Tag: Merlin | Central Florida Photo Ops

I went over to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge last weekend with Kevin K. and Kevin M. On the way, we stopped by the Cocoa Beach Pier for sunrise.

Anticipation – two surfers waiting for waves at dawn

This year, Florida red tide’s been found in many spots along both the gulf and Atlantic coasts. Normally, it’s a Gulf coast phenomenon and I don’t remember a year when it spread so far up our east coast. We’d heard reports of red tide and fish kills reaching Brevard County and Cocoa, so we were concerned about conditions at the pier. But when we were there the red tide wasn’t noticeable.

Neath the pier

Next, we grabbed some breakfast and then headed up to MINWR for a quick pass through Black Point Wildlife Drive. Conditions in the refuge have been pretty quiet this summer and we wanted to see how the bird population is doing. There still aren’t a lot of birds around, but the variety is improving. We saw the usual wading birds, Redish Egrets, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, a few Blue Wing Teals, Osprey, Belted Kingfishers, a Sora, and a Merlin.

Merlin in flight

While I was getting out of the car so I could get (it turns out) a not so good image of the Sora, a water snake swam right in front of it. I didn’t even get to see the snake, much less photograph it by the bird. Luckily, Kevin K. did – you can view his photo here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/34024553@N08/45404193252/in/dateposted/

Jim Boland is also seeing quite a bit of bird activity in MINWR. He’s photographed a Peregrine Falcon, Merlins, Ospreys, Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles, and even Snail Kites along Playalinda Beach Road in recent weeks.

The cooler weather that’s finally arrived in Central Florida makes being outside and photographing more pleasant. And it should bring even more bird species to our area to enjoy.

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

It’s April and birds are heading north again through our area. Fort De Soto south of St. Petersburg, Florida is a “migrant trap” because they stop there on the way. If you’re a photographer or birder and you’d like to see many types of birds – now is the time to visit this wonderful place.

I went over last Saturday with Kevin M. and Lutfi E. There were a lot of other birders there as well as a few photographers. It was fun talking with the birders. They’re all helpful and I learned a lot from them. If you’re just starting out in birding, go with a knowledgeable friend (thanks, Kevin!), or check with your local Audubon group. They often organize field trips with an experienced leader. The Orange County Audubon Society has a trip planned for next weekend.

Migration at Fort De Soto – As a beginning birder, I was excited to photograph these 11 life birds on Saturday: Chimney Swift, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Merlin, Black-throated Green Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Baltimore Oriole, and Orchard Oriole.

In addition to the 11 life birds I managed to photograph, we saw many others including: Worm Eating Warbler, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow Throated Vireo, Northern Parula, European Starling, Black and White Warbler, Common Ground Dove, American Crow, Magnificent Frigate bird, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Laughing Gull, Sandwich Tern, Caspian Tern, Brown Pelicans, Eastern Kingbird, Ospreys, Cormorants, Anhingas, Vultures, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Snowy Egrets.

If you go, plan to get there early and stay all day. Fort De Soto is a big place and we couldn’t get to all of it on Saturday, so I’m sure there were many other species we missed.

You must be patient and quick to photograph these smaller birds. They move fast and flit in and out of trees and bushes so catching them out in the open is tough. A long, fast lens helps too!

This is also a beautiful place for landscape photography because there are both sunrise and sunset views. Here’s a photo I made last year:

The end of the day at Fort De Soto – Looking southwest toward Egmont Key from the base of the bay pier. The ferry to the Key is on the left.

You can see larger versions of these images on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have a few more photos from Fort De Soto in this set. You can also see Kevin’s Fort De Soto photos in this set.

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

Central Florida Photo Ops

What and where they are and how to photograph them.

Tag Archives: Merlin

Cocoa and Merritt Island – 20 Oct 2018

Fort De Soto Bird Migration