Tag Archives: BPWD

MINWR Again – 2/16/24

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 placeHidden 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...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 gatheringA 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 FeathersFancy 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 fishForster’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 preyMerlin 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 BuntingLady 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 YellowlegsLesser Yellowlegs

Wading near the shoreWading 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!

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

MINWR: 2/2/24

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 creekDawn 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.

Black SkimmerBlack Skimmer

The header image is from the same time / place. You can view a higher res version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/53507251801/in/dateposted/.

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 approachFinal 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 mangrovePreening 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 RailClapper Rail

Wilson's SnipeWilson’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.

A little mist in the marsh this morningA little mist in the marsh this morning

For more info about conditions at MINWR, you could look at Wally Jones blog (https://ournaturalplaces.com), and the Birder’s Journey blog (https://birdersjourney.com). Both have recent articles about the refuge.

MINWR is a treasure and I’m very lucky to live so close. You should visit it if you can!

As usual, you can click on most photos in my blog to see higher resolution versions on Flickr. If you’re a glutton for photo punishment, I have (way too) many images from MINWR collected in this folder: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157627776386723/with/52112652632

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!

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

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.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 HeronChilly Heron

I did get a lot of practice with a variety of birds in flight.

White Pelican in flightWhite Pelican

Spoonbill in flightSpoonbill

Mottled Duck in flightMottled Duck

Kestrel in flightKestrel

And I managed to photograph one species for the first time (at least I’m pretty sure these are Greater Scaups).

Greater Scaups(?) Trio in flightGreater 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.

Hunting DolphinHunting Dolphin

The header image is a photo MK made of me and my tripod at sunrise (©2024, MK Rosack. Used with permission).

A very nice visit! Winter is a fine time to see MINWR – you should go. Maybe next time I’ll try when they’re forecasting a few morning clouds.

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!

©2024, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

The rest of the photos

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 refugeEarly 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 0Heron 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 AbstractJuniper Tree Abstract

These blooming flowers were plentiful and this one was in nice light.

Firewheel (gaillardia pulchella ) close-upFirewheel (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

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!

©2023, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

MINWR – 30 Jan 2023

I hadn’t been to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in a while and decided to head over last Monday. On the way in I stopped by the pier on the west side of the A. Max Brewer Memorial Bridge. When photographing a sunrise (or anything else!) I try to stay aware of things in other directions. Looking north just before sunrise, this sail boat caught my eye. I like the subject, colors and reflections:

A pretty place to anchor

A pretty place to anchor

Winter is such a wonderful time to visit MINWR. The variety of “snow birds” you could spot is amazing. Here are a few I found.

I haven’t seen a Snipe in a long time – the sun’s glare hid it pretty well, but the long beak gave it away:

SnipeWilsons Snipe

These enormous waterbirds hang around all over Central Florida in the winter, but it’s still nice to see them. Every one I spotted was either far away or horribly back lit.

High Key PelicanHigh Key White Pelican

Northern Shovelers show up each winter:

Her and HimHer and Him

Northern Pintails show up too, although I don’t run across them as often:

Him and Her>Him and Her

And Willets and Lesser Yellowlegs are fairly common, although it’s unusual to see a choreographed pair and their reflections:

Passing byPassing by

Definitely worth a visit – I’m glad I went! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, visit a wildlife refuge!

©2023, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island NWR 12/8/2022

I spent a few moments before sunrise last Thursday morning at Scobie Park (just south of Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville), watching the pre-dawn clouds reflecting in the calm Indian River water. Oh, and I had a camera with me too – I made 6 frames to stitch together into this image:

The day beginsThe day begins

After that I wandered over to Black Point Wildlife Drive and one of the first things I saw was this:

Large numbers of birds were going after minnows concentrated in this small pond along Black Point Wildlife Drive.

These “feeding frenzies” don’t happen all the time, but when they do they can be great photo fun.

At first glance, they look like a photographer’s dream – all those birds in a confined area – taking off, landing, chasing minnows and each other, just waiting for you to snap the shutter.

It turns out it’s not so easy. They’re crowded together against a cluttered background. They move quickly, change directions unexpectedly, and in general make it hard to pick a subject and compose deliberately – especially if you’re looking through your viewfinder with a long lens on your camera. I often keep the camera away from my eyes so I can see what’s going on. Then I can sometimes anticipate the action and make a photo when they all decide to move at once:

Exodus Exodus

I also like to study the scene for a while and try different vantage points and lenses. I chose a spot where the wind was at my back and most of the birds were taking off and landing toward me. It helps to keep looking around so you can spot them as they’re coming in. I noticed this spoonbill a long way out. Since I knew where it was headed I could track it as it approached and make several frames when it landed. This side lit one is my favorite:

Landing SpoonbillLanding Spoonbill

There were lots of Roseate Spoonbills around. The header image at the top of the post on the web is another one I like from the trip. That pair was wading in a less busy part of the drive.

