Birding Aboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville
If you are able to go aboard a military installation, then let me recommend that you look for birds aboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville. Like many military installations, it contains a number of habitats that are fantastic for birds and other wildlife. This past week I stayed on base at the Manatee Cove RV Park. This small campground is situated on Manatee Cove and is next to the Navy Lodge. A pavilion sits at one end of the campground and this marks the start of a short trail that runs along the water’s edge to a pier behind the Navy Lodge. Most of the trail is a raised boardwalk that takes you through thick marsh vegetation. Unfortunately, the boardwalk isn’t too well maintained, and the end of the pier is closed due to hurricane damage.
A section of the boardwalk trail.
A section of the trail that opens up to give a view of Manatee Cove.
This is an area where I saw the most birds. Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Northern Cardinals where buzzing all through this area feeding on insects.
The section of the trail photographed above was the most productive, and you can see why. Water, insects, and lots of cover made for a songbird paradise. I visited this section of trail four or five times during my stay at Manatee Cove, and would have visited more often but the weather was often overcast and drizzling. But I got some decent shots of a few birds just a short walk from my campsite, which was just perfect.
It was gray and dark most of the time I was on the trail, so you’ll see this reflected in my camera settings. For example, in these photos of a Black-and-white Warbler, I dropped my shutter speed to 1/500th of a second while handholding an 800mm lens. Even with an ISO of 4000, I am really impressed with the Z9’s stabilization to produce sharp images like these.
Black-and-white Warbler. This is a female, which you can tell because the area beneath the line that runs behind her eye is mostly white. In males, this area below the line is black. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens handheld at f6.3, 1/500 sec, ISO 4000.
Black-and-white Warbler. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens handheld at f6.3, 1/500 sec, ISO 4000.
I was really happy to see a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets on the trail. They are not something I see very often, but a few had that unmistakable streak of red feathers on the tops of their heads.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. From the back view you can just see the scarlet feathers on the top of the head peeking through. What a thrill to see! Nikon Z9 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens handheld at f6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 1800.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The ruby crest is barely noticeable from this angle. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens handheld at f6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 2200.
While on a recent hike with other bird photographers we came across a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. One of the photographers jokingly called it a “time waster” bird because you can spend a lot of time chasing these little guys around to get a decent picture. So it was on this trail, but these little guys were so involved in picking off insects that they paid absolutely no attention to me
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Because these birds move so quickly and are in constant motion, I kept my shutter speed to 1/1000 sec, even at the expense of the higher ISO. I used Topaz Photo AI to remove the noise. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens handheld at f6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 4500.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. He finally got out in the open and I was able to get a clean shot and reduce the ISO! I thought about removing some of the bright grass in the background, but chose not to. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens handheld at f6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 720.
Not photographed but seen on base were Anhinga, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Blue-headed Vireo, Eastern Bluebirds, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Other areas to explore include the open areas around the golf course and the marina where I have had success in the past.
NAS Jacksonville is now on my list of must-visit sites when in north-east Florida. If you have base access, then this is a place you have got to visit.
