Tag Archives: birds

Sandhill Cranes at the airport

November 4, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlandobirds, Orlando Airport, Sandhill CraneEd Rosack

The Orlando Airport has a very convenient cell phone lot where you can wait for arriving flights. We often see a family of Sandhill Cranes hanging out there. Another reason to always have your camera with you!

Sandhill Crane profile

Sandhill Crane

The birds are obviously used to having people around them. But if you’re photographing them (or other birds or animals) – please be respectful and don’t harass or stress them.

By the way, I’ve finished a first pass through the Blog Categories and Tags. I think they’re better organized now.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Bok Tower Gardens – Lake Wales, Florida

October 14, 2012Bok Tower Gardens, INSIDE FLORIDAbirds, Flowers, Hummingbird, infrared, Lake Wales, landscape, reviews, RufousEd Rosack

Intro / Description

Kevin M. saw some internet chatter about a Rufous Hummingbird sighting at Bok Tower. The bird had been hanging out in some flowering bushes near the “Window by the pond”. Although the Rufous does sometimes migrate through Florida, Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are normally the only kind we see, so this is a bit unusual.

Kevin organized a Photography Interest Group expedition and he, Lutfi, and I headed over on Saturday morning to try to find this bird. It was right where it was reported and in fact there were several of them. We saw multiple Ruby Throated Hummingbirds too. The Rufous seem more aggressive – they chased the Rubies away from the plants where they were feeding.

Rufous Hummingbird resting on a twig, Bok Tower Gardens. Tiny birds: this one was about 3 inches long.

Info for Photographers

Bok Tower is open every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m and admission is $12 for adults and $3 for children, although if you arrive on Saturday mornings between 8 and 9 like we did, you can get in for half price.

Personal photography is permitted in all areas. Commercial photographers should contact management to receive authorization before visiting.

This is a 250-acre botanical garden and bird sanctuary, located near Lake Wales and is one of the highest places in the state at an elevation of almost 300′. It’s named for the 205′ pink marble and coquina tower which includes a carillon that you’ll hear every half-hour and at twice daily concerts (1 & 3 p.m). Bok Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bok Tower door and reflection – the base of the tower from the reflecting pool side.

Photo hints:

There’s quite a variety of subjects to photograph here. You can shoot landscapes, architecture, many kinds of flowers, and several varieties of butterflies.

Path and trees – a false color IRFE (infra-red, fish-eye) photo. I made this photo right before they started to set up for a wedding.

Bok Tower Gardens is also a bird refuge where you can find a number of species. The day we visited, we saw the Rufous and Ruby Throated Humming birds, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Doves, a Gray Catbird, a Brown Thrasher, a Tufted Titmouse, Cardinals, Red Wing Blackbirds, a few wading birds, and others. We heard that wild turkeys and Sand Hill Cranes are often on the grounds too.

Tripod/Monopod: Allowed and very useful for the normal reasons.

Lenses: To cover all the subjects here, you should bring a variety of lenses from wide (for landscapes), macros (for butterflies and flowers), and telephoto (for birds).

Best time to visit: Fall is good for migrating birds and springtime is great for flowers.

Other:

The gardens are about a 90 minute drive from the Winter Springs and are close to Legoland. It’s also close to the can’t miss Spook Hill.

Summary

Bok Tower is one of the best botanical gardens in Florida, plus it has the tower, scenic landscapes, and at times an interesting bird population. Well worth your time.

My Gallery / Flickr photo set:	http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/sets/72157631763032197/
Website:	http://boktowergardens.org
Address:	1151 Tower Blvd., Lake Wales, FL 33853
Phone:	863.676.1408
Map:	View in Google Maps
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Autumn hummer haven; Spring flower fun – well worth a visit.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Dealing with poor weather – Circle B Bar Reserve, 10-6-12

October 7, 2012Circle B Bar Reserve, INSIDE FLORIDA, Techniquebirds, Flowers, fog, infrared, landscape, limpkin, mist, people, Spider, sunrise, wildlifeEd Rosack

The Photography Interest Group decided to organize an expedition to the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, Florida yesterday. It’s about an hour and twenty-minute drive for us and since we wanted to try a new place a bit further out for sunrise, Frank, Kevin M., Lutfi, and I met at 5:30 to carpool over. Talk about getting out of bed at “O-dark thirty”! But I was excited, since I haven’t been to the Circle B Bar since last November – way too long to stay away from such a beautiful place.

