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.
Tricolored Herons Times Three
I actually like the backgrounds in each of these images, all of them show the habitat that Tricolored Herons might be found in and highlight the birds too.
Adult And Juvenile White Ibis
White Ibis can be strange looking birds to people who have never seen them before, they have soft, sky blue eyes, skinny legs, long necks and a bill that could be compared to Jimmy Durante's nose.
Royal Tern Over
Royals Terns make amazing dive bombs for their prey which are usually small baitfish running close to the surface and sometimes if you are lucky you get to see them "Tern Over" in mid air.
Semipalmated Plover Image And A Critique
Besides, to have gotten any lower than the Semipalmated Plover I would have had to have crawled down the burrow of one of those crabs
Snowy Egret On The Shore Of The Gulf of Mexico
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.
Spot The Sandpiper On The Seawall
It really isn't too hard to spot this Spotted Sandpiper on the seawall, I just thought it was a catchy title. I saw my FOY (first of year) Spotted Sandpiper this past week and that got me excited.
Gulf Coast Whimbrel
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.
Goin’ Green
I've posted about Thinking Pink and Shades of Blue so today I thought I'd share some images about Goin' Green.
Mountain Plovers – Comparing two similar looking species
There are a few similar species that occur in Utah and surrounding states that could be confused with Mountain Plovers.
Earth Day 2013
I wanted to share these images because today is Earth Day.
Ruddy Turnstone and a Laughing Gull
Five years ago today I was laying in the warm wet sands of Fort De Soto County Park's north beach as the salty water from the Gulf of Mexico soaked my skin while photographing a Ruddy Turnstone doing what they do best, turning things.
Shades of Blue – Wildflowers, Birds, Sky and Sea
Last week I was Thinking Pink so this week I thought I would focus on the shades of blues found in wildflowers, birds, the sky and seas.
American Oystercatcher With Prey
American Oystercatchers were among my favorite shorebirds to photograph at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach when I lived in Florida.
Thinking Pink – Birds, Sky, and Flowers
I'm not sure why I wanted to do a post using images with pinks but here they are, a flower, a bird and pink kissed clouds.
Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk Learning To Hunt
This juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was perched on a metal fence post so I opted to go for a portrait to remove the "hand of man".
Male Boat-tailed Grackle portrait
Male Boat-tailed Grackles have velvety black feathers that glow in the right light with iridescence purples, blues, teals and greens.
Today on On the Wing Photography
Who knew that one day my photos would be in a book published by National Geographic? I am truly honored.
Forster’s Tern And Friend
This Forster's Tern image was taken several years ago on Fort De Soto County Park's north beach while it was resting on the sand as another tern was flying towards us both.
Lance-leaf Arrowhead
I photographed this Lance-leaf Arrowhead at Roosevelt Wetland in Pinellas County, Florida several years ago.
Willet In Flight At First Light
Early morning light is a delight and adds a nice mood to images like this one of a Willet in flight.
Marbled Godwit On Fort De Soto’s North Beach
Several years ago while I was photographing at Fort De Soto's beautiful north beach I saw a Marbled Godwit flying in with a dark tubeworm in its bill and took a few images of it from a distance.
Wilson’s Plover with chicks
I enjoyed my brief, long distance opportunity to photograph and observe these Wilson's Plovers and chicks, it was a small window into their life.