First Coast Digiscoping Trip

digiscoped sunrise

We rose before the dawn on Saturday to sport our wares and try our luck on the beautiful grounds of Washington Oaks State Park. The leaders were assembled and waited. In all there were four sport optics reps from as many companies assembled plus international digiscoping talents Neil Fifer and Paul Hackett (who had travelled from Hong Kong, and the UK respectively for the benefit of the cause). We then eagerly awaited our crew of participants. First one, then a second, and finally a third participant... we were then told we would meet 2 more at the park and be assisted by the park naturalist! 7 guides and 5 participants, now that's a first! ;)

Our first stop was to shoot the sun as it quickly ascended into the sky!

digiscoped Rose with morning dew

After which we finally arrived at Washington Oaks and made our way into the woods. In the early morning light under a full canopy, finding co-operative photographic subjects was a challenge, so we spent some time in the gardens reviewing techniques on the more stationary flowers. It was here that Paul ALMOST saw his first North American hummingbird..... it was admittedly close!

Along with the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, were calling Indigo Buntings, singing Red-eyed Vireos, and Orchard Orioles. Given the ratio of leaders to participants coupled with the fact that at least 2 in the crowd were not digiscoping, I moved into my more traditional bird guide roll.

while birding I almost captured a Northern Waterthrush feeding on caterpilars in the shade of the oaks, but at 1/10 sec shutter speed, a constantly bobbing tail becomes a blur!

The migrant search was a big success and we got great views of male Orchard Orioles, young and old. The heavily moss-laden oaks provided the perfect spot for singing Northern Parulas which seemed everywhere. We heard Prairie warblers singing nearby and saw a Black & White Warbler. A high, thin "Tsit-Tsit" revealed the hiding spot of an uncharacteristically still Worm-eating Warbler. A male Cape May Warbler gave tantalizing, albeit brief, views as it flit through the canopy of the oaks. The cooperative Northern Waterthrushes performed admirably amidst the oaken leaf litter, while the ever present Indigo Buntings teased us with calls from their hidden leafy perches. "Pit-a-tuck!" a stunning male Summer Tanager called as if to say "look at me". We happily obliged, as a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flashed across an opening showing red upperwings. Not what I had expected from this digiscoping trip but great fun all the same! Who doesn't love migration after all?

Great Horned Owl adult with chick

At the buzzer though, a fantastic photo op materializes as we are preparing to load the bus for our return... Someone has located an adult Horned Owl with young along one of the trails! As our time in wonderful Washington Oaks comes to a close, 10 digiscopers jostle to find a fleeting window through which the birds can be seen and photographed. That was a picture in of itself!

typical of FL youth, this sleepy youngster soaks up the sun

We couldn't have scripted a better ending to a wonderful visit to a beautiful park!

adult Great Horned Owl intently follows a yellow lab on leash as it walks its owner by!

One last parting shot and our time has long since passed. We leave the owls be and return to the bus for the ride back to the venue.....

...where Paul's lonely feeder waits with nary a Hummingbird or a feathered bee!

We'll get 'em next time Paul, for sure. ;p

St. Augustine... OH MY!

For years as a Florida resident I've been hearing the buzz about the St. Augustine "Alligator Farm", but figured, "...been there done that..." I mean, c'mon a couple of gators in a wading pool and a handful of Egrets on a bush, right?!?... BOY, was I ever wrong!

American Alligators piled up near the boardwalk.

If you've heard some of the hype, let me assure you this is the real deal and a "must see" for anyone who appreciates the pageantry of courting herons and egrets. Professional photographers have quietly appreciated this amazing place for years, and I'm sure some would prefer it stay quiet! ;)

My 1st and only visit to this magnificent spot was following a digiscoping lecture at the recent First Coast Bird & Wildlife Festival last week. Since my talk was at the farm I figured I'd go in to see what all the fuss was about. As you'd expect there are alligators, plus some exotic reptiles and birds, but the real attraction for birder and photographer alike is the Heron and Egret Rookery in and around the boardwalk here.

Snowy Egrets in "high-breeding" plumage show long, fringed plumes and

their facial skin turns red.

