coastal

Great Horned Owl Chick In Coastal Florida

By |2024-03-05T04:03:51-07:00March 5th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Florida, Great Horned Owls, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This image of a Great Horned Owl chick resting near its nest on the coast Florida in lovely afternoon light brings back wonderful memories for me. It was 2008.

Live, Love, Laugh, Sing, Dance, Be, Do

By |2023-08-11T15:23:09-06:00May 18th, 2023|Categories: Anclote Key, Florida, Pasco County, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I saw this quote that aligns with my philosophy of Live, Love, Laugh, Sing, Dance, Be, Do and thought I would share a post about the reason I like the quote.

When Life Gives You A Twisted Neck Just Go With The Flow

By |2023-03-08T03:15:10-07:00March 8th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I took photos of this Great Egret with a twisted neck and buggy eyes at Fort De Soto I didn't think I'd still be laughing at them fourteen years later.

Great Blue Heron On Ice At Farmington Bay WMA

By |2023-09-15T05:45:37-06:00December 30th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Gandy Beach, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had some fun photographing a Great Blue Heron on ice along with its shadow yesterday morning on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.

Winter California And Herring Gull Comparison In Utah

By |2023-03-27T03:47:22-06:00November 8th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, California Gulls, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Herring Gulls, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.

Semipalmated Plover Images

By |2021-10-29T06:02:44-06:00October 29th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Semipalmated Plovers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While rifling through my archives I came across some of my Semipalmated Plover photos that I took on the north beach at Fort De Soto County Park in 2008.

Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and Earth Shadow Memories

By |2021-10-15T05:08:51-06:00October 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.

Willet, Sunrise And The Gulf Of Mexico

By |2021-09-07T05:15:29-06:00September 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I look at this photo of a Willet in the waves of the Gulf of Mexico I can almost hear the sounds, taste the tang of salt in the air and feel the warm water on my skin.

Sharing Sunrise With A Greater Yellowlegs

By |2021-08-17T06:11:56-06:00August 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Greater Yellowlegs, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I lived in Florida it wasn't unusual for me to share sunrise alone with birds at the north beach of Fort De Soto. Thirteen years ago I did just that with a Greater Yellowlegs.

Great Egret In Front Of Stormy Skies

By |2021-04-12T15:22:48-06:00July 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One of the birds I found that summer morning was a Great Egret perched on a stump that the waves of the Gulf had deposited on the shore of the beach.

Sunrise with a Long-billed Curlew In A Florida Lagoon

By |2022-06-05T15:03:18-06:00May 27th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Long-billed Curlews, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I will say that my favorite and most memorable times photographing Long-billed Curlews happened while I was still living in Florida well away from their breeding grounds.

Photographing A Foraging American Oystercatcher In The First Light Of Dawn

By |2022-08-15T05:43:06-06:00May 16th, 2020|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The soft light of dawn has a special quality to it and I believe that it is evident in both of these American Oystercatcher photos.

What An Odd Mother’s Day But It Is Mother’s Day Nonetheless

By |2022-08-16T04:10:22-06:00May 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Black-bellied Plovers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I opted to go back in time to a "normal" Mother's Day by pulling a Black-bellied Plover photo from my archives that was taken on Mother's Day in 2009.

I’m On The Look Out For Caspian Terns

By |2023-05-04T16:22:18-06:00April 23rd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Caspian Terns, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The day I came home from camping in the West Desert the first bird calls I heard were from several Caspian Terns in flight overhead that were squabbling and diving at each other.

Portraits Of A Great Blue Heron With Nesting Material

By |2023-03-03T13:12:14-07:00January 25th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

It felt amazing to have that Great Blue Heron gift us with its presence for those few seconds. You just never know what might happen when you are out looking for birds.

Reddish Egret In A Lagoon With Clouds Reflecting On The Water

By |2022-10-02T11:10:31-06:00January 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been nearly ten years since I took this photo and it remains one of my favorite Reddish Egret photos because of the clouds reflecting on the still waters of a lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park.

Spotted Sandpiper On The Gulf Coast – Thinking Back On Warmer Days

By |2021-05-07T15:38:00-06:00January 7th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Spotted Sandpipers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I'm thinking back on warmer days where I took photos of Spotted Sandpipers on the Gulf Coast as they scurried among those oyster beds looking for food and somehow I feel just a little bit warmer looking at this photo and the howling wind doesn't seem quite so loud.

Snowy Plovers – Photographed in the West and East

By |2023-10-22T03:30:37-06:00July 4th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Snowy Plovers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is always nice to be able to point out a lifer bird to someone else and that is what I did on June 25th after I spotted a tiny Snowy Plover at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge foraging in the mud.

Spread-eagle Red-winged Blackbird at Fort De Soto County Park

By |2023-11-05T04:37:27-07:00February 23rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-winged Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

In Florida I most often photographed Red-winged Blackbirds at north beach of Fort De Soto County Park where I could reliably find them in the sand dunes, sea oats, spartina and mangroves all year long.

Great Egret – Snowy Egret Size and Appearance Comparison

By |2024-02-18T16:07:23-07:00February 1st, 2018|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County, Snowy Egrets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There are some other differences between Great and Snowy Egrets in appearance of course but I think the comparisons I have written about are the most helpful for me in the field for identification and may be for other people too.

Foraging Semipalmated Plover in Florida

By |2021-10-29T05:30:07-06:00January 28th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Semipalmated Plovers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Among my favorite plovers to photograph when I lived in Florida were Semipalmated Plovers, I only saw them during their nonbreeding season where they spent time along the Gulf coast.

Short-billed Dowitcher Foraging in Sargassum on the Wrack Line

By |2024-01-13T02:51:41-07:00January 23rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Short-billed Dowitchers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This Short-billed Dowitcher slowly made its way through the Sargassum on the wrack line as I laid in the damp sand photographing it and the other shorebirds that were searching the seaweed for food.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron In Low Light

By |2021-07-03T04:10:20-06:00January 4th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Yellow-crowned Night Herons|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The first bird I photographed that day was a Yellow-crowned Night Heron wandering in the sea fog near the dunes and shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.

Differences in Photographing Greater Yellowlegs in Florida and Utah

By |2021-08-17T05:42:39-06:00October 29th, 2017|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Greater Yellowlegs, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

There are big differences in the ways I photograph Greater Yellowlegs here in Utah than there were when I photographed them in Florida.

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