a landscape image with such a clear sky and this is the best I could do:
The day began beyond small distant clouds with a chill in the air, ripples in the river, and the click of a shutter:
There was a lot to see in the refuge though. Many birds were around, but for some reason they all seemed to be a long way off – proving a common belief that you can never have too long a lens when photographing birds.
Chilly Heron
I did get a lot of practice with a variety of birds in flight.
White Pelican
Spoonbill
Mottled Duck
Kestrel
And I managed to photograph one species for the first time (at least I’m pretty sure these are Greater Scaups).
Greater Scaups(?) Trio
We also saw Ospreys, Herons, Egrets, Vultures, a Northern Harrier, Hooded Mergansers, and a variety of other ducks. But no gators on this trip – they were huddled somewhere waiting for it to warm up. We did see manatees and dolphins (at Bairs Cove). This dolphin was making quite a splash chasing fish in Haulover Canal.
This Thanksgiving we decided to meet in Asheville with MK, Art and Michele for a long weekend. Located in North Carolina close to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville views can be spectacular!
Looking toward the Great Smoky Mountains
However there were several wildfires in the area, including this one that MK hit on the Tennessee / North Carolina border on her drive east along I-40 from Nashville.
Heading into town (photo by MK, used with permission)
This changed our plans. We’d hoped to do some scenic drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but due to the wildfires we opted for other activities. We were also at the end of the fall foliage color. We saw a (very) few trees with some nice color, but if we’d gone a few weeks earlier, there would have been many more.
Our highlight of the long weekend was visiting Biltmore Estate. Started in the late 1880s by George Vanderbilt (brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of Vanderbilt University), this extravagant estate is elaborate by today’s standards – let alone the late 1800s!
The Biltmore House: an early morning view (before the crowds)
Complete with a pool, billiards room and bowling alley, it has all the modern features with the feel of Downton Abbey. Set aside time to walk room to room with the guided audio tour. If stairs are a challenge, there’s also a great film about the estate that you can watch in a room on the main floor.
Entrance hall decorations
Billiards Room
You can purchase tickets in advance (suggested at least a week ahead) and we chose the earliest ones available. Our 9:30 am entry time was the second tour of the day and it wasn’t crowded. But by the time we left in the early afternoon, the entire 8,000-acre estate was filled with visitors.
Also the Biltmore “house”: This giant gingerbread replica was on display in the kitchen
Parking is easy and there’s even a shuttle to get you to the estate. Save some time for after you visit the mansion. When you’re done, you’ll want to drive around and explore the beautiful grounds, gardens and winery – including driving straight through the main gates and past the iconic mansion.
>One of the Biltmore Christmas Lions that guard the entrance
The whole place was beautifully decorated for the Christmas season. We highly recommend visiting this time of year to see all the lights, ornaments, trees, foliage, manger scenes, Santas, and gingerbread houses.
Library: Christmas by the fireplace
More Christmas by another fireplace
Festive grand banquet room
The Biltmore Estate allows non-flash photography, but prohibits video. I suppose they don’t want anyone competing with the Hallmark Channel’s “A Biltmore Christmas” movie! MK got some good photos with her cell phone, but I opted for a dedicated camera with a wide angle lens for interior shots – I used a 20mm focal length. And the light inside can be dim, so a wide aperture, higher ISOs, and some in camera stabilization will help. I made many of my photos at f/1.8 with ISOs at or above 500.
Nativity Scene
We did the Asheville Trolley Tour on another day, although it wasn’t our favorite. The pacing was slow and we thought the commentary should’ve included more info about the beauty of the architecture and quaint Asheville neighborhoods. You can purchase “hop on / hop off” tickets but take into account the time between shuttles so you can explore and not wait too long for the next one.
Around Asheville
We also enjoyed many marvelous meals. Our favorite was at Jettie Rae’s Oyster House – amazing service, laid back but elegant atmosphere, and delicious food and drinks. MK said the oysters were the best she’s had in the Southeast United States.
We’ll leave you with this final photo of Father Christmas. He seems pleased watching over all of us enjoying this fine start to the holiday season.
And thanks to everyone for stopping by and reading it. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. Enjoy your time with family and friends. And if you can, make some memories (and some photos!).
I hadn’t been out to Orlando Wetlands since early May and I’ve been curious about what’s going on. So Lutfi and I met there about a week ago to walk around and do a little scouting.
As far as the park itself goes, they’re still working on the new Visitor Center. The hours remain sunup to sundown, and they also close now on Mondays so plan accordingly.
The views along the boardwalk and many paths remain very pretty and a little Cypress Tree fall color is showing.
Cypress and reflections (iPhone, 3 raw frames, stitched panorama)
They’ve also put up some gates at the boardwalk entrances to keep alligators out. I imagine removing gators from the boardwalk was an interesting exercise for the rangers – and the gators!
As far as birds go, it was quiet. In addition to some regulars, we saw a couple Belted Kingfishers and an Eastern Phoebe, but no Roseate Spoonbills. Other birds that were breeding in the rookery last season aren’t there yet either, although this family of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks got an early start.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, visit Orlando Wetlands and make some photos!
