Florida is for the Birds
Okay, go to the bathroom, grab a drink and a snack, get comfy, it’s time for the FLORIDA BIRDS MEGA-POST.
I had the vague notion that when we got to Florida we’d see some birds, but I had NO IDEA. Not only were there a bunch of new species like Anhingas and Tricolored Herons, we saw an incredible volume of species that we were familiar with like Great Egrets, Ospreys, and Great Blue Herons.
As I’ve mentioned a time or two, I’m getting to the point with bird photography where I’m no longer satisfied with a just a sharp, well-lit image. I’ve really been working on my composition in the field, and my post-processing. This is especially true of species that I’ve seen a lot; I don’t need another image of a Great Blue Heron unless it’s an interesting composition or a unique situation (like, say, a heron eating a snake…). On the other hand, when encountering a new species I still have the “oh crap” moment where I grab a few documenting images, but at least now I have the experience to then settle down and try for a good image.
So this collection is a mixture of a few documenting images, a large number of really nice images, and a decent amount of portfolio images. I don’t know if I could make a book of bird photos that I’m proud of, but I could probably put together a really nice calendar!
Lastly, I’ll mention that instead of the usual smaller galleries organized by location or species, I put all the images into one big gallery. I would recommend clicking on the first image to bring it up full-screen, and then just keep clicking through and let the birds wash over you.
Locations:
Everglades National Park
Biscayne National Park
Big Cypress National Preserve
Honeymoon Island State Park
Myakka River State Park
Blue Spring State Park
Manatee Springs State Park
King’s Landing Nature Park
Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area
Big Bass campground
Florida River Island campground
Rocky Creek boat ramp
