Adult and juvenile American Oystercatchers feeding side by side
In 2008 I spent several months during the summer watching an American Oystercatcher family from the time the chicks were tiny until one of the chicks became independent.
Piping Plover on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico – 900th Post
Shorebirds; like this tiny Piping Plover I photographed on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, are the primary reason I became addicted to bird photography.
Juvenile Brown Pelican in flight
After posting an image of a American White Pelican lifting off two days ago I thought I should post an photo of a Brown Pelican today for comparison.
White morph Reddish Egret on the hunt
Both the white and dark morphs of Reddish Egrets are great fun to watch as they hunt because they dance, twirl, whirl and stumble along like a "drunken sailor".
Snowy Egret in a hurry
Snowy Egret in a hurry that I photographed almost exactly 5 years ago while sitting low in a Florida lagoon.
Greater Yellowlegs and Copyright Watermarks
Which copyright watermark should I use? The small one that doesn't detract from the Greater Yellowlegs or the larger one that would make it harder for image thieves to use?
Marbled Godwits – A Grassland Shorebird
I hope that in 100 years Marbled Godwits will still be on this planet and future generations won't know them only from images like mine.
Female Long-billed Curlew in a Florida lagoon
It has been another very long week so I thought I'd post a female Long-billed Curlew because of her very long bill but unlike the way my week went this curlew is graceful, elegant and serene.
Things that bug me – Golden-silk Spider
This is a female Golden-silk Spider I photographed way back in September of 2007 while wandering Arrow Head Trail at Fort De Soto County Park.
Reddish Egret hunting along the Gulf Coast of Florida
Recently I posted images of a Tricolored Heron and a Black-bellied Plover where I wrote that I enjoyed images that include habitat, the same could be said about this photo of a Reddish Egret hunting on the shoreline of the Gulf Coast.
Black-bellied Plover in beach habitat
This Black-bellied Plover was standing on a dunelet that wasn't much higher than the sand around it that had sparse short grasses which I found appealing.
Landing Black Skimmer
Black Skimmers are known by several nicknames which include scissorbills, knifebill and cut-water for how their bills slice through the water when they are hunting and how their bills snap shut on prey.
Waves and a Forster’s Tern
The nonbreeding Forster's Tern in these two images is the same bird and the images were taken ten frames and a few seconds apart as the tern stood on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.
Reddish Egret Up Close And Not So Close
Today I wanted to share another example of close up and full body images of another one of my favorite birds; the Reddish Egret.
Great Blue Heron up close and not so close
One December morning in 2008 I was sitting in the sand at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida when a Great Blue Heron came up and perched on a driftwood stump that had washed up onto the shore.
Nonbreeding Black Skimmer
When I did my post the other day on "Missing Fort De Soto" I found this Black Skimmer image in my archives while looking for photos to put in that post and wanted to share it.
Snowy Plovers – North America’s Smallest Plover
A while back I did a post on the Least Sandpiper which is the world's smallest sandpiper so I thought I would do a post about North America's smallest plover, the Snowy Plover.
Missing Fort De Soto
Some days I find myself missing Fort De Soto so much it hurts, the birds I found there and the entire experience of just being there. It is just such an amazing place, how could I not miss it?
Spots before my eyes – Spotted Sandpipers that is
So I finally have images of the breeding plumage of this small shorebird that show the spots that gave this bird the name Spotted Sandpiper!
Why do they call them Laughing Gulls?
Laughing Gulls are quite noisy when they are in a flock but I never minded listening to them, in fact they often made me laugh.
Great Blue Heron Portraits from Florida and Utah
In Florida I found it easy to get close up images of Great Blue Herons because quite often they are used to the presence of humans but here in Utah that isn't the case and Great Blue Herons are sort of skittish.
Five years ago today at Fort De Soto
Five years ago today I headed to the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park despite knowing that there were looming storms off of the coast hanging just off shore over the Gulf of Mexico and I am glad that I did because the light that day on the beach was exquisite.
Piping Plovers
Piping Plovers are small, sparrow sized shorebirds that are endangered and threatened in most of their range primarily due to human disturbance on their nesting grounds.
And We Have Lift Off!
I wanted to share some bird lift off images today so I rounded up a few that showed different styles of lift offs.
Laughing Gulls in breeding and nonbreeding plumage
Both of these Laughing Gull images were taken at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida, the image above shows a Laughing gull in nonbreeding plumage that was taken in September of 2008.
Adult American Oystercatcher among Sea Purslane
I like to include habitat in my images when I am able to do so, especially when the habitat doesn't obstruct the view of my subject or when the habitat helps to define a sense of place.
Tricolored Heron in Breeding Plumage
I was digging through my image files yesterday and came across a series of Tricolored Heron images that I had never edited from a May morning in 2009 when I was photographing birds at Fort De Soto's north beach.
Please… give nests and chicks respect
Fluffy little chicks are adorable, they make people "ohh" and "aww" and those that hit the ground running not long after hatching are especially appealing to some folks. But they need respect and they need space so we don't endanger them.
Bubble, Bubble, Oil is Trouble
Summertime is upon us now and with it comes loads of people participating in outdoor activities like hiking, sports, camping and activities on the water. Everyone looks forward to warmer weather after winter but some of those activities can impact birds and wildlife.
Eastern Willet in flight at Fort De Soto
There are two subspecies of Willets which Western and Eastern, here in Utah I only see the Western subspecies but in Florida I could see both during the course of a year.