I was surprised recently to get an email from Bill Hemmer, the publisher of Portfolio Magazine. He said “I was looking at your website and saw that you had quite a bit of new work. Really great. I wanted to see if you might want us to do another feature on your work in an upcoming Portfolio Issue?”
I said yes and he selected 14 photos for the October 2023 issue. I made all of them in and around Central Florida. Bill chose this one for the cover:
Long exposure sunrise – looking east from Space View Park in Titusville, Florida
Bill published a group of my Florida photos once before in the June / July 2015 issue. That one doesn’t seem to still be on line, but you can see my photos in their gallery here: https://www.portfoliomagazinenaples.com/ed-rosack.html
It’s a lovely magazine and their photo selection and article layout work is very good. I’m honored to be included – thank you so much Bill!
We were able to spend some time with MK at her place last month. She’s a most excellent host and Nashville has a lot to see and do!
On our drive up, we stopped and had lunch with Kevin M. It was fun to catch up with him and hear about his recent expedition to Costa Rica. He saw 100+ life birds there! https://www.flickr.com/photos/44542650@N08/albums/72177720310091373. Unfortunately, we forgot to get a photo at lunch – but I did get some photos in Nashville.
All three of us have watched and enjoyed the Nashville series and it was fun when MK pointed out places around town that we’d seen on TV. The Blue Bird Cafe is featured prominently and she managed to get us tickets. The music was just as awesome in real life!
Blue Bird Cafe, Sept. 2nd 2023: In the round with Rob Harris, Jamie Rowe, Kim Parent, and Adam Wheeler
Nashville has some really great guitar stores. Both MK and Lynn were very understanding and let me indulge my guitar obsession. I’d been to Gruhn Guitars before, but the Gibson Garage was new for me. I’d never seen a guitar conveyor belt:
MK suggested a bit of exercise one morning so we walked around Radnor Lake Park.
There were quite a few ducks and Canada Geese on the water. These swam in formation for me:
Canada Convoy
MK’s cat Narwhal is a certified therapy cat with Love on a Leash. He has a busy schedule and while we were there he volunteered at a Nashville area nursing home. He really seems to enjoy his work:
I’ve wanted to walk the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge across the Cumberland River, but hadn’t made it before this trip. MK and Lynn dropped me off in East Nashville and I walked across and met them on the other side. They report that there are plenty of rooftop bars to wait at. I found some photos while they were waiting:
Nashville’s John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge
The Gateway Bridge (also known as the ‘Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge’) is just south of the pedestrian bridge. I’m not sure if it’s alway lit up like this – it was pretty on that night:
Blue Hour on the Cumberland River
The view of the downtown waterfront is amazing:
Evening along the river
I think the buildings along the river look good in B&W. I like the Gateway Bridge reflection in the windows on the lower right:
Nashville Reflections
And finally, here’s what lower Broadway looks like as the country music starts to crank up in the Honky Tonks for the night:
Blue Hour on Broadway
Eating was also a highlight on the visit – both at some very nice restaurants and the meals that MK made at her place!
The only not so good part of our trip was testing positive with Covid when we got home. It was the first time either of us have had it but fortunately our vaccines were up to date and we got prescriptions for Paxlovid, so the symptoms weren’t too awful. They lasted for two solid weeks, but we’re better now thankfully.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Stay positive (and Covid negative!), be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, see some of Nashville!
I mentioned last time that there might be enough photos from my visit to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for another blog entry. Here they are.
I used a cropped version of this first one as the header image in the last post but didn’t show the full frame. Here’s a larger crop – as usual, you can click on it to see a high res version on Flickr. This one is from Space View Park in Titusville, looking east towards the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge from the west side of the Indian River.
<Early clouds above the refuge
I saw a wading bird in the distance as I entered Black Point Wildlife Drive. I thought it was a Great Blue Heron, but wasn’t sure. Who stops the car and gets out and walks to make a Great Blue Heron photo? Usually not me – I already have so many of them. They’re very common around here. But given it was the dog days of August, I wasn’t expecting to see much on that visit so I did get out and wander over. I’m glad I did. The bird cooperated and waded out so I could catch this moment in the circle of life. These birds truly are formidable hunters.
Heron 1, Snake 0
I also had my macro lens mounted and looked for subjects to use it on. I’ve driven by this tree each time on Black Point Wildlife Drive. The texture patterns in the bark are very interesting.
Juniper Tree Abstract
These blooming flowers were plentiful and this one was in nice light.
Firewheel (gaillardia pulchella ) close-up
I’m not able to tell you what this tiny plant was. It was only about an 1/8 of an inch long. It too was in good light and the dew drops on one side added interest.
Morning dew
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!
Dad watching the nest while Mom takes a break.
Mom, Dad, and chick.
Mom feeding fresh fish to her chick.
Mom and chick – looking for Dad to come back with more fish.
