About halfway into the refuge, there was a crowd watching a crowd. There must have been a hundred White Pelicans. I have seen them in my neighborhood during their migration but only ten or twenty at a time. I have also never witnessed them feeding this way. Normally I see them dive bombing the fish […]
After I moved on from the first pond (just after the entrance) where the Reddish Egrets were, I saw more variety. There was a lot of fishing. This GBH really put his whole body into it, lunging at the fish. This time he came up empty. Farther in to the refuge, I spotted White Ibis […]
On my recent visit to Bonita Springs, after encouragement from photographers at the Venice Rookery, I took a trip to the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on Sanibel Island. Since it is only an hour from Bonita Springs, I was able to go there Saturday AM. It was an unexpected bonus on my […]
The variety at the Rookery was down a lot this year. Some say it was a cold snap, others suggest it was the fact that they cut down the trees. In any case, other than the GBH (Great Blue Herons) and Egrets, there weren’t many others. The Anhingas were there like always. Age doesn’t seem […]
I have been shooting the Great Blue here and in Minnesota for some time. We have about four that live on our lake. However, at home I’ve never spotted their nests, seen their young or noticed group behavior. They are all loners. All that is different at the Rookery (and I am sure lots of […]
After a conference in Orlando this week, I decided to drop in on the Rookery in Venice FL again. It was great last year and my expectations were high. The day got off to a rough start. First, when I arrived at a little before 7:00 (pre-dawn), the park entrance was closed off by a […]
There was so much going on there that it took four posts to get the feel for the overall wildlife. I have posted many of my images on the photos tab. These are my last images on the main page. This Sandhill Crane dropped in on us and decided that he didn’t mind company while […]
In my first Venice Rookery posting I had a photo of a mail Anhinga. Strange birds. This female decided to roost in tree directly above my. It made for two interesting shots. Here is another male. I am not used to be this close to the subject. When they get mad, I think it is […]
This is a Great Egret – the green around the eyes is the giveaway. Having been working on catching Egrets in flight, I was pleased to get a couple of nice shots. Sometimes when they come in for a landing, it is necessary to put the flaps all the way down or they miss the […]
I learned a new two part secret for taking good wildlife pictures. Part 1: Go to where the wildlife is. Part 2: Take a lot of pictures. I had meetings most of this week on the road ending in Jacksonville FL. I decided that while I was there I would visit the crew in Bonita […]
