An osprey, or fish hawk, chows down on the fish I watched him catch. He's perched on a metal platform that's part of the water treatment facility.
This one isn't very sharp because the fish hawk is on the other side of the water from me. It actually brought the fish back over to within 30 yards of my car.
This one isn't very sharp because the fish hawk is on the other side of the water from me. It actually brought the fish back over to within 30 yards of my car.
With my new 150-500mm Sigma lens, affixed to my new camera (because it will work only with more-advanced Nikons), to Viera on Thursday afternoon. The Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands is made from treated wastewater and is a thriving habitat for birds, fish and alligators. It was a perfect proving ground for the new lens, which isn't as sharp as I was hoping for, but it's better than what I had.
As part of my initiation ritual, I subject the new equipment to the elements. During my first shooting session after I bought the Nikon D40 a few years ago, my human subjects accidentally sprayed paint over the lens and camera body. On Thursday, I was taking the first few shots with the new D90 when a dust devil whipped up and blasted my camera with sand.
I was not happy about being attacked by Mother Nature, but overall, this was a good distraction from an otherwise physically and emotionally painful week.
As part of my initiation ritual, I subject the new equipment to the elements. During my first shooting session after I bought the Nikon D40 a few years ago, my human subjects accidentally sprayed paint over the lens and camera body. On Thursday, I was taking the first few shots with the new D90 when a dust devil whipped up and blasted my camera with sand.
I was not happy about being attacked by Mother Nature, but overall, this was a good distraction from an otherwise physically and emotionally painful week.
Water drips from the beak of an ibis.
An ibis grabs some sort of creature from the water - dinner, whatever it is.
An ibis makes its way through various grasses.
I just liked the lighting in front of this ibis.
My father has informed me that this is an anhinga.
Well, that's a gator.
A heron balks at an alligator patrolling the shoreline.
A heron looks out over the water.
A heron pokes its head above the grass.
Two great blue herons scan the wetlands from their nest.
Ugly grackles can be cool.
I watched this alligator (right) watch this duck (left) for a good 15 minutes, waiting for something big to happen. The gator never made a move.
A gallinule casts a reflection.
A gallinule in the grass.
An egret roams among the purple flowers.
This could be a mottled duck.
A common, but neat, red-winged blackbird perches on a traffic signpost.
I wasn't the only one shooting the birds.
2 comments:
Once again, awesome photos. You were lucky to get those osprey ones.
OK, now I have serious lens envy. The shot of the two great blues is really fantastic. And the osprey out to lunch? OMG.
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