Tag Archives: Parrish Park

Lucky

INSIDE FLORIDA, , ,

Here’s a portrait of a young Wood Stork in Parrish Park, Titusville from a few weeks ago. I think these birds are interesting and I like the sharp focus and the blurred background isolating the subject.

A portrait of a stork as a young(?) birdA portrait of a stork as a young bird

You don’t often see these in urban settings and I’d never spotted one before I got more into wildlife photography here in Florida around 2006.   Adults don’t have feathers on their head and upper neck, so this one with its feathers up there mostly gone is a young adult.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to show you this is because this photo reminded me again just how lucky all of us photographers are to be able to use modern cameras and lenses.  

The detail you can see in this crop is amazing!  There are clouds reflected in its eye and you can easily see sharp individual feather barbules! I guess my point is, get out your camera gear and use it.  You might be surprised by what it reveals.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Hang in there, cherish your friends and loved ones, and take care of each other. And if you can – make some photos!

©2020, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

 

Went for a drive last night

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , ,

I haven’t been to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in a while (the last time was back in May!) and I miss the place.  So I left around 6pm yesterday and headed over.

Along Gator Creek RoadAlong Gator Creek Road

It was raining at our house in Winter Springs.  Over on the coast, it was dry, but threatening.  The clouds were just awesome – I even spotted some that looked like Mammatus clouds.

Next time I’ll leave a bit earlier – the light was a little dim for bird photography but  I did see a few.    I’m usually there in the morning and they behave differently in the evening.  It was interesting to watch them going home in formation to roost for the night and to spot groups perched in trees and lined up along power lines.

After a turn around Gator Creek Road and then Black Point Wildlife Drive I stopped at Parrish Park to watch the sun set.

The sun setting over the Indian RiverThe sun sets over the Indian River – There were a lot of people enjoying the end of the day at Parrish Park on the Max Brewer Causeway.

It was very busy – the parking lot was full of cars and people were boating, sunbathing, picnicking, fishing, and watching nature’s show.  I was content to make a few photos and head home.

It was a pleasant drive.

You can click on these photos to see larger versions, and I have many more MINWR images in this album on Flickr.

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

©2016, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, 1-12-14

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , ,

Kevin M, Robert W, Tom M, Lutfi E, and I met at Parish Park in Titusville last weekend for a photo excursion.  We got there well before sunrise and had time for a few night photos.

Stars above the causeway at Parrish Park
Stars above the causeway at Parrish Park – Looking SW, before dawn.

When we’d all arrived, we carpooled over to East Gator Creek Road for sunrise.  Since it was so clear before dawn, I didn’t think it would be very good.  But once again, Mother Nature surprised me, and a set of clouds moved in to add interest and color to the sky.

Passing storm
Passing storm

After daybreak, we drove on around East Gator Creek Road and then Black Point Wildlife Drive looking for birds.  We didn’t have to look too hard – they’re out force!

We saw many species and huge numbers of some of them.  White Pelicans were especially plentiful, both foraging in the water and soaring above us.  There were other huge formations of ducks flying over, but they were too high for me to ID.  One smaller flock flew very low right down the road.  I didn’t see them coming and the noise when they passed startled me.

We also saw Ring billed Gulls, a Bonaparte’s Gull, a some Forster’s Terns, Least Terns, a Black Skimmer, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, Blue winged Teals, Lesser Scaups, Red Breasted Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Pied billed Greebes, Greater Yellowlegs, Sandpipers, Killdeer, Roseate Spoonbills, a Bald Eagle, Ospreys, Loggerhead Shrikes, Savanah Sparrows, Red winged Blackbirds, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Storks, Reddish Egrets, a White Morph Redish Egret, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Belted Kingfishers, and maybe a few others.

Cooperative Loggerhead Shrike
Cooperative Loggerhead Shrike

Highlights also included a very cooperative Shrike that sat still while we all made way too many photos of it, a bald eagle that flew right overhead, and two life birds for me (the Bonaparte’s Gull and Greater Yellowlegs).  It’s definitely birding season at MINWR!

As a side note:  I got an email from a Flickr contact that’s going to be in the area for a couple of days.  They wanted some hints on how to see everything while they’re here, especially Gatorland, Viera Wetlands, and Merritt Island.  I did pass along some hints.  But then I had to tell them that’s a lot to see in 2 days!  The good news is that you’re almost certain to see some good things in those places.  The bad news is that you can’t possibly see everything in that short a time – it’s just too large an area and the weather / wildlife might not cooperate. The key is to relax, enjoy being there and be ready with your camera for whatever comes your way.  I hope I’m not misleading people into thinking that they can photograph all the things they see here on the blog on their first time out.  It takes persistence and even some luck.

Anyway, if you’ve wanted to go to MINWR, now’s the time.  You can see other posts I’ve written about MINWR here and you can see larger versions of the photos above and others from Merritt Island in this set on Flickr.

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

©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.