It was getting foggy as we approached the parking area, but I wasn’t too worried – sometimes fog can add to a scene. We arrived in plenty of time, and walked out to Wading Bird Way (see this link for a .pdf map of the Circle B Bar trails). The closer we got, the foggier it became – and it looked like this right at dawn.

Frank, Lutfi, and Kevin M. in the fog at the Circle B Bar Reserve

To make a long story short – the fog was dense and dawn brought no color at all to the sky. There was no sunrise. We didn’t even see the sun until about an hour and a half later. Regular readers will know that I really like landscape photography and around dawn and dusk are the best times to photograph. With yesterday’s conditions, it just wasn’t meant to be. So what should you do in a situation like this?

First, enjoy the walk. Being out in nature is a wonderful experience and doesn’t have to include photography.

From a photographic perspective, what else can you do? For landscapes, try infrared – it can help cut though the fog, especially if you can include some foreground elements.

Foggy lake

If you can get close, fog and mist can be a great background to isolate your subject.

Posing Limpkin

And focus on details. Find some smaller things that you can zoom in on. Look for subjects enhanced by the mist.

Spider and misty web

Yes, not every photo expedition goes as planned. Yesterday’s sunrise was disappointing (non-existent?). But we saw and photographed many things: birds (Sand Hill Cranes, Egrets, Herons, Ibis, Osprey, Whistling Ducks, Hawks, Coots, Moorhens, a Purple Gallinule, Woodpeckers, and others), alligators, dragonflies, spiders, butterflies, and flowers while we were there. All in all, a great day. You can see more photos from the Circle B Bar in this set on Flickr, and check out Frank‘s, Kevin M.‘s, and Lutfi‘s too.

What do you do in situations like this? I’d love to hear your suggestions. Send me an email or add a comment to the blog.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge – 9/15/12

September 16, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWRbirds, BPWD, Carolina Wren, dock, infrared, landscape, panorama, pier, sunriseEd Rosack

One thing that’s really wonderful about the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is that it’s such a large and varied area. Even if the main attractions (like Black Point Wildlife Drive) are slow, you can still find plenty to see and photograph in other areas. And the surroundings offer some very scenic Florida landscapes.

I visited once again Saturday morning with fellow Photography Interest Group member Kevin M. We stopped as we normally do at a likely spot on the way for a sunrise photo. This was the scene at Rotary Riverfront Park, just north of highway 50 on US 1. There’s a pier leading to a set of docks that offer many different compositions. It’s a beautiful place and although several people showed up to watch the sun rise, I was the first out on the pier – and felt a little bad when I disturbed a couple that had slept on one of the benches at the end.

Dawn in Titusville, Florida: There were several people enjoying the view from Rotary Riverfront Park, across from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). I tried my new Hoya ND400 neutral density filter and I like the way it works. If you haven’t used something similar, you should. It’s one way to make your photos stand out.

When we left and headed to Black Point, the clouds you see in the distance turned into rain, which fell off and on in spots for an hour or so. This made for “ISO 2000 light”, which means it was dim for good bird photography. It turns out that didn’t matter too much, since the birds were few and far between. We did see a few of the normal species: Anhingas, Belted Kingfishers, Cormorants, Great Blue and Little Blue Herons, Redish, Great and Snowy Egrets, Grebes, Moorhens, some unidentified ducks in the distance, and a few shore birds. The water there was very high – maybe the highest I’ve seen it. I wonder if this is related to the bird count or not?

After Black Point, we decided to try a new area and stopped by Hammock Trails. These take off in two directions from the parking area and wander through some hardwood trees as well as typical Florida pines and palms. We were hoping to see a few migrant Warblers, but had no luck. I’m not a very good birder – although I heard a few, I didn’t see a single one along these trails. I did come across this railroad track, which I thought made a good subject:

Leading to separation – Train tracks crossing Hammock Trail in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This is a Black & White conversion of a bracketed, Infra Red, Panorama

Our last stop of the day was the Visitor Center. Since our annual pass is expiring, we wanted to renew. We arrived at about 9:30. They don’t open until 10, so we wandered around for a bit.