I also had some good luck with this female Belted Kingfisher. She ignored me and kept gazing out over the water as I crept closer. I stayed in the car, moved slowly and tried to be as quiet as possible so I wouldn’t bother her. Most of the time, they leave as soon as you point a camera at them, but she wasn’t concerned at all. This is one of the closest photos I’ve made of one (the EXIF data says I was about 19 meters away). She’s very pretty and quite regal, I think.

An Unusually Calm KingfisherAn Unusually Calm Kingfisher

It was a short visit, but a wonderful one. This is an excellent time of year to visit the refuge, get out in the midst of nature, and enjoy some of the things you can see there.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.  I hope all of you are doing well and that you have a joyful holiday season with your family and friends. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make a few photos!

©2022, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island NWR – 11/4/22

Jim Boland sent out his latest email newsletter last Thursday and it made me want to visit the refuge again. The last time I’d been was a while ago and before Hurricane Ian. I charged up my batteries and left early on Friday morning to explore.

There are still some road closures over there (see this link for the latest official status: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/merritt-island), but the good news is that Black Point Wildlife Drive and West Gator Creek Road – spots I usually visit – are open.

I arrived well before sunrise and stopped by the Titusville Municipal marina. The weather forecast had me expecting very few clouds and I had a longer lens mounted to try and frame some details on the boats. When I saw this low cloud drifting in, I didn’t think I’d have time to swap lenses, so I pulled out my phone. Current phone cameras are just amazing! (Click on this one to see a higher res version on Flickr.)

A cloud drifts by above the marina before dawnA cloud drifts by above the marina before dawn. iPhone wide camera, handheld, 24mm eq., f/1.8, 1/5 sec, ISO 8000. RAW capture, processed in Photoshop and Lightroom.

I saw the same things that Jim reported including Spoonbills, a Reddish Egret, Blue-winged Teal, and Black-crowned Night-herons. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out this Redish Egret is the exact same bird he saw. It was especially entertaining: busy showing off its fishing prowess and ignoring photographers interested in making photos.

Hunting EgretHunting Egret.

I enjoyed seeing all the Goldenrod in bloom. This one was in nice light:

Goldenrod in golden lightGoldenrod in golden light.

And I couldn’t resist making a photo of this people watching gator. The header image is a crop from the center of the photo.

Craggy face critterCraggy face critter.

Our other common birds were out and about. I spotted a few warblers too, although the only one I was able to ID was a Yellow-rumped Warbler. It was a great trip – thanks for motivating me Jim!

I hope all of you are doing well. 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!

©2022, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Hello Again

It’s been a little over a month since my last post. I enjoyed writing this one after such a long break.

I went over to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge toward the end of August. I wasn’t expecting to see much, but I wanted to get out and photograph something. I’m glad I did, because the sunrise was one of the best I’ve ever watched.

Nature's GiftNature’s Gift

That photo’s from Veterans Memorial Park on the west side of the Indian River looking east toward MINWR and Kennedy Space Center. I was concentrating on the sunrise when I noticed several other folks had shown up. One was Pat H., who I’ve known for a while. I’m glad I ran into her since she was there to photograph the Artemis 1 SLS rocket on the pad at launch complex 39B. At the time, the planned launch was a couple days later. After we talked, I went and got my long lens to make a close up photo of it (the header image). You can see a higher res version on Flickr at this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/52311586034/in/dateposted-public/. I’d hoped to include a photo of the launch in today’s post too, but it’s been postponed. Hydrogen is tricky stuff!

After that I went through Gator Creek Road, Black Point Wildlife Drive, and also stopped by the Bairs Cove boat ramp. This kayaker had gotten up very early to go fishing. I didn’t see him catch anything while I was there though.

A fine morning for fishingA fine morning for fishing

I was happy to find this pretty, young Roseate Spoonbill and its reflection at one of the first corners on Gator Creek.

Spoonie!Spoonie!

Other birds were a bit scarce, but this Loggerhead Shrike flew right in front of my car and landed in a mangrove. I quickly rolled down the passenger window and pointed my lens at it. Auto focus is amazing now days. My camera locked on the bird in the middle of all those branches at the first shutter press (no – that doesn’t happen all the time!)

