Birding at The Celery Fields
A great place to go birding near Sarasota, FL is a flood mitigation zone known as the Celery Fields. The area gets its name from celery that was once farmed there from the 1920s to the 1990’s. Today, the celery farm is a distant memory and Sarasota County runs the area as a dual purpose site - stormwater collection and public recreation. Local residents flock to the wide open green spaces to walk, run, bike, go fishing, and kayak. Birders can find a large number of diverse bird species, both on the trails and on the two boardwalks.
This past week I parked my camper van in a private campground about 1.5 miles from the Celery Fields and was able to visit a few times on the weekends and after work. On my first visit to the boardwalk off Raymond Road I was surprised to see about a dozen photographers there. They were not photographing the scores of Blue-winged Teal, the Gray-headed Swamphen, the Boat-tailed Grackles, the Tree Swallows, the Glossy Ibis, the Palm Warblers, or anything else it seemed. Rather, they were waiting. Waiting for what? After a while the answer was obvious. A Northern Harrier swooped in over the water and all the photographers stuck their faces to the viewfinders and clicked away.
I admit I got caught up in it too. The Northern Harrier has such a distinctive look. It has an owlish face and a distinctive white patch on its tail that makes it really easy to identify when in flight. I snapped a few shots the first day, all way too far away. So the next time I came out I made it my mission to get a better shot.
Conditions were rough though. It was gray, dark, and drizzling most days last week. But we did have a couple of evenings where the sun broke through the clouds at sunset and we all prayed the harrier would make an appearance. It finally did, and on a couple of flights actually got within 25 yards of the boardwalk. All the photographers were now happy.
Northern Harrier. The sun angle was not all that great in this shot. As you can see the sunlight is coming from the left, leaving most of the bird in shadow. Ideally, it would be better to have the bird front-lit with no under-wing shadow. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 2800.
Northern Harrier. Lighting is the same on this shot, but I liked the detail in tanned out tail feathers that are backlit. The harrier is about to land in the grass, a spot he returned to repeatedly. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/32000 sec, ISO 1250.
In addition to the Northern Harrier, another interesting bird that made an appearance was a Caspian Tern. With it’s brilliant red bill, it’s pretty easy to distinguish from other terns. The Caspian was flying in circles over the end of the boardwalk, and occasionally it would dive into the water to catch a fish. I saw it catch two. I had a bad angle on the first fish it caught, but the second worked out perfectly as he caught a small mouth bass right in front of me.
During one of the long waits for the Northern Harrier to fly by, a Bald Eagle came streaming across the marsh with a fish in its talons. It was magnificent.
Bald Eagle. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 5600.
Soon a juvenile Bald Eagle also did a fly by. I normally don’t like to point my camera up at the blue sky because blue skies are, well, uninteresting. But for a Bald Eagle, sure, why not.
Bald Eagle (immature). Bald Eagles are not born with white feathers on their head. Rather, the white feathers come in slowly and the head doesn’t become fully white until about year 5. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1000.
After I got the shots of the Northern Harrier, I spent most of my time at the start of the boardwalk where I noticed lots of other little birds. Birds that most people walked right by in a rush to get to the end of the boardwalk. It was there I saw Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Prairie Warbler, a Black-and-white Warbler, three Wilson’s Snipes, and a Swamp Sparrow. It was great! A few smart photographers paid attention to what I was doing and they got great shots too.
Wilson’s Snipe. With it’s unique plumage, this little guy blended in perfectly in its environment. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/8, 1/1600 sec, ISO 10,000.
Swamp Sparrow. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 3200.
Red-winged Blackbird (female). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 900.
Prairie Warbler. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1000.
Yellow-rumped Warbler. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 lens at f/8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 16,000.
So if you find yourself in Sarasota, be sure to stop at the Celery Fields. Visit both boardwalks and hike in the little wooded area to the left of the big hill. There is always good stuff in that area. I also recommend Oscar Scherer State Park where you can photograph the Florida Scrub-jay and Felts Audubon Preserve where you can find Indigo Buntings (among other things) feeding on the many millet bird feeders at the bird blind. Both are only 20 minute drives from the Celery Fields.
Next week I’ll go to the east cost of Florida to participate in the Space Coast Birding Festival. I look forward to it!
Happy birding!
