Tricolor Heron

Tricolor Heron

This was shot 3 days ago at Sawgrass Lake Park in St Petersburg, FL. He was just wading around looking for dinner in the shallow water.

I'm always excited when I spot Tricolors. There are plenty Great White Egrets and Great Blue Herons around because they've lost their fear of humans, but I don't see as many of these guys. I'm not saying they're rare, they seem to be more secretive and shy than the others. Green Herons and Reddish Egrets are also pretty elusive.

This one didn't pay much attention to me. He was too intent on hunting. I was lucky to be able to get this shot.

White Ibis

White Ibis

I have to admit, I've been a bit lazy the last few days. I haven't been out shooting for whatever reason; tired, lazy, unmotivated, call it whatever you will. I just haven't been out!

This image of the White Ibis was shot last month at Sawgrass Lake Park. I don't know why I never noticed how much I liked his reflection in the water. I'm still not sure I like that feather and its reflection between them in the background, but at the last minute decided to leave it in.

I captured this image with my Canon 6D, 28-300mm Tamron lens (my favorite walk-around lens), handheld at f13 and 1/40th, racked all the way out to 300mm, ISO 1250 in Aperture Priority mode at -1EV, and Center-weighted average metering, in the late afternoon. I can't believe the VC (vibration compensation) on this lens allowed me to shoot this hand-held at 1/40th and 300mm. This lens is just amazing. It's light, easy to carry around my neck on my 6D all day. I just love this combo.

Tell me what you all think of that feather. Is it too distracting?

Wood Storks (Mycteria americana)

A pair of Wood Storks (Mycteria americana)

I found these two Wood Storks sitting to the right of a large group of other birds, Ibis, Roseate Spoonbills, Little Blue Heron, etc. Since it was just before sunset, I think they were probably getting ready to nest for the night. This pair seemed to be standing guard over the others.

Wood Storks can be found in Southeastern United States and are the only storks breeding in the US. They have a late breeding season which is timed to Florida's dry season when their fish prey is plentiful in the shrinking pools.

Right now, Sawgrass Lake Park is being dredged and the water is very low. Normally, Roseate Spoonbills and Wood Storks aren't seen in this park, but the low water is attracting them to this area.

Sawgrass Lake Park Waterway (Canal)

Canal, Sawgrass Lake Park

Sawgrass Park is one of my favorite places to go for some great images in St. Petersburg, FL. When walking through the park, one can see many photographers out and about both during the week and on weekends.

Sawgrass is a 400 acre park, with nature trails, a lake (Sawgrass Lake), and this canal running through the park. This particular area is along the pathway coming back from the beautiful Oak Hammock Trail. Sawgrass has one of the largest Maple swamps on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The boardwalk is a mile long and there is an additional 1/2 mile dirt trail.

There is also an overlook tower that looks onto the lake. On the lower level of the overlook tower, I have never failed to see and American Alligator or two and huge Soft-shelled turtles in the water. Gators can also be seen along the banks of this canal and other little ponds throughout the park. I have seen Armadillos, many species of birds, including Herons, Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Ibis, Eagles and Owls. There are also two butterfly gardens where I have photographed too many species to mention. Of course, I can't fail to mention there are many squirrels, rabbits and racoons as well. Just looking through my past blogs, you'll find many of the things I've photographed at this park.

The park is also along the Great Florida Birding Trail, and this area is right on the migratory line, so it attracts many birders throughout the year. Sawgrass even has an education center. They have many educational activities for local school children.

The greatest thing about this magnificent park is the admission charge: FREE! There are not too many free things to do these days, so if you are ever in the area, check it out!

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

The Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus), is about 2 inches long.

The "eyes" are not really his eyes. They are there to scare off predators. Their actual eyes are located at the base of his antennae.

Eyed Click Beetles get their name from their habit of fending off danger by turning on their back, then bending their head and pro-thorax backward and snapping open when straightening out. This produces a loud audible click.

Eyed Click Beetles can be found in the Eastern United States as far west as Texas.

Sawgrass Lake Park is located in St Petersburg, Florida. Visitors there can be reasonably sure of seeing American Alligators in the wild.

Lantana

Of all the "butterfly plants", Lantana is my favorite. For one thing, it is native to Florida, so it will not become invasive, but mostly for its delicate little flowers and its range of colors.

In my yard, I have the all lavender variety, but this multicolor variety was found at Sawgrass Lake Park in St Petersburg, FL. I'm fortunate to live about 1/2 mile from Sawgrass Lake, and it's one of the most popular nature parks in the area. Being so close, I can visit it every day. It's also free to get in, so there is no reason to stay away.

This park has lots of American Alligators, and I think of all the times over the years I've visited Sawgrass, I've seen Alligators in every visit but one or two. There are many native plants, many species of birds and plenty of wildlife to be seen. All one has to do is walk through the boardwalks being quiet and aware of sounds on the trails. There's also a beautiful overlook where one can see many shore birds as well as 'gators and turtles. There are also two separate butterfly gardens, which is where I made this image.

Settings for this image is as follows: I used ISO 400 because of the heavy canopy in this park. I was trying out my new 90mm Macro lens on this floral cluster shooting hand held at 1/25 second (pretty slow for this focal length) at F11 for good depth of field. I used partial metering and aperture priority which I use for about 90% of my shooting.

