Photos under the Sun

Southwest Florida Pet and Wildlife Photography

Monthly Archives: February 2009

Building Human Houses May Have Come to a Halt Here…

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Posted in Wildlife

…but NEST building is another matter altogether! The Great Blues, Great Egrets are more busy than ever flying to and fro, selecting and harvesting materials and arranging them carefully on the nest.

This week, it was very windy at the rookery and autofocusing with my camera was not possible. I had to resort to the ol’ faithful “manual focus” setting for most. (Not that it was a problem, I shoot everything in manual settings. I miss some great shots, probably, but I also like that control.) It reminded me that the good old days WERE good in some ways! Every time I come to this sublime place, I discover something new. It’s forever evolving, not just the metamorphous of eggs to chicks and chicks to juveniles, but the whole feel of the place changes. I feel like Alice in “Wonderfulland”. Drama is present under the calm exterior and I’m taken in every time by those precious chicks and juveniles.

Let’s continue the saga: this week we have Sil, Sul and Sol – the three Great Blue Heron juveniles who are now even bigger. They were rather somber this week, as you will see. Billiebird was nowhere to be seen – probably giving those amazing wings a workout, high and wide in the beautiful blue and hazy skies. We have two Great Egret residents – the lovers from the last few weeks; say hello to Moongret and Sungret. Apparently, one is a night owl and the other can’t wait to burst from the bushes at dawn; AND they still luuuuuuuuuvvvveeee each other!

Other news: the grunts, hobbit groans and wild wing flapping took on new stage direction this week – a Great Blue Heron took umbrage at a courtin’ couple of Great Egrets nearby in the bushes and a fight (very dignified, except for the guttural expletives) ensued. Many feathers were found drifting in the air. All is well and quiet now.

More news: I was fortunate enough with my little 200mm lens – and the glass ain’t that great but I luv my lens – it has been good to me (most people here have 600mm or more) to have a Great Blue fly towards me and land right beside my tripod. MAGIC! I was so immersed in the serendipity of the moment that I had a hard time focusing, framing and setting shutter speeds and aperture. I did manage to get some shots of this awesome bird and his/her attempt to harvest some prime nesting material. OK, time to turn on Kings Of Leon music and relax!

Although I like to post weekly only, I have to do another post later in the week about the awesome Sandhill Cranes who came in droves at sunset. But that’s for later!

Trying to attract someone in the wind is hard. Try to imagine what it’s like for these poor egrets trying to display their delicate feathers! See below:

[caption id="attachment_235" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Not the way to go when you're doing the mating dance"]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_239" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Right way if you want to look hot like this..."]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_240" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""I'm hot, hot, hot, not, not, not, yet, yet, yet, yes, yes, yes, ANYONE?""]

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Here’s what happens when the honeymoon is over - it just goes on and on. How’s that, you say – well, my friend – it just IS! AND, not just in the nest. MMMMMMMmmmmmhhhhnnnnmmmmm

[caption id="attachment_241" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Sungret: Don't SKEER me laik tha' - eggs dolicate" Moongret: "Gotcha new furniture, babe""]

Sungret: Don't SKEER me laik tha' - eggs dolicate" Moongret: "Gotcha new stuffe, babe"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_244" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Hope it's sturdy - those Great Blue juvies tore the last set of furniture to shreds""]

"Hope it's sturdy - those Great Blue juvies tore the last set to shreds"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_245" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""shwutie, we can't afford Shipendullllle - you gotta tik et bakk!!"]

[/caption]

OK – I’m going to stop the “silly talk” - something about listening to Kings of Leon and their prurient lyrics ? Seriously, they are great musicians but the lyrics need some polishing.

Sil, Sul and Sol had their own take on the new neighbors.

[caption id="attachment_268" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Mon Dieu, the feathers on the new neighbors are blindeeeeeeng!""]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_269" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Fellas, there goes the neighborhood! Let's pretend we don't see 'em.""]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_270" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Eh, wait - maybe they have fish or some thingum - let's ask them over?""]

[/caption]

Sometimes, all is not tolerated in the bush…

[caption id="attachment_248" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Incoming"]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_249" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Landing"] Landing

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_250" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Who ARE you and what are you doing in my bush?' "]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_251" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""YOUR bush - we were here first!""] "And who are YOU - this is our bush!"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_253" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Listen, little fella, I've been laying eggs in this bush for ten years!""] "Oh, yay, tell your girlfriend she's all wrong!"

"Oh, yay, tell your girlfriend she's all wrong!"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_254" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Leave my boyfriend alone!""]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_255" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""You OK, Moongret?""] "You OK, Bunny?"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_256" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""I think so""]

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_257" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Whoa, you 'grets got some nice furniture there. Is there a sale on?""] "You 'grets got it going, there!"

[/caption]

Nobody knows it better than the Wading Birds how hard it is to gather nesting material. Here’s a nest material harvesting sequence by the Great Blue Heron that landed near me:

[caption id="attachment_258" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Bummer, that reed is too hard to pull - almost sliced my tongue in half!""] "Bummer, missed that reed - almost sliced my tongue in half!"

"Bummer, missed that reed - almost sliced my tongue in half!"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_259" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Zut alors, this one is too heavy to carry""] "Shuuuueeeetttteeee - how many times, dudududu"

"Shuuuueeeetttteeee - how many times, dudududu"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_260" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""You wanna try, sissy gumba wi' the tripod?????""] "You wanna try, sissy gumba wi' the tripod?????"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_261" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Sweet success"]

[/caption]

I’ll bring on the Sandhill cranes in a few days. Meanwhile, GO, HARVEST, and LAUGH!