Carolina Wren – Sighted along the boardwalk at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

There wasn’t any activity at the bird feeder, but we could hear several birds on the boardwalk. We ended up seeing a Carolina Wren, a pair of Cardinals, a Black and White Warbler, and a Red Eyed Vireo, and I’m guessing there were others we didn’t see. The ranger mentioned White Eyed Vireos and we’ve seen them there in the past.

So we watched a nice sunrise, and even though the birds were scarce at a couple of areas, we ended up with some interesting avian sightings, and enjoyed being out. All in all, a very good morning.

If you click on the photos above, you’ll go to Flickr where you can view larger versions. You can see more MINWR photos in this set on Flickr, more sunrise photos in this set, and more Florida landscapes in this set.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Happy Labor Day!

September 3, 2012Casey Key, INSIDE FLORIDAbeach, birds, black and white, boat, infrared, jetty, landscape, people, sunset, vacation, Venice Florida, WilletEd Rosack

Like many people in the US, Lynn and I headed to the beach for Labor Day. We really like Casey Key on the Gulf Coast of Florida just north of Venice. Like always, it was very relaxing. We swam, shelled, ate, walked the beach, and got plenty of sun. I also had a little time for some photography.

The north jetty at the inlet in Casey Key Florida is full of people fishing and watching the sunset. I watched from the south jetty in Venice. The sail boat was a nice bonus.

Willet on the beach – This bird was very cooperative. When not fishing in the surf, it would occasionally come close.

On the beach – We were wandering around exploring the area near the Venice Pier. Since it was close to mid-day, I didn’t expect any good light but I took my IR camera in case something came up. I think the IR characteristics add a lot of interest to the photo.

You can see some other photos from Casey Key in this set on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Weekend with Wilson

August 12, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Techniquebirds, boat, BPWD, fishing, landscape, people, pier, sunriseEd Rosack

I stopped by C. S. Lee Park on SR 46 in Geneva yesterday morning with Kevin, Kevin and Lutfi to photograph the sunrise. There weren’t a lot of clouds but it was still pretty – and some obliging fishermen were kind enough to point their wake into the scene for us.

Hurry, the fish are biting! C. S. Lee Park, Geneva, Florida

We were on our way over to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Kevin M. uses the Audubon Birds of North America app, which has links to bird sightings on eBird. With this, you can search for nearby birds, activity at birding hotspots, and even see reports of recent notable and rare bird sightings. Using the app, he discovered that Wilson’s Pharalopes were on Bio-lab road last week, so we decided to try to spot them.

The Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) is a small wading bird and the largest of the phalaropes. Normally it breeds on the North American prairies and in the western US. It is migratory, but according to iBird, isn’t often found in Florida, so this was a rare chance to see it.

Wilson’s Phalarope pair. Bio-lab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

It was fun to see another Wilson bird yesterday: the Wilson’s Plover . These are also waders and breed on both US coasts from the equator northwards. Its common range does include Florida.

Wilson’s Plover. Bio-lab Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I’d seen a Wilson’s Snipe before and now with these sightings I started wondering who this Wilson fellow was. Alexander Wilson was a Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator. He’s regarded as the greatest American ornithologist prior to Audubon. Several birds are named after him, including the three I already mentioned and the Wilson’s Storm-petrel, and Wilson’s Warbler. The warbler genus Wilsonia was also named for him. In 1802 Wilson decided to publish a book illustrating all the North American birds. The result was the nine-volume American Ornithology, with 268 species of birds, 26 of which hadn’t been described.

On our trip, we also saw Alligators, Belted Kingfishers, Green Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, and many kinds of gulls and shore birds on Bio-lab Road. We drove through Black Point Wildlife Drive too, but there wasn’t as much going on there.

So this trip provided an incentive to clear out some of my birding ignorance and now I know a bit about another great American ornithologist. You can see more MINWR photos here and here, and birds photos here and here. And I have a some more Florida landscape / sunrise photos here.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Cocoa and Viera Wetlands – August 4, 2012

August 5, 2012Cocoa, INSIDE FLORIDA, Technique, Viera Wetlandsbirds, Flowers, Ibis, landscape, Moorhen, people, pier, reviews, sunrise, wildlifeEd Rosack

I realized I hadn’t been to Viera Wetlands since last year, so I went over yesterday morning with Kevin K.