The rookery is not a zoo exhibit with captive birds, the boardwalk winds through a marsh and all sorts of herons and egrets (happily) nest and display here in spring and summer months. I would be lying if I said I was easily impressed by wildlife spectacles, but I found this place absolutely wonderful. At any rate, all I will say is that in just under 2 hours I got all of these images and many more. I think the images speak more of the magnificence of this place than my words ever could!

a Tricolored Heron thrusts its neck skyward in display

Some of the Great & Snowy Egrets were tending eggs, as were a few Tricolored Herons. At least one Great Egret had chicks already. Green Herons nested in a tree closer to the visitor's center and preferred a less gregarious existence.

Great Egrets show long plumes and "avacado" green facial skin when breeding

Cattle Egrets were just beginning their breeding activities while Little Blue Herons stayed more out of sight (comparatively).

Cattle Egret shows bright red bill and orange plumes

I loved seeing the "candy corn" beaks on the really bright Cattle Egrets!

Snowy Egret performs its "bouncing" display

The Snowy & Egrets stayed true to their colors, by growing long white plumes. Cattle Egrets went for peachy, orange, while Little Blues sported a touch of gray....

Tricolored Heron gets "electric " blue bill base in breeding

I'm not sure how to describe the back plumes on a Tricolored (formerly Louisiana) Heron. Need an artists help... "Anyone?.. Anyone?... Bueller?..." ZICK are you out there?

White Ibis get brilliant red soft parts (legs, facial skin)

White Ibis descended upon the area in force as evening approached. I'm not sure if this spot is used year round as an evening wader roost or not but wouldn't be surprised (you can check with the Alligator farm at the link below or perhaps a local will chime in with comments).

adult Roseate Spoonbill stopped on "the big snag " for a few moments

Spoonbills do not nest here but will roost on occasion as will Reddish Egrets as I understand. The boardwalk was full of photographers and I as usual had my digiscoping setup with the advantage of big magnification (capable of up to 2,500 mm lens equivalent). However, unlike typical wildlife experiences there were plenty of closer subjects here. Some were far too close for me to focus on. The closest nests were easily viewed with the naked eye, and most of the photogs used smaller lenses to focus on these (pun intended)!

Black-hooded Parakeet (Conure) or "Nanday" Conures have become widespread throughout much of Florida and were recently considered "officially" established by the FL records committee.

Of course amongst all of the other photogs out there, I was the only digiscoper so am certain I was the only one to capture the subject above. This Black-hooded Parakeet could only be viewed from the far end of the boardwalk as it sat over the visitor's center. At that distance I had to zoom up to a 2,280 mm lens equivalent! Take that you DSLR's... ;)

For more info on the Alligator Farm:

http://www.alligatorfarm.us/

For more on the First Coast Bird & Wildlife Fest:
http://www.getaway4florida.com/bird_festival_2007/
and to see more of my images from my 2 hour visit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16435490@N00/sets/72157600091430430/

owlets imminent

Eastern Screech-Owl digiscoped in the backyard in 2004

Sorry for the old image above but I wanted to (quickly) share that for the 3rd time in the past 5 years what appears to be the same female Screech-Owl is nesting in my backyard owl box. Every evening for the past couple weeks I hear her softly warbling from the box near 8 PM. She will continue her soft warbling until her call is finally answered by the male's higher pitched trill. From past year's experience I've deduced that the female's lower warble means, "I'm hungry... where are you with my dinner?" The male's return call then can be loosely translated as, "Right here dear, come and get it!"

Upon hearing this, "mama" owl will drop into the dense brush to retrieve her morsel from "Dad" and return to the box after a quick meal (couple minutes tops). I will have to see what happens tonight, but soon "papa" owl will deliver the food (usually a Brown Anole or Cuban tree frog) to the box, and "mama" will take it back inside with her indicating that we have hatched owlets!

At first "mom" will stay close to the box while "dad" does all the hunting but as the chicks get a bit older both parents will come and go all night long.

I haven't seen any sign of young'uns yet, but am expecting to any day now. I'll keep you all (or y'all as we are apt to say here in the south) informed!

