Tag Archives: egrets

Birds, Birds and more Birds

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Birds, Birds and more Birds

Hawaiian NeNe (Goose)

Birds are a popular photo subject with me. My friends often tell me it’s time to stretch my wings and get a new subject and I do. I chase all kinds of wildlife. But sometimes the birds are just there. They are an easy subject because I don’t have to search for them. I can spend days trying to locate a fox or a moose or even a deer to photograph but birds are always around me.

Bird on a wire

I was near a pond in Norton taking shots of the fall foliage. Birds were the farthest thing from my mind when a hawk settled right above my head on a wire. How could I not take his picture?   Besides birds are a challenge to get a good shot. Although the hawk was right on a wire near me the background was filled with tree leaves. He also spend quite a bit of his time on the wire with his back to me. Not much of a picture if you can only get the back of a head!  So I continue to take pictures of birds.

 

 

 

 

Birds in Florida

Some of my best photos were in Florida. I always seem to have good luck there. I try to take most of my bird pictures in the wild. I may be at a wildlife sanctuary but the birds are wild and free to fly away. I got a second class photo of a very rare bird from an airboat. It’s called a snail kite and I didn’t realize how rare it was until I returned home and saw a special on the bird on PBS. The photo is blurry so I’m not going to share but the odds of me going back for a better one are pretty slim. 

Egret with Hot Dog

Accepted in Nat Geo “I Shot It” Contest

Maine Puffins

Another great bird trip was with the Audubon Society, I joined them for a trip to see the Maine Puffin Colony. What a trip! Who knew it could be so cold in the middle of July! We were in the Bay of Fundy where we could see the evidence of the 12 ft tides the area is known for.  I may have to think about doing it again because I’ve improved my photography skills since then. But I did get a few  ‘Braggable” shots.

Loons of New England

So now I have a new Bird Challenge. I need to get a decent photo of a common loon. Loons can be found in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and now the Lake George area of New York. I’ve seen them. I’ve heard them but always at a distance. So now my goal is to get close enough to get a good photo because I can do better than this!

 

I have some locations and ideas in mind but I think spring nesting season will be my best chance. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Puzzle update

No update this week. I’ve moved into the browns and purples and they are harder to match and I haven’t had much time to work on it.

Top 10 2015

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To help get into the spirit of my top 10 search, here are the top 10 from 2015. Several have been enlarged and framed. A couple of the bird photos hang in my work place. Hopefully when I’ve gone through 2016 those 10 will be better than these. Hopefully.

Bayou Bridge , City Park, New Orleans

Bayou Bridge , City Park, New Orleans

Egret, Orlando Florida

Egret, Orlando Florida

Egret #2, Orlando Florida

Egret #2, Orlando Florida

Hungry Egret with Hot Dog, Orlando FL

Hungry Egret with Hot Dog, Orlando FL

Great Blue Heron, Herring Run , Middleboro, MA

Great Blue Heron, Herring Run , Middleboro, MA

Germany (Epcot). Walt Disney World, Orlando FL

Germany (Epcot). Walt Disney World, Orlando FL

Cinderella's Castle in "Ice", Walt Disney World, Orlando FL

Cinderella’s Castle in “Ice”, Walt Disney World, Orlando FL

King of Beasts, Animal Kingdom, Disney World, Orlando FL

King of Beasts, Animal Kingdom, Disney World, Orlando FL

Rain Forest, New Orleans Aquarium

Rain Forest, New Orleans Aquarium

New Orleans Cemetary

New Orleans Cemetery

So that’s the “bar” Let’s see what I managed to capture in 2016 and how they will compare.

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

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After wrapping up our Aquarium visit we decided to do a little exploring, Sandy had heard of a place with wild animals, like a sanctuary. I tried a google search on my phone but the only thing I could find was the Kealia Pond Wildlife Refuge. Off we went to check it out.

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Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge is one of the few natural wetlands remaining in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the south central coast of Maui, it is 691 acres of wetland which provides a home to the endangered Hawaiian coot.

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Upon arrival it looked pretty quiet but there was a nice boardwalk so we decided to just take a walk. I wasn’t expecting anything special. Boy was I surprised.

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The first bird we spotted was a “stilt”. These are striking black-and-white birds with very long, thin red legs, the Black-necked Stilt is found along the edges of shallow water in open country.

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Once we spotted one, we began to see them all over. They were funny little birds with those long skinny legs and we had a lot of fun watching them as they hunted tiny minnows in the shallow water.

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Sandy spooked one stilt and when it took off it spooked another bird. This time it was a heron of some type. I thought it was a green heron but some folks came a long with a bird book and said it was a Black Crested Night Heron.

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What ever it was, it was a willing subject for a photo shoot once he roosted again. He stayed put while I snapped away.

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There were a number of white egrets. According to history these are cattle egrets.

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They are an invasive species brought to the island by man to control such pests as fleas, ticks, flies and other cattle parasites.

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Last but not least we came upon a pair of the endangered Coots. They are really cute little birds. They reminded me of the common mud hen in Florida but they don’t have the red coloring.

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It would have been nice to walk further along the board walk but truth be told, both of us were getting tired and it was a very hot, sunny day. Time to wrap it up and head back to the car.

I keep going back to Florida

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Boy it’s been busy at work! I’m not really complaining because this is when I make the $$$ that pays for all my little jaunts but I think we’re setting new records this spring! Anyway, that’s why I haven’t had time to post much.

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As anyone who has followed along for any time knows, I want to go to every state  for a vacation. Even some of the more “boring ” states have lots to share if you are just willing to do a little research. As I’ve said many times, one of the best vacations was to South Dakota but when I told people that was where I was going they always asked “What’s in South Dakota”?

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Now Florida is home to the snow birds, Mickey Mouse and the world’s longest stop lights. (That’s so all of us senior citizens with slow reflexes have time to react) Yet I keep going back. If I took all my visits to the Sunshine state and used them toward my goal of visits to every state, I’d be almost done! I go to Florida at least once a year, sometimes more and it never gets old.

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I love the animals, mostly birds. They are colorful and abundant and there’s lots of things to do besides Disney and Universal. I lean toward places like Gatorland and eco-safaris, botanical gardens and airboat rides.

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I’ve spent most of my time in the Orlando area but I’ve made jaunts to Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Key West,  St. Pete and St Augustine so I’ve pretty much covered the state and I’m still not bored. There’s still more to see.

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This winter I have a longer trip than usual planned. I know I will miss the kitties staying away that long but it made more sense to do one long trip and save on air fare than to split it up so I’m spending 4 days in the Orlando area and then moving down to South Beach for  7 more days. Can’t wait and can’t wait to tell you all about it.

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For now I will leave you with a few Egret photos from the “breeding pond” at Gatorland.