You can lead a bird to water....

I think this is a warbler of some kind. It's hard for me to tell, but perhaps this is a pine warbler?

Eye on Me

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

American Bald Eagle

There is an eagle's nest at Honeymoon Island State Park. We went to see it on Saturday and as we approached the fenced off area, the eagle was returning. We watched for a few minutes and then left the area. We walked back toward the parking lot and snapped several other pictures along the way. When we were a quarter mile from the truck, a lady walking toward us stopped to talk. She explained that a little farther up the trail, she had seen an eagle sitting close to the walking trail.

We walked for another few seconds toward the car and then on the left hand side about 25 feet above us and less than 50 feet away from us, there it was - just sitting there.

Outside of a zoo, we've never been this close to an American Bald Eagle - and we may never be that close again.

Magnificent Osprey in Flight

I just love this flight photo. The blue sky. The wingspan. It's all so peaceful. This photo was taken with my 300 mm Tamron lens with a UV filter and standard lens hood.

Osprey at Honeymoon Island

The osprey on Honeymoon Island are very active in February. I lost count, but we must have seen at least ten nesting pairs today. At one point, we were surrounded by osprey on all sides. There were osprey above us, in front of us, behind us, and directly overhead darting in and out between the trees - lower than I've ever seen there before.

I have some other photos I'll post later - stayed tuned for bald eagle pictures.

Web of Worms

Rose Close Up

Anhinga

Warblers at the Rookery

Pine Warbler

or....Palm Warbler

It's hard for me to tell.

One of the pit falls to photographing small bird species in a wild setting is a lack of lens power and clarity. (That doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying.)

Great Blue Heron

I had taken 139 photos at the Venice Rookery and I was beginning to think about packing it in for the day, when this Great Blue Heron leapt from his perch on the island and began flying toward me.

The jpeg photo was taken in "auto" mode at 1/500 shutter speed, F 5.6, and 500-ISO. He caught me standing in the shade, but I "punched" it up just a little with my Photoshop software.

For comparison, here's the original version of the photo.

After landing, he posed for several profile photos. Here's the best one.

Venice Rookery Trip

We took a short drive to the Venice Rookery this morning.

The nesting area is on an island in the middle of a small lake, so the best pictures require bigger and faster lenses. The conditions really dictate 500 mm lenses and up to properly fill the frame. They can can range in price from around $1,000 up to several thousand, but I did manage some nice shots with my measely $170 Tamron 300 mm macro zoom. (For the money, it's pretty hard to beat.)

I snapped this little guy on the near side of the lake in front of the picnic shelter.

I'll post some ahinga, red-bellied woodpecker, and great blue heron shots a little later.

Fun with Photoshop Watercolor Functionality

I've been playing with the Photoshop functionality that converts digital images into watercolor artwork. Photoshop offers literally hundreds of possibilities for "customizing" digital images according to personal tastes.

Here's a copy of the watercolor image.


And, here's the original.

Yellow Rumped Warbler

I'm 95% sure this is a yellow rumped warbler, but if you have any other ideas I'm all ears.

Cormorant

I originally thought this was an anhinga, but after some comparisons in the Sibley's guide I decided it is likely a double crested cormorant.

Egret

We took a short drive to the Alafaya River State Park this afternoon where I snapped this photo.

Ruddy Turnstone