More Great Galveston Birding

Gulls & Terns & Pelicans Oh My!

One tough thing about being in a spot like Galveston with only a little time to spare, is struggling with where to spend that limited time birding. By day two I was back to my old self and raring to cover some ground, and one of my favorite Galveston birding areas is in and around the lagoons and flats near East Beach. There are always oodles of gulls and terns here and in the area shown above there were 8 species of terns at view at once! (Least, Common, Forster's, Gull-billed, Sandwich, Royal, & Caspian Tern, and Black Skimmer)

Black Skimmer strikes an odd pose. Note the long lower mandible used to snatch fish from the water.

At other locales this would be a monumental feat, but here at East Beach in late March it's about right. As a matter of fact, others had seen all of those PLUS a Black Tern that I missed!

Royal Tern bathes in a newly formed rain puddle.

It's a wonderful spot to bird. The lagoons offer Roseate Spoonbills and Reddish Egrets seemingly dancing to the songs of the "Eastern" Willets and Clapper Rails in the salt marshes here.

A particularly" rosy" breasted Sandwich Tern stops to give me a curious glance.

Laughing Gulls are the most common Larid, although a Glaucous Gull was a highlight on one trip!

On Saturday it rained, and rained, and rained some more. "A good day to be a duck!" one visitor quipped but I was thinking differently... "a good day for shorebirds!" So when it came time to close the venue after a day of rains many headed toward the West side of the Island in hopes of finding grounded migrant songbirds. I was tempted but thought I'd check for shorebirds instead in the flooded road edges and fields. I wasn't disappointed.

Western Sandpipers with a few larger Dunlin at East Beach 3/30/07

The East Beach parking lot was chock full of drab Dunlin and bright-colored Western Sandpipers standing beak to tail in all of the puddles. There was no sunlight to speak of but I still couldn't help but take a few pics.

Western Sandpiper brightening into its breeding (alternate) plumage

Amidst the common Western Sandpipers and less common Dunlin were other shorebirds mostly in singles or very small bands: Greater Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-bellied Plover...

A rare beam of sun light struck a lone Sanderling in a puddle albeit briefly.

I really enjoyed viewing the two "white-backed" plovers side by side.

Piping Plover East Beach, Galveston 3/30/07

It was interesting to note that this Piping Plover was not yet completed with its molt but it was still a fair distance from its breeding territory (likely along the Great Lakes somewhere).

Snowy Plover (probable male) East Beach , Galveston

In contrast, a nearby Snowy Plover (that likely breeds locally) was in immaculate plumage.

1st hours in Galveston

adult Brown Pelican, digiscoped through Leica APO Televid 77 scope

with Leica D-Lux 3 camera, pier 21, Galveston, TX 3/28/07

I'm admittedly a birder first and photographer second (maybe even 3rd or 4th). However, once in a while if I'm in no great hurry, have good sunlight, co-operative subjects, and all of my gear with me (the last part is likely a constant!), then I find myself really enjoying just sitting in one spot for a while. Although, I'm usually too hyper for that! When I first arrived in Galveston, I had to kill some time before I could check in at my hotel, plus I had a hankering for a good latte, so decided to hit the Starbucks near the Strand and see what birds were hanging out near the shrimp boats.

adult Brown Pelican, Pier 21, Galveston, TX 3/28/07

If you've been following at home then you read about my observations between the Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls, but this was just the tip of the iceberg. I had to wait 2 hours, it was a real nice day with no good conditions to produce a migrant fallout, and I was uncharacteristically content to just sit and watch the antics of a handful of local bird species.

immature Brown Pelican with American White Pelican, Galveston, TX 3/28/07

Large American White Pelicans with their flashy black flight feathers dwarfed the smaller Brown Pelicans and were definitely the dominant species on the rocks near Pier 21.

American White Pelicans squabble for the best perches amongst the rubble

As I killed time, I found myself really enjoying the antics and behaviors of the birds that were offering outstanding views. These ranged from comical...