A Bird in the BushA Bird in the Bush (is worth two in the hand?)

I also saw some gators and a raccoon on Black Point, and 5 or more manatees at Bairs Cove – but didn’t get good photos of any of them.

Changing the subject, I was browsing my archives one day and found this image I’d never processed. It’s from one of my previous cameras (an IR converted Olympus E-PL5). I ran it through Lightroom’s enhance detail and the Topaz Sharpen AI plug in and it came out with an amazing amount of detail. I like the subject rendering and the background separation too.

IR SunflowerIR Sunflower

A few days later, I ran across this blog post http://infraedd.blogspot.com/2014/03/cameras-fuji-x100-hoya-r72-filter.html. He talks about using an R72 filter on a Fuji X100 to make infrared photos. I’ve tried R72 filters before (a long time ago) but maybe I should take another look at them. It would be an inexpensive way to occasionally do a bit of IR photography.

In other news, we’d planned some travel but that got postponed while we dealt with a broken central air conditioner here in hot, humid Florida. Supply chain issues mean it takes a very long time to get a replacement compressor (and other parts). Hopefully that’s behind us now (I hope Murphy doesn’t read this). As a side note, I didn’t realize Portable ACs work as well as they do!

Sorry to ramble on for so long. I suspect that my posts will be longer since they’re less frequent now. I hope all of you are doing well. 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!

©2022, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Mostly Shorebirds

Our weather’s been interesting – lots of rain and warmer than expected. Between that and other obligations, I’ve had a hard time practicing photography. Checking the forecast late on Thursday night, Friday looked like it would be halfway decent so I jumped at the chance to head out.

There were a few rain drops falling at first and it was overcast. But that made for some dramatic clouds when I stopped by the marina.

Impressive clouds over the marinaImpressive clouds over the marina

Later on it turned into a pretty nice day. I spent some time around Parrish Park watching all the shorebirds.

I like photos like this next one. Getting a flock of birds close by with a fast enough shutter speed and in focus isn’t easy though. This time most of the birds listened to me when I asked them to all fly by at the same distance!

A "grain" of SanderlingseeA “grain” of Sanderlings

I drove slowly along the shore and stayed in the car trying not spook the birds. I spotted several different ones and worked to isolate each one in the frame:

Semipalmated PloverSemipalmated Plover

Ruddy TurnstoneRuddy Turnstone

Dunlin Dunlin

MINWR was quieter than last time I was there. But shore birds were out over there too.

Lesser YellowlegsLesser Yellowlegs

I was sitting at this next spot when MaryKate called. The Killdeer were so loud she heard them through the phone and asked about them.

Killdeer Killdeer

Thistles are blooming on Black Point. They’re attractive photo subjects if you catch a colorful one in good light. A bee or butterfly helps too.

Busy beeBusy bee

There were other birds and wildlife around: the regular wading birds (herons and egrets), Alligators, Belted Kingfishers, Northern Shovelers, Blue-winged Teals, Caspian Terns, Black Skimmers, and I’m sure others that I missed. I also spotted a different looking hawk that the Merlin Bird ID app thinks is a Swainson’s Hawk (I’m not convinced).

Anyway, it was a wonderful visit and a very nice distraction from current events.

You can click on these photos to view larger versions on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Your visits, comments, and likes are always very welcome and a big motivator for me. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, practice some photography.

©2022, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Common Birds

We’re blessed here with a wide variety of birds. The eBird list for Central Florida (Orange, Seminole, Lake, Osceola, Volusia, and Polk counties) shows 443 species (https://ebird.org/barchart?byr=1900&eyr=2022&bmo=1&emo=12&r=US-FL-069,US-FL-095,US-FL-097,US-FL-105,US-FL-117,US-FL-127). The bars in the chart reveal which birds are here year-round and how often they’re seen / reported. Snowy Egrets are one of the most common.

Pretty PerchPretty Perch

I’ve seen a lot of them and you probably have too. Much of the time now, I glance their way and don’t make a photo. But every once in a while I’ll I come across a common bird in an uncommon situation or setting. It reminds me that I do need to pay attention – and make occasional photos of these very pretty, common birds.

This egret was calmly perched on a branch in still water. I was attracted to its pose, the light, and the mirror-like reflection. I made two frames for a vertical panorama so I could zoom in and capture as much detail as possible. Later on my computer I stitched them together into the image you see here. The header image is a crop from a B&W version of the same image.

Common birds can make splendid photo subjects. Don’t pass up the opportunities.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Your visits, comments, and likes are very welcome and a big motivator for me. Be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2022, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved