One-bite Meal, Great Blue Heron

While spending Christmas with our Florida family my son Chad and I slipped out early one morning to visit the Viera Wetlands. After a decent morning of photograph and with the sun rising high into the sky we decided to drive one more lap around the dikes before calling it a day.  Moments later we spotted a great blue heron with a greater siren grasp securely in its bill.  Knowing there was little time to spare I braced the 600mm lens on the car door and quickly shot this sequence of the bird swallowing the huge meal.

Great Blue Heron: Flight & Landing

A Great Blue Heron soars across shallow water passing over a sunning alligator

And then picks a more suitable spot to touch down

Canon 60D, Canon 600mm f4 L IS USM

Lake Marian, Florida

Sword Swallowing: Great Blue Herons Feeding

Feeding time at a great blue heron nest is not a tender moment shared between parents and young

Instead it is an incredibly violent act as hungry young birds stab at the adult with sharp long bills, bills capable of piercing a fish, and then take the adults bill deep into their throat.

Even from a considerable distance the clacking of the bills can be heard easily.

Competition between siblings is intense as each vie for the adults attention

Activity at this nest was not nearly as intense as this nest as it contained only one young bird.  However even though alone, the young bird was still quite insistent upon being fed.

Viera Wetlands, Melbourne Florida.

Lifers: Without & With a Tripod

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron

It's always a pleasure adding new species to ones wildlife image collection.  Birders identify their first sighting of a species as seeing a lifer, as in adding it to their life list.  For me as a wildlife photographer a lifer occurs when I capture the birds image.  This post features three lifers all captured during my recent Florida visit.

Taking a stroll along a well worn path at the Circle B Bar Reserve I had decided to travel light and carried the Canon 60D with the 100-400 L IS lens, leaving the pod behind.  Spotting the heron in a deeply shaded area I immediately regretted leaving the tripod behind.  My only option was to brace against a tree, increase the ISO to 640, shoot at 1/50sec and hope for the best.

American Bittern

Shortly after leaving the black-crowned night heron I noticed movement in the deep ravine to the other side of the path and a closer look revealed this American bittern standing perfectly still hoping to avoid detection.  Once again handicapped by the lack of the tripod I braced against a tree capturing this image at 1/50 sec. 

Lesson learned, never leave the tripod behind!  The image stabilization and the handy bracing trees helped a great deal but the image quality would have been much better shot from a steady support.   

Greater Yellowlegs

However when I encountered this greater yellowlegs feeding in the shallows of Lake Kissimme I was ready with the 600 F4 IS mounted solidly on the tripod.  The results are worth the extra effort.

River Otters

River Otters, Lake Kissimmee Fl.

Pennsylvania began a river otter reintroduction program in 1982 aimed at restoring otter populations in portions of their historic range.  Otters once lived in every major Pennsylvania watershed but unrestricted trapping and habitat destruction had reduced their range to only the north-east portion of the state.  Legal harvest was ended in 1952 with the reintroduction program following three decades later. To date I have only once encountered a river otter in Pennsylvania and fortunately I was able to photograph it as it approached my boat.  

So you can imagine how pleased I was to encounter an otter family, while photographing birds with  Chad, along the shoreline of Florida's Lake Kissimmee.  The family consisted of an adult and three pups.  The pups were very curious as they paused to view us intently as we were busy photographing them.

And here stretch up even higher for a better view

The adult soon returned to the pups and swam off with for a short distance before depositing them on a hummock of high grass surrounded by shallow water before swimming off. The high grass made photography difficult but by wading to withing a few yards of their position I was able to capture this image.  During this encounter the young otters showed no fear, only curiosity.

Apparently Florida is blessed with a thriving river otter population.   I have encountered otters a number of times during my short visits to the Sunshine State.  Interested in the status of the Florida river otters, I visited the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website and found the otter population is sufficient for a harvest season to be held annually.  The regulations allow an unlimited number of otters to be taken by licensed individuals during the open season. 

Hopefully river otters will become as well established in Pennsylvania as they are in Florida. 

Anhinga

Anhinga:  Viera Wetlands

No Florida wetlands bird shoot would be complete with out photographing Anhingas.  Found around lakes and wetlands, anhingas are frequently seen perched often with wings half spread.  I photographed this bird during the golden glow of sunset.

Immature Anhinga:  Viera Wetlands

Noticing movement on a palm trunk a closer look revealed an immature anhinga.  This photo was captured at sundown as well.

Anhinga with Catfish:  Circle B Bar Reserve

Walking along a hiking path at the Circle B Bar Reserve we spotted this anhinga struggling with its catch.  Although the catfish is quite small the anhinga repositioned it a number of times before swallowing; apparently out of concern for its dagger sharp fins.

Boat-tailed Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle:  Viera Wetland, Florida

Much larger than its cousin the common grackle, the boat-tailed grackle is primarily a coastal bird ranging from New Jersey to Texas and inland across Florida. 

As is so often the case these close-up photos were taken from the car window.  In places where wildlife is accustomed to autos, approaching by car is the least threatening way to get the close-up image. 

As the males displayed they would close their white inner eyelids making for a striking contrast between the white eye and their iridescent feathers.

