Big Changes
My apologies for not keeping up with the blog these last few months. Life has been pretty busy. Not only was I traveling a lot for work, but I decided it would be a good time to sell my house. So while on a work trip to Europe for a couple of weeks I listed my house, sold it with nearly all my belongings, and moved into a camper van. Yeah, you read that right, I moved into a camper van! It’s a 2024 Grech RV Strada-ion, a top of the line Class B motorhome where I intend to live full-time for a while. Not only will this help me achieve my financial goals, but I get to follow the birds!
My old home in Tampa
My new home - a 2024 Grech RV Strada-ion
Despite the much, MUCH, smaller living situation, the transition has been fairly smooth. Sure there have been some adjustments, but all very doable. So far I am only staying at campgrounds, but will eventually do more boondocking (camping without water or electrical hookups) as I get used to the van. My first stop was at Withlacoochee River Park, a county park north of Tampa. I spent some time there adjusting to the new living situation and didn’t do any birding. I’ll be back though because the habitat in this park looked very promising for woodland birding.
My next stop was near my parents home in Alabama. There I stayed at Meaher State Park along the causeway between Mobile and Spanish Fort. This little park is on the Alabama Birding Trail and offered some excellent bird photography opportunities. In addition to a few trails, the park has a fishing pier and a boardwalk that extends into Mobile Bay. The boardwalk trail is the place to go. There is a wide wooded trail, about 0.25 miles in length that takes you from the campground to the boardwalk. Along this trail I found Brown Thrasher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, Yellow Warbler, and Swamp Sparrow.
Common Yellowthroat (female). Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 180-600mm f/6.3 lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 4000.
Eastern Bluebird. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 180-600mm f/6.3 lens at 410mm, f/6.0, 1/1000 sec, ISO 3200.
Swamp Sparrow. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 400.
Yellow Warbler eating insects (ticks?) on this plant. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 8000mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 1600.
On the boardwalk, the first thing I spotted was a group of White Ibis, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, and Great Egret feeding together in a shallow area. I was in the wrong position relative to the light so I didn’t take many photos. Further down the boardwalk I found a noisy flock of Red-winged Blackbirds in the reeds. I did manage to capture this rather lovely photo of a female grasping onto one of the reeds.
Red-Winged Blackbird (female). Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 180-600mm f/6.3 lens at 510mm, f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 200.
At the end of the boardwalk I got lucky and spotted a Sora preening out in the open. A highly reclusive rail, I was thrilled to spend about 5 minutes watching this bird preen, then get in the water and nip at a plant hanging down into the water.
Sora preening out in the open. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 180-600mm f/6.3 lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 320.
Sora. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 180-600mm f/6.3 lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 320.
This was a short visit to Meaher while on my way to Louisiana. This week I am near Crowley, Louisiana to participate in the Yellow Rails and Rice Festival. It’s rice harvesting season in southern Louisiana, and the Yellow Rails flush out when the farmer comes through with his combine. I’ve never done this festival before, and I’ve never seen a Yellow Rail, so it should be lots of fun this weekend. Will let you know in the next blog post!
