Duck, Duck, Goose

I went to Lakeland to look for the mandarin ducks that were supposed to be there. Well, I actually found one of the matting pairs. I don't know if there are still two pairs or not. Also, saw shelducks which are also non natives and of course some geese.

Mandarin Duck native of Asia

Male shelduck

Lessons Learned

It seems like the Fall Polo season just got started and now this weekend is the end until the Spring. I got off to a bad beginning when I dropped by lens while trying to attach it to the monopod. The lesson learned was that I procrastinated in adding the lens to my insurance policy after I bought it. Fortunately I brought a second lens (the 70-200 Tamron) to the match so I could continue to shoot. The down side was that it doesn't focus as fast as the Nikon lens. I hope to get to one more match before the season ends. I have my lens repaired finally and would like a few more shots.

Solitude at Sunset.... Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

 

 

Most photographers and birders go out early to catch the morning light. I decided to go out late and catch some of the beautiful afternoon light and hopefully a sunset. I started out on Peacocks Pocket looking for some potential locations for nighttime photography. After that I drove over to Black Point where it was mostly deserted. I only saw two cars total and after they passed me I was virtually alone in this beautiful refuge. I took my time so I could still be out there as the sun dipped below the horizon. Since it is a one-way drive I couldn't back track and had to find a suitable place for sunset.

Fotography, Fun, New Friends and Fried Seafood.

 Yes, this was the Forgotten Coast Photography Workshop lead by Cecil Holmes and David Akoubian. I have always wanted to spend some time in the Panhandle of Florida and now I had the chance. I knew it would be full of great photo ops of interesting fishing boats, water and where else can you get a sunrise and sunset at the same location.

On the drive up, I made a short stop in Steinhatchee, which is along the river and near the west coast. It is a small fishing village and very quaint and scenic. I snapped a few pics just to have a memory since the light was harsh. It could very well be a place I return to when I have the time.

My first night was camping at St. George Island State Park. After setting up camp, I drove back into the town to look for a place for sunset. I decided to go over to the fishing pier which is next to the main bridge to the island. St. George has mostly houses that are rented out or maybe permanent residents live there. The nice thing is there are no high rises like most of Florida. The only place for sunrise was on the beach but the sky was rather bald and nothing for the foreground.

The workshop started in Apalachicola just before sunset. We were all staying at the historic Gibson Inn. It is three stories with no elevator. Nice rooms but no mini frig or microwave. Our group met in the lobby at 4 PM and we headed out to explore the town before sunset. The first sunset shoot was at Two Mile. Funny name for a place but it is exactly two miles from the only stop light in town.

 After grabbing some dinner we came back to the same place to take photos of the milky way. What an awesome sight especially when the city lights usually make stars almost impossible to see at home.'

Capturing the Milky Way at Two Mile.

Capturing birds in motion

 

Exploring Rural Connecticut

Curious goats in East Windsor, CT

Enders Falls in Granby, Connecticut

Not any day at the beach

This is the weekend for the Rich Salik Memorial Kidney Foundation Surfing Festival at Cocoa Beach Pier. It makes sense to go early and catch the sunrise before the competition begins. It was better than in past visits. The sunrise was shot from the top of the pier.

The competition got started a little late, and the water was very flat for great surfing. All in all, it is still fun to watch and shoot the surfers. The surfers ranged from the little ones (pollywogs) to the seasoned pros.

 

The men's longboard competition.

 

Getting in some practice.

Stormy Afternoon at Lake Apopka North Shore

Storms all around

Even though some stormy weather was imminent, there were still some photo ops at the new Lake Apopka North Shore wildlife drive. Heading out there around 5 PM I wasn't sure if I would see much, but reports of many alligators was enough incentive to go. We didn't see as many as others but there were still plenty. Other than the usual birds and gators we spotted a bob cat ahead on the road but too far away for a clear photo.

Gators hiding in the duck weed

 

Horse Farms and sunrise

There are miles of fence line surrounding the beautiful horse farms that Ocala is famous for. The fog added some mood to the photo and it just seemed to want to be in black and white.

In search of Sunrises

I am always looking for new photo spots to shoot the sunrise or sunset. A recent scouting trip revealed a small park on Little Lake Harris in Howey-in-the-hills. It only to about 45 minutes from my friends house to get there. The park has a small dock, some smaller docks and shoreline vegetation. The sunrise on a scale of 1 to 10 was about a five. Several boats were launched but I could not get either one in focus due to their movement and low light. After shooting the sunrise we headed towards Tavares to see the updates to the park there. Wooton Park is known for the seaplanes that fly in there. There were also some boat docks, a splash park and a new event space on the water. This might be an option for shooting sunsets in the future. The breakfast spot was the Sunshine Grill in Tavares in a small strip mall on SR 441. It was busy which is always a good sign. Good breakfast and very reasonable pricing. The biscuits were very light and tasty!

 

Little Lake Harris Sunrise



Near Lake Sylvan Park

Closer to Home . . .

My new favorite (closer to home) place for birding is Lake Apopka North Shore.Before late May, this was a walking and biking trail only. Biking was more doable but walking was difficult due to the expanse of property. You pretty much had to just walk so far and then turn around and go back. Of course, the walk back was always farther! In late May a section was opened up to vehicles from Friday through Sunday. This may not be the ideal time of year for birding, but the birds were plentiful even though the variety was limited. Green herons, great white egrets, great blue herons and osprey were seen in numbers. Most of my "shooting" was done from the car. It was extremely hot and getting out of the car usually scared them off. A new sighting was the stilt families. One had only one youngster but the other had two. Next year, I hope to catch them a little earlier.