Gulf of Mexico

Snowy Egret on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico

By Mia McPherson, on May 11th, 2013%

Snowy Egret in early morning light – Nikon D70, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 240mm, natural light, not baited

This Snowy Egret was photographed as it stood in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park’s north beach one early August morning in 2007. I had the north tip of the beach to myself as the sunbathers, beach walkers and other photographers hadn’t arrived. It was very peaceful to sit low on the sand and photographed this Snowy Egret with the sounds of the waves gently lapping at the shore and the calls of gulls, skimmers and other birds overhead.

The Nikon D70 I photographed this Snowy Egret with is ancient compared to newer cameras and it is now the backup to my two backup D200′s that I carry with me on long trips.

Mia

More Snowy Egret images

Gulf Coast Whimbrel

By Mia McPherson, on April 25th, 2013%

Whimbrel on a floating mat of seaweed

Among the shorebirds I enjoyed seeing and photographing while I lived in Florida were Whimbrels, I could see flocks of 25 or more during the winter along the coast. There had been rough waves the day before I photographed this Whimbrel which pushed floating mats of seaweed up close to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, the Whimbrels were feeding on small crabs that were in the seaweed.

I know that Whimbrels do show up here in Utah during their migration north but I have yet to be able to get close enough to photograph them. Whimbrels breed in northern Arctic regions and can live up to 1 years. They are similar in appearance to Long-billed Curlews that I often photograph here and in Montana but bill length helps with ID. The curve of their bills matches the curve of the burrows of Fiddler Crabs, their favorite prey item.

Mia

*I am going to be away from my computer a lot until Friday, please feel free to share this post with your friends and family.

Willet in flight at first light

By Mia McPherson, on March 26th, 2013%

Willet in flight at first light – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/320, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Early morning light is a delight and adds a nice mood to images like this one of a Willet in flight. I took this image at Fort De Soto’s north beach a few years ago, I could have bumped up my ISO to get more shutter speed to freeze the movement of the wings but I actually liked the motion blur in this frame and I definitely like the golden light.

Mia

Brown Pelicans on the Gulf of Mexico

By Mia McPherson, on February 20th, 2013%

Adult Brown Pelican in breeding plumage – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

The forecast is calling for snow today and there is already a heavy cloud cover so looked back through my files and found some Brown Pelican images taken on a warm February morning in Florida to post today. Brown Pelicans along the coast in Florida are very common and even though they were I tried not to overlook them as subjects for my photography while I lived there.

Adult Brown Pelican floating on the Gulf of Mexico - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

For all of these images I was laying on the sand of the shoreline to obtain a low angle perspective, I wanted to be eye level with the pelicans.

Brown Pelicans on the Gulf of Mexico - Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

In this last image I like how the out of focus pelican in the background adds a feeling of depth to this frame and how the beautiful color of the Gulf of Mexico helps the Brown Pelican in the foreground to stand out.

Mia

More Brown Pelican images

Bird images from warmer days and all at 300mm or less

By Mia McPherson, on January 26th, 2013%

Foraging Willet - Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/1500, ISO 400, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light

Gray skies, freezing temps and the inversions are beginning to get to me so I thought I would share some bird images from warmer days on Fort De Soto County Park’s north beach in sunny Florida.

In Florida I very rarely took my Nikkor 200-400mm VR lens to the beach because I didn’t want to get sand in the zoom mechanisms and I also didn’t want to dunk it in the salt water, my normal lens for Fort De Soto was my Nikkor 80-400mm VR but when I took all of these images it was off in New York being repaired so I was using my relatively inexpensive Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens. I often hear that for birds “the bigger the lens the better” and that simply is not always true.

With my shorter focal length lenses I was able to shoot handheld and didn’t have to drag around a tripod and waste time setting it up when birds were nearby. I was also able to make myself “look small” easier by laying flat on the sand or sitting as low as I could in the water which isn’t as easy to do with a tripod.

When I photographed the Willet above as it foraged in the Gulf of Mexico I was laying flat on the wet sand to get this image, the Willet was less cautious around me because I made myself appear small and stayed still, the shorebird came closer to me and I was able to get a nice series of this Willet.

Mating Laughing Gulls – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 220mm, natural light

The birds at Fort De Soto’s north beach are acclimated to human presence but that does not mean you can just walk up close and get high quality images because after all; they are wild birds. To get images like the mating Laughing Gulls above you need to practice stalking skills. The gulls were to the west of a small sand dune that had Sea Purslanes on it, to get close I sand crawled closer behind the dune and hid myself as well as possible behind the Purslane. I zoomed back to 220mm simply because I didn’t want to clip the male gull’s wings as he mounted the female.

Resting Short-billed Dowitcher – Nikon D200, handheld, f9, 1/320, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm at 300mm, natural light

I was in the lagoon near a Spartina marsh when I photographed this resting Short-billed Dowitcher with resting Willets behind it. I came up to the bird in the water at first by kneeling on me knees and slowly creeping forward and then when the water was shallow enough I laid down in the warm water and took this image with the hood of my lens just barely above the water. If I had just walked up to the birds they would have flushed and I don’t like to flush birds at rest. As I recall; this Dowitcher only lifted its head once while I photographed it and that was because of another bird flying in and not because of my presence.

Calling Fish Crow – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light

I was also in the lagoon when I photographed this calling Fish Crow, I had been photographing other birds when the Fish Crow flew in and walked around the wrack line calling and poking about in the debris that had been washed onto shore by the high tide. The Fish Crow practically ignored me while I kneeled in the lagoon taking images of it.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron feasting on a Ghost Crab – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 220mm, natural light, not baited

When I photographed this Yellow-crowned Night Heron I was behind a sand dune and crept up slowly on my belly until I could raise my lens just slightly over the dune to photograph the wading bird as it tore apart and devoured the Ghost Crab I saw it capture.

High quality images can be taken of birds with a shorter focal length and to do so it helps if the birds are used to human presence, with patience, sound and ethical stalking methods and did I mention patience?

Mia