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Happy Valentine’s Day…

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Posted in Music, Wildlife

…from the guys and dolls in Southwest Florida!

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Here they are, sending out ♥’s with their wings to you.

This week, all was quiet at the rookery when we arrived. I was anxious to see if the Great Blue Heron juvenile I spoke about two weeks ago was still around. For the sake of simplicity I’m going to call him/her Billiebird. As we approached the island, there was no sign of Billiebird in the bushes and the alligator was still underneath waiting for a chick to fall from the nests. I feared the worst but as we crested the little incline there it was in all its glory – wet from head to foot! Billiebird must have taken a dip while looking for something to eat or trying to fly.

[caption id="attachment_221" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""I made it! I made it!!!""] "I made it! I made it!!!"

[/caption] [caption id="attachment_222" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Oh boy! All that water scares me!""] "Oh boy! All that water scares me!"

[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_224" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""I did it again! Mom was right - flying IS awesome!""] "I did it again! Mom was right - flying IS awesome!" [/caption]

I was so happy to see that Billiebird had survived that I barely noticed the fracas that was taking place overhead until I heard the uproar among three young ones. Two weeks ago, I posted pictures of three sweet and funny Great Blue chicks. Two weeks later, they’re almost as big as the parent. (Fish IS good for you %D.) While the parent was feeding one, the other two were flapping it out to see who’d win next place. They calmed down when the parent flew off to get more fish and resumed their scanning the horizon stance! I just LOVE these guys.

[caption id="attachment_226" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Y'all calm down now, I've only enough fish for one""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_227" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""My turn, no mine, no - you had the last one""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_228" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Yessss! I won!""] "Yessss! I won!" [/caption] [caption id="attachment_229" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Back off! I'm next!""] "Back off! I'm next!" [/caption] [caption id="attachment_230" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Moooooom, tell her it's my turn next!""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_231" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Come on, spit it out - I know you have some fish hiding in there!""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_232" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""There's Mom, no, it's Dad, no, it's just Billiebird showing off""][/caption]

The Great Egrets were flying back and forth busy with nestbuilding. I’m sure that if Peyotr Illych Tchaikovsky had seen Great Egrets, Swan Lake would be Egret Lake. They are so mesmerizing in their graceful movements. Of course, all my romantic musings come to a screeching halt when they emit those ear bleeding grunts.

nestbuildingone-1

nestbuildingtwo-1

egretsnestone-1

egretsnesttwo-1

egretsnestthree-1

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Until next time, have a happy and love-giving week.

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Lack of Light…

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Posted in Wildlife

…Is no problem!
sunsettwo-1
Around here, if there’s not enough light to photograph wildlife, there’s always a sunset to take in. It may sound strange but I get a tad sad around sunset – for me it means no more photography in available light until another day!! This week has been a quirky one. First, the weather forecast indicated rain all over the southwest which meant that my weekly outing to the rookery wouldn’t happen. I was anxious to get back there to see what was going on with “my” juvenile Great Blue heron. And, of course, I was itching to see the Great Egrets. Added to that, I had decided to focus some time on Anhingas and look for Snowy Egrets with mating feathers. So, all my plans were scratched. However, I’m including some shots of Anhingas (taken a few weeks ago) later in the post. Back to the week in weird: Yesterday, nothing worked with my computer equipment and software. To begin with, my internet wireless unit broke down and I didn’t realize this until I had wasted hours trying to reach my service provider and unplugging and resetting every possible attachment and button. Who knew we’d be so lost without the internet???? Then, I thought I’d do some grunt work and keyword two months worth of shoots in Lightroom. It wouldn’t load and when it finally did, my screen was a mosaic of broiling chaos. I had to “force quit” my open applications and decided to take a ride on my rusty bike. It was the best decision! I came upon a flock of white Ibis who trotted merrily out of the way. Then there was the Cattle Egret who gyrated its way along beside me for a few yards. Today I met the cutest boxer in my neighborhood while out on the bike. If I keep this up I may get fit!!! Tonight it’s cold again – so weird for South Florida – and we had to cover and/or bring in vulnerable plants. Last week, the bananas and other subtropical plants got fried from the frost. Yet, there’s no reason to complain. We are lucky that we’re not getting the massive freezes that are pervading huge chunks of the country. And the banana trees will come back!! Enough blabbing. Here are some pics of Anhingas at the rookery keeping a Great Egret at bay. What a racket they kicked up!

[caption id="attachment_181" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="What a cute pair!"]

[/caption]

The one on the right above is the female and below we have four females giving the Great Egrets grief!

anhingatwo-1

anhingafour-1

anhingafive-1

anhingathree-1

What a standoff and talk about ruffled feathers! The Anhinga was still cackling after the egret left.

On Sunday, after taking the sunset shots, I turned around and caught sight of these two Ospreys building their nest. I was amazed because it was almost dusk. Had they just started their workday? Can they see in the dark? So much to discover!
ospreynesttwo-1

ospreynestone-1
I rarely use Photoshop since getting Lightroom but I thought I’d have a bit of fun and try out some filters. This one is called “watercolor”. I’ll try some more effects in the coming weeks – I have a long learning curve to climb!!
watercolour-1
And finally, I have to include a pic of my silly pelly. They give me so much enjoyment watching them take off and dive for fish.