We spent a few minutes with The Photographer’s Ephemeris and found a promising sunrise stop along the way. It’s just north of the first bridge into Cocoa on SR 520. If you don’t have a copy of this software, you should get it. It’s available (for free!) for the Mac, PC, and Linux as well as (paid versions) for Android and iOS. The iPad version is especially helpful. If you have a cell phone signal, you can use it wherever you are to visualize the natural lighting. It shows the sun and moon overlaid on a Google Map for the place and time you enter. Highly recommended.

The sunrise was pretty and there was even a nice bird posing at the end of an old dock for us.

Old pier at sunrise: North of the Hubert Humphrey Causeway in Cocoa, Florida.

When we got to Viera Wetlands, there was more going on than I thought there would be. We saw Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, both White and Glossy Ibis, Moorhens, Coots, Limpkins, and Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, among others. There were even some Roseate Spoonbills there – the first time I’ve ever seen them at Viera Wetlands. A few Moorhen chicks, surprised me too – I didn’t realize they hatched this time of year.

Moorhen and chick near Ibis: “Kid – I told you not to hang out with those Ibis birds. They’re nothing but trouble”.

You can click on the images above to get to larger versions on Flickr. You can also see more of my Viera Wetlands photos here on Flickr. For a slightly different perspective, you can also look at Kevin’s photos in his set on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island – June 29th 2012

June 30, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Rocket Launchbirds, Cape Canaveral, Great Blue Heron, Kennedy Space Center, landscape, launch, rocket, sunriseEd Rosack

Waiting to launch – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket sits on the pad at Launch Complex 37B before dawn at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

I got up very early on Friday morning and arrived on Merritt Island in time for the Delta IV Heavy rocket launch scheduled for 6:15am. I figured it might be very picturesque, since sunrise was scheduled for 6:30. Unfortunately, the sunrise happened on time, but the launch didn’t.

If you’re not a Florida resident, you may not be aware of how hard it is to actually see a launch unless you live very close to or are staying at the Cape. I live about an hour away, and going over is an investment of time and effort. The problem is that launches very rarely happen when they’re first scheduled. At least when I try to see them. There always seems to be a technical problem, hold, or reschedule. Maybe I’m a jinx?

Anyway, this one finally did go at about 9:15 – although it wasn’t as photogenic as I hoped.

Delta IV Heavy Launch – From Peacocks Pocket Road in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This is not the kind of bird I normally photograph at Merritt Island.

The delay gave me an excuse to drive around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge while I waited. It’s the time of year when there’s not much happening there. But I did see some of the usual birds including Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, Red-winged Blackbirds, Turkey and Black Vultures, Killdeer, and others. I also saw a group of Black Skimmers, a Loggerhead Shrike, a few Terns and gulls, and some smaller shorebirds.

Great Blue Heron – I know, I know: these birds are common around here, but they’re pretty and it’s hard to resist making a photo when they pose in good light.

I also (of course!) took advantage of the opportunity to make a few landscaped photos.

Sunrise crossing – from the Bennett Causeway in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The rising sun’s reflection and a boat wake created the cross pattern in the water near the cruise ship dock.

I had a good time. You will too, as long as you keep your expectations in check and work the other photo-ops if the launch is late.

Please see this blog post for info about Kennedy Space Center. For several other articles about Merritt Island, see this link.

Blue Cypress Lake

June 7, 2012Blue Cypress Lake, INSIDE FLORIDA, Must do list, Techniquebirds, infrared, landscape, Middleton's Fish Camp, Osprey, reviews, Snake, sunrise, Swallow-tailed Kite, wildlifeEd Rosack

Intro / Description

What a beautiful place.

Blue Cypress Lake

I’d seen a few mentions online of Blue Cypress Lake near Vero Beach, Florida. It’s a long drive from Winter Springs – which is why I hadn’t made it down there. But that’s also why I was up at “0 dark thirty” last Saturday. Fortunately, I packed the night before so I was able to sleep in just a bit. I also didn’t want to arrive in the dark on my first time there. So Kevin M. and I met at 5:30 near his house and were off. There was a lot of fog and drizzle on our drive down, although it eventually cleared up and the clouds added some drama to the skies. We turned in to Blue Cypress Lake Road just after 7am, but were delayed by stops for photos of Wild Turkeys in the fields on the west side and three Otters playing in the road up near the lake.

