A Little Catch up

My bird photography has regrettably been a little slow lately. I’ve gone on many walks lately where it’s been a struggle to find any birds, much less get photos. Supposed e-Bird hotspots haven’t been so hot. I think a little more attention on my part to weather and time of day will help yield better results. Until then, here are a few shots from the past several weeks to get you caught up on what I’ve been seeing while living the van life.

Following my trip to Louisiana I spent some time in Alabama at Meaher State Park. There I was able to photograph Yellow Warblers, Swamp Sparrows and Great Egret. Other birds, such as White Ibis, Little Blue Heron, American White Pelican, terns, and gulls were in the area but I never could get close enough to take any decent shots. Here are a few I did get.

Great Egret. This Great Egret was flying low over the marsh, so it was nice to get some blurry grass in the background rather than blue sky. 29 Oct 23. Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400.

Swamp Sparrow. I found this little Swamp Sparrow on the trail leading out to the boardwalk at Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama. 29 Oct 23. Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 2200.

Yellow Warbler. It was a pleasant surprise to see this Yellow Warbler on the trail at Meaher State Park. 29 Oct 23. Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 2800.

Yellow Warbler. Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 900.

Following my visit to Alabama, I traveled to Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City Beach, Florida. I didn’t do a whole lot of birding the week I was there, aside from an evening at nearby Mexico Beach. There I found a couple of Willet, a Sanderling, and a Ruddy Turnstone. While not very exotic birds, the Willet were interesting to watch. First, one of the Willet found a sand flea on the beach and quickly devoured it. Next, another Willet flew into the area and the two began demonstrating agonistic behavior by walking up and down the beach, with one of the birds occasionally flying up and snapping at the other bird. I’m not sure if it was a territorial display or mating behavior.

Willet eating a sand flea. Photo taken at Mexico Beach, Florida. 10 Nov 23. Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 180 - 600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 200.

A Willet dive bombing another Willet. Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 180 - 600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 3200.

My next trip was to Hillsborough River State Park. The weather that week was gray, cold, and drizzly all week. I did just one hike along a trail that was not widely used. About a mile down the trail I spotted a small tree with little birds buzzing in it. As I got closer I could see it was about a dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers. They were feasting on some little berries on the tree.

Yellow-rumped Warbler eating a berry. Photo taken at Hillsborough River State Park, 18 Nov 23.

Later, I spent one evening at a Harvest Hosts site at Yalaha, Florida. After I parked my camper van and purchased a bottle of blueberry moonshine at the Yalaha Bootlegging Company, I grabbed my camera. This turned out to be a nice little spot for birding as the area was marshy with plenty for the birds to eat. Here I spotted many Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, Eastern Bluebirds, and a juvenile hawk (I couldn’t tell the species). Here is a photo of one of the Palm Warblers. I’m not sure what was in the background, but it created a nice halo effect. I definitely want to return to this location, especially when the blueberries are on the vine.

Palm Warbler. Photographed at the Yalaha Bootlegging Company. Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 500.

My next stop is the North Shore Birding Festival near Orlando, Florida. Originally I was intending to participate on the Friday and Saturday of the event, but a few work meetings got added to the calendar for Friday so I can only be there on Saturday. Although a brief trip, I do look forward to it - and I hope to make a few excursions on my own while I can.

More to come.