American White Pelican offers a unique view, Galveston, TX 3/28/07

...to artistic. I'm no Julie Zickefoose mind you and can barely draw a bird stick figure, but I found my left brain a bit more active this day. Perhaps too much sun, lack of sleep, or hopped up on caffeine, but I was actually thinking about things like composition and was having fun with the photos!

sleeping American White Pelicans, Galveston, TX

Take a pair of close American Pelicans resting on shadowed rocks, throw in some dark shadowed water behind, a touch of wind, and all of a sudden I believe I'm in touch with my inner "artiste"!

adult Double-crested Cormorant, Galveston, TX 3/28/07

Widespread and familiar Double-crested Cormorants mixed with the smaller, local Neotropic Cormorants offering great opportunities for studying average plumage and structural differences.

adult Neotropic Cormorant, digiscoped Galveston, TX 3/28/07

The Neotropic Cormorants average slimmer and longer-tailed than the larger Double-cresteds. I'm now ready to finally find one of these critters in Florida (as of yet, no one has proven their occurrence here oddly)!

adult Neotropic Cormorant in high breeding plumage

Most of the adult Neotropics were displaying signs of their "high breeding" plumage with white tufts above and behind the eye and a more pronounced white border behind the gular pouch below the bill. The fewer adult Double-cresteds that were around sported bright orange bills and gular pouches. Both show turquoise eyes!

adult Double-crested Cormorant, Galveston, TX 3/28/07

This adult Double-crested appears absolutely thrilled to be photographed. In this close view though you can see the 2 indistinct feather tufts that add to the "crested" appearance for which they were named.

immature Neotropic Cormorant bathes Galveston, TX 3/28/07

Immature Neotropic Cormorants were nearly entirely brown with similar proportions to the adults, while the young Double-cresteds showed light necks and breasts with prominent orange gular pouch and bill!

immature Double-crested Cormarant rests, digiscoped image, Galveston, TX 3/28/07

At any rate, after a fun couple hours I had a BUNCH of nice photos, had some great studies of similar species, and was able to observe some fun behaviors. Some times it's OK to just cool your jets and sit for a while, huh?!?...

Watching Pelicans

Last weekend I attended Featherfest in scenic Galveston, Texas. Being a gulf coast town many of the birds present were those I see regularly at home in Florida. None-the-less, it is always fun to watch interesting bird behaviors and it's even better when it happens up close and personal and you have scope and camera on hand to document the events as they unfold!

Brown Pelican plunge dives for food (Leica digiscoped image)

I've seen the relationship between Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls many times in the past, but I don't think I'd ever photographed it. I watched the antics of these birds for nearly an hour when I first arrived in Galveston and thought I'd share the story here. As you likely know Brown Pelicans "plunge dive " for their food diving into the water head first to capture their prey. Upon completing their dive they bring the top of their head out of the water warily watching for would be fish thieves as the water drains from their distended pouch.

adult Brown Pelican with pouch distended after a successful plunge for food

Of course it didn't take long for the "pirates" to enter. Sharp-eyed Laughing Gulls would wheel over to try and capitalize on the pelican's bounty.

Laughing Gull picks at bait fish hanging out of pelican's pouch

The gulls were often successful at nabbing some of the smaller bait fish that were hanging out of the pelican's bill (as shown in the images above & below), so obviously this is a worthwhile endeavor for them. However, the cagey adult Brown Pelican has played this game many times before and wasn't going to give up too much of its food to this scourge of the sea!

Laughing Gull with pirated bait fish taken from this Brown Pelican

The pelicans would quietly endure the thieving Laughing Gulls, swimming with their bills mostly submerged, waiting for just the right moment. When the gull would get far enough away the pelicans would rapidly snap their bills skyward and dump the remaining prey into their gullet.

with the gull's back turned the pelican quickly snaps its bill up

Despite the gull's thievery, the patient Pelican still enjoys the "last laugh".

adult Brown Pelican digiscoped Galveston, TX 3/28/07

Leica APO Televid 77 scope and Leica D-Lux 3 camera

How many of you have watched this behavior?... (feel free to comment) It's quite fun to stop and watch some of nature's little "mini dramas" even if none of the stars are considered "marquis" players! ;)