At Middleton’s Fish camp, we first parked near the camp sites, but couldn’t really see much from the shore – although with the right lens a sunrise shot from the bridge over the canal might be very pretty. We decided to rent a small boat to explore out in the water and wow, I’m glad we did! We went north and scouted the trees, shoreline, and birds for about two hours.

The calm water and weathered cypress trees make for some outstanding scenery. We also saw literally hundreds of Ospreys and a good portion of them were carrying or eating fish. There were also plenty of alligators, a few quite large. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were also numerous and they serenaded us the whole morning. We heard an eagle but didn’t see it and although there are supposed to be hawks and barred owls, we didn’t see any of them.

Osprey Family – One of the many nests on Blue Cypress Lake. Many are just a few feet from the water. (Photo courtesy of Kevin McKinney)

Info for Photographers

Photo hints:

According to the locals, the best cypress trees are on the west side of the lake (where Middleton’s is) both north and south of the canal. For sunrise shots, you’d probably want to get between the shore and some of the farther out trees. This might be tough, especially in the dark if you don’t know the lake. Be careful of hidden snags / submerged fallen trees that could hang you up! If you’re on the lake later in the day, a safer photo might be an evening sunset from a little farther out with a telephoto lens.

Many cypress trees: The north-west shore of Blue Cypress Lake, Black & White, Infrared

If you have an IR camera or filter, YOU MUST BRING IT to Blue Cypress Lake! I just love the way Cypress trees show up in infrared.

Depending on how much time you have available, there are a couple of other places you could check out in the area. On the way home, we went by Joe Overstreet Road. On the way we saw (and I finally got a photo of) a Swallow-tailed Kite. When we arrived, we saw Eastern Meadowlarks, Sandhill Cranes, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a Bobwhite, egrets, herons, and other birds. We hoped to see a Whooping Crane, but no such luck.

Swallow-tailed Kite with snake

Tripod/Monopod:

I brought mine, but didn’t use it out on the lake. It’s not much use inside the boat. Although many people get out into the water to use theirs, I was a bit leery of doing this. If you do, just be very careful of the depth and your footing and be sure to watch for alligators!

Lenses:

I had a 16 – 35mm on one camera and a 28 – 82 equivalent on the other. I felt the 16 – 35 was a bit too wide for the conditions. Next time I go, I think a 24 – 70 would be ideal for Cypress trees / landscapes. For birds of course, you’ll want a stabilized telephoto lens that you can handhold in a moving boat. Kevin used his 70 – 300VR on his DX crop body for some great shots.

Best time to visit:

If you go in February – April, you’ll be able to see Osprey’s nesting, breeding and raising their young. Some of the nests are quite close to the water so you can get an excellent look. Just be sure you don’t stress the birds.

There will still be many Ospreys around to photograph the rest of the year. Many of them are fishing and carrying their catch back to a convenient tree, so opportunities for flight shots of these magnificent birds with their prey abound.

Of course, the cypress trees are here year round.

Other:

Middleton’s Fish Camp offers tours and rents boats, and cabins. If you also fish, they rent fishing tackle and sell bait. If you do want to rent or take a tour, call ahead for availability.

Summary

My Gallery / Flickr photo set:	My Blue Cypress Lake photos on Flickr Kevin M’s Blue Cypress Lake photos on Flickr
Website:	http://www.middletonsfishcamp.com/
Address / Phone:	21704 73rd Manor Vero Beach, Florida 32966 1-800-258-5002 View in Google Maps
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Central Florida Photo-Op must do!

A wonderful, wonderful trip.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now, go make some photos!

Return to Animal Kingdom

May 13, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Theme ParksAnimal Kingdom, birds, Crow, Disney, Flowers, Gorilla, Hibiscus, wildlifeEd Rosack

We had family in town last weekend and they invited Lynn and I along on their visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I’ve blogged about this place before (here and here) and this was a chance to return and see if I still liked it as much as last time.

Yes, I did. I can confirm that Animal Kingdom is still the nicest zoo I’ve ever been too. It’s enhanced by the rides and shows, and seeing it with our young nieces and nephew makes it an even more wonderful experience.

Here are a few scenes from the trip. You can see more photos (and larger versions of these) in this set on Flickr.

Male Silverback Gorilla holding grass. In the gorilla enclosure on Pangani Trail at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

An American Crow enjoys a stolen onion ring

Hibiscus

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog. Now, go make some photos!