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret: Viera Wetlands, Fl

Cattle egrets seem to be everywhere in Florida.  Whether you are in the wetlands, farmland, or center city the cattle egrets are there. 

In non-breeding plumage they really are not much to look at, but when attired in breeding plumage I find them rather striking.

Pied-billed Grebe with Crayfish

Pied-billed grebe are the most common nesting grebe is the eastern US.  Their range extends from our southern border well into Canada. The pied-billed grebe's diet consist mainly of fish, aquatic insects and crustaceans. 

I photographed this bird at Florida's Viera Wetlands as it attempted to eat a large crayfish

Grasping the crayfish with its stout bill, it repeatedly shook it violently to break its body into manageable pieces.

The grebe's catch attracted the attention of other a group of coots who pursued the grebe attempting to steal the crayfish.  The little grebe responded to their attempts by swimming rapidly away to a more secluded area.

Florida Cranes & South Carolina Gators

Florida's resident population of sandhill cranes provides photographic opportunities year around.  I photographed this sandhill with a dragonfly in its beak at Viera Wetlands during our recent trip south.  While this is a good enough photograph it is a situation where I missed to very best shot.

A pair of sandhill's with their colt were feeding in the wetlands.  The bird pictured in the preceding photo captured the dragonfly and began waking rapidly passing behind a tree.  Just as it cleared the tree and before I was able to regain camera focus it dropped its head passing the dragonfly to the colt.

So while I came away with some nice images of the sandhills, the best image exist only in my memory.  That is wildlife photography, sometimes it just happens like that. 

On the way south we overnighted at Hardeeville South Carolina because of its proximity to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.  After securing a room and dining at the Crippled Crab, (if you are traveling though this area at dinner time stop!  The food is fantastic and prices very reasonable) we spent the evening motoring through the four mile wildlife drive.

Bird life was reasonably plentiful with a number of alligator sightings.  I again returned to the refuge in the morning for a few more photos before jumping back on I95.  While definitely a place I would like to spend more time the most memorable parts of SNWR was the gators and mosquitoes!  The mosquitoes must have outnumber the gators better than a million to one as a swarm met me immediately each time I set foot outside of the car.

Tricolored Heron: Joe Overstreet Landing

The early morning sunlight was perfect for photographing a Tricolored Heron hunting the lake shore at Joe Overstreet Landing.

Striking at prey, I could not tell for a moment if it had been successful,

Until it lifted its head and deftly flipped the small minnow in its long bill.

Photos like this are a combination of luck and perseverance; luck that the shutter happened to click at that exact moment, and perseverance in that I wasn't satisfied with a few well exposed shots of the little heron and was continuing to shoot frame after frame hoping for something exceptional to happen. 

Bald Eagles at Joe Overstreet Landing

Joe Overstreet landing is a spot noted on the Great Florida Birding Trail.  At one time the endangered Whooping Cranes could be seen here regularly but I have not observed them during my 2010 visits nor this year although I was told that one had been spotted on a nearby island lately.  However Joe Overstreet even without the Whooping Cranes remains a worthwhile spot.  Arriving as day began to break I immediately noticed a pair of eagles perched on the post supporting the boat docks. 

Not knowing how acclimated they were I cautiously moved in to a suitable position and awaited better light.  As the light improved I shot a few images of the stationary birds and soon a vehicle arrived to launch a boat.  The fishermen readied the boat and one walked over to chat and mentioned they they would be ending my fun.  I replied that that was no problem as I was waiting to the eagles to take flight.  Imagine my surprise when they launched the boat and the eagles showed no visible concern!  Moving in even closer I continued to wait for the birds to do something more photogenic than just posing.

As the sun began cresting the horizon my wait was rewarded as one eagle decided to go after a shore bird feeding nearby.  No being ready at the moment I missed the take-off and the bird easily evaded the eagle's attack.  The eagle circled about coming back in for a landing on it favored post.  This time I was ready panning the 600mm and shooting as it swooped in.

The best shot materialized as the eagle landed and with wings still outstretched lifted it's head and called.  Moments later it had settled down and was once again just a stationary eagle sitting on a post.

I have photographed bald eagles at numerous locations over the past few years and this bird is the most tolerant eagle I have yet encountered.  The eagles I encounter near home typically become uncomfortable at 150 to 200 yards however this bird seemed undisturbed with humans coming within 15-20 yards.

Crested Caracara

One day as I was leaving Viera Wetlands I noticed a few vehicles parked near the wetlands entrance and a number of photographers gathered nearby crouched behind some big glass.  Sidelining the car I joined the small crowd photographing a crested caracara as it fed on a bird.  But before I could get into position another cara cara flew by.  Taking advantage of the situation I panned with the bird capturing the above image.

                                      As shutters clicked the caracara tore at the carcass

 Tearing off pieces by holding one part with its feet while pulling with its massive beak

This image was captured as the caracara finished swallowing a rather large piece

Beautiful White Death Stalks the Marshes

Silent as a ghost, a Great Egret stalks the marsh

And captures its prey with a quick strike

To us the great egret is a creature of beauty and grace; for its prey it is their worst nightmare came true.

The above images were captured at the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands at Viera