Great Blue Skimmer

I brought my Newbie Group (Tampa Bay Newbie Photographers Workshops) to Sawgrass Lake Park in St Petersburg, FL yesterday for their bi-monthly lesson and shoot.

Right after my lesson, I spotted this Dragonfly landing on a leaf in this bush just outside of the picnic pavilion where we have our lessons. I grabbed my camera right away and captured this beauty. It was funny, because we were just talking about capturing Dragonflies and how hard it is to get them.

While this position is not the most desirable position to photograph them, I'm happy with the way this grab shot came out. I only had a chance for 3 shots before he flew off. I'm fascinated by Dragonflies because I love their faces; they always look like they're smiling. I also like how delicate they are. I've never been afraid of them and just recently found out that they bite. I never knew that. They just don't look that scary. It hasn't stopped me from photographing them, though.

This was a grab shot, so the settings used were my basic starting settings. I didn't have time to adjust. Whenever I'm done reading my media card after a shoot, the first thing I do is make sure my photos transferred correctly on my computer and are still there after I remove the card from my reader. Then I put it back in my camera, format it, and reset all my settings so it's ready for the next shoot. My normal settings are: ISO200, continuous drive, F7.1, Aperture Priority, Center-weighted metering, RAW, Cloudy White Balance.

Spatterdocks

While walking in Sawgrass Lake Park, I spotted these Spatterdocks floating above the water in the canal. I like the way they're grouped in this shot. Throughout the canal, there are many little groupings of these Spatterdocks.

There are many varieties of Water Lilies and this is just one of them. The blossoms look like little yellow unopened flowers and aren't very showy. What I like best about these are the various colors, ranging from yellows to greens to a pretty purple color.

Spatterdocks grow from Rhizomes and support much aquatic life. "Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. This invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called "detritus") for many aquatic invertebrates. Spatterdock is grazed by deer while the rhizomes are consumed by beavers, muskrats, and nutria. Seeds are consumed by ducks and other waterfowl." - http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/emergent_plants/spatterdock.htm

Personally, I just like the peaceful setting of the Spatterdocks floating on the canal. It's amazing how much we can find to photograph in nature if we just slow down and open our eyes and minds. Nature is all around us. We need to protect it for the future.

Golden Silk Spider

It's been raining, raining, raining here in St Petersburg all week; so I haven't had much of a chance to go out shooting. While going back through some of my unprocessed files from last month, I spotted one of my favorite spiders--the Golden Silk Spider.

If you live in Florida, you are very familiar with these spiders. They are huge, but relatively harmless. They won't bite unless picked up or pinched and their bite only stings for a couple seconds. Actually, a bee sting is more painful. The just look scarry because of their size. Their body alone is more than an inch in length not counting the head and those long legs. They are the only spider that spins a golden web stretching from 26-36" in diameter. They're usually spun between two trees or shrubs. Due to web support requirements, they are usually pretty spread out.

In order to show the golden threads of her web (yes, this is the female) I shot this using the Cloudy setting for White Balance. That's roughly about 6,000 Kelvin Degrees F. It also has to be shot with about a 45 - 90 Deg. lighting for it to show up. Fortunately, because of their size and the fact that these spiders need a lot of room for their webs, they're easy to spot in the woods. You don't want to miss spotting one, though, because that web is strong and sticky. YUK! Hunters hate them. That's OK, because I don't like trophy hunters very much, either. It's senseless killing. Shoot them with a camera--no one gets hurt.

Spatterdock

For some reason, I've always been fascinated by these little Spatterdocks and Waterlilies in general. I like the diagonal composition in this image, and it's all I can really say about it.

I found this little Spatterdock at Sawgrass Lake Park when I went there the other day. They normally aren't in bloom this time of year and there were quite a few in bloom.

Red-shouldered Hawk

As promised, here is the photo of the Red-shouldered Hawk. I like the way he seems to be looking down his nose (beak) at me, like he's so superior.

I would've missed him if someone on the trail didn't point him out to me. He was right at eye level sitting on this branch. That's a place we never think to look for birds, since they're usually overhead.

With the way I love to take photos of birds, I have a hard time splitting my view between up in the trees and down on the ground. This guy was easy. I can't believe he just stayed there and let me make all the photos I wanted. He didn't seem afraid or bothered at all.

He sure is a beauty.

Sawgrass Lake Park Pond

Today I started another self-assignment with my group. The challenge is to produce 3 photos of the same subject that are totally different. It wasn't as easy as I thought, but it sure gets you thinking before composing.

These are my first 3 compositions. I took them of the little pond at Sawgrass Lake Park, which is less than a mile from my house. It's going to be interesting to see what I can come up with for the next 6 days. So far, I'm the only one who has posted anything. We'll see how many join the challenge.

All three images were taken of the same pond. I took the first and second ones using my wide-angle lens (18-55mm). For the last one, I used my telephoto (75-300mm) lens. I also changed my angle of view. I was standing when I took the first shot and sitting on the ground for the second. I believe I was standing for the 3rd shot.

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment.