# Winter in Florida is for the Birds (et. al.)



## Sylvanite (Jan 4, 2015)

I went to visit family in south Florida over the holidays.  My parents like to visit the local wetlands in the mornings, and I tagged along.  Here are a few of the critters that were there:

On shore, we spotted a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers plucking berries from a sabal palm tree.  I think this is the female.  Shortly after I took this picture, she swallowed it whole.







Here's a shot of a female red-winged blackbird.  This is a very common bird (although you may only recognize the male).  I included it here because technically, it's probably the best photo I took while I was there.  I also got a snap of a yellow-headed blackbird that was causing quite a stir.  They aren't indigenous to the area so it was a rare spotting.






I saw this black-bellied whistling duck bathing.  Water did indeed run off his back like, well, water off a duck's back.  Then he stood up and flapped his wings to dry off.  I like this particular shot because it looks like he's conducting an orchestra.






This is a picture of an american bittern.  You don't often see much of them, because besides being uncommon, they're also very shy.  They blend into the marsh grass really well too.  I was lucky that this one came close enough to the boardwalk and stayed put long enough for me to photograph it.






This roseatte spoonbill is nicknamed "LulaBell" by the locals.  They distinguish her from the other spoonbill ("JezeBell") by the chip of her bill that is broken off.  The injury doesn't seem to slow her down though.






One of the more colorful birds in the swamp, is the purple gallinule.  They like to climb around in the tall grass and eat the leaves.  It's really surprising how well they can balance on a single stalk of grass.






The anhingas (also known as skeleton-birds and snake-birds) were just starting to come into breeding colors.  Here are two (the male is black and the female brown) who's eye patches are turning turquoise.  I'm told that crossing beaks like this is a mating ritual, so I call this photo "Anhingas in Love".






The wetlands are home to lots of herons, such as this tri-color heron.  The tri-colors are pretty bold -- they will land right on the boardwalk railings and stare at you.






The smaller green herons like to stand on low tree branches over the water and wait for fish to swim by.  Then, in a flash, they'll stretch way out (it's amazing how long their necks get), grab (or spear) a fish, and yank it right out of the water.  I managed to catch this one just as he was snatching a minnow.






There were several nesting pairs of blue herons too.  The males would fly back and forth, collecting sticks for the females who build the nests.  This is a shot of one bringing back a stick to his girlfriend.  By the way, his wingspan is about 6 feet (2 meters).






One time, one of the males landed by the wrong nest.  Needless to say, the other male that he landed on was not pleased.  The two of them had a rather raucous fight while the female watched.






Here's a shot of a blue heron landing with the last stick his mate needed to complete the nest.  I can't show you a photo of what happened next, because this is a family site.  There is a rule against "inappropriate material" and those pictures could best be described as "heron porn".






The same tree that housed several blue herons, anhingas, and cormorants held at least 4 green iguanas.  The iguanas are herbivores and the birds don't seem to mind them at all.  Technically, they say that these are all "green" iguanas - even this big orange guy.  






The wetlands are home to several varieties of turtles, including this mossy-back (a.k.a. snapping) turtle.






And, of course, with all the fish and fowl around, there are several alligators present as well.  There is even a mother with several baby alligators.  I snapped a quick shot of this one swimming towards me.






There were many other birds (storks, cormorants, ducks, greebs, hens, ibis, egrets, harriers, hawks, etc.), fish, raccoons, and other wildlife.  I had a hard time narrowing things down to just these pictures.  

I hope you enjoyed them,
Eric


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## randyrls (Jan 4, 2015)

Very nice photos!
I hope you used a telephoto lens for the one of the alligator


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## wyone (Jan 4, 2015)

Thank you for sharing!!


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## Edgar (Jan 4, 2015)

Awesome photos Eric.
Thanks for sharing.


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## 1080Wayne (Jan 4, 2015)

Beautiful photos Eric . The blue winged herons fly over my house just about every day in the summer , but I could never get a shot like that . Glad you are able to enjoy them in the winter . The female red winged blackbird shot is superb . Also enjoyed the sabal palm photo . The wood makes a nice set of S&P shakers .


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## Brian G (Jan 5, 2015)

:wink:


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## PR_Princess (Jan 5, 2015)

Absolutely stunning photographs Eric!! They look like they should be in a magazine!


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## mark james (Jan 5, 2015)

Beautiful!  I enjoyed seeing these.


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## designer (Jan 5, 2015)

Great pictures.  You did  a great job of framing the shots and timing.  I wish I could do as well as you.  Keep it up!


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## toddlajoie (Jan 5, 2015)

Excellent photos Eric!!! I think you should have skipped the telephoto and gotten in closer with a wide angle on the Gator tho...:tongue:


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## bruce119 (Jan 5, 2015)

Eric great shots I like how the motion stopped on the Blue Heron...outstanding detail...

OK no one asked what camera are you using??? 
.


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## stonepecker (Jan 5, 2015)

Beautiful pictures.
Great work.


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## scotian12 (Jan 5, 2015)

Beautiful pictures and photography. Thank you for sharing.


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## Jim15 (Jan 5, 2015)

Awesome pictures.


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## Scott (Jan 5, 2015)

Excellent!  My Wife and I both enjoyed them!  Where about in Florida?

Scott.


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## GaryMGg (Jan 5, 2015)

Superb photos; thanks for sharing.


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## epigolucky (Jan 5, 2015)

Great photos!


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## lorbay (Jan 5, 2015)

Oh man you must hate going there.:biggrin::biggrin:
Absolutely stunning pictures Eric.
Lin


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## Sylvanite (Jan 5, 2015)

Scott said:


> Where about in Florida?


Boynton Beach.  They've created man-made wetlands as part of their water purification system.  It turns out that letting nature do the final filtration before entering the water table works very well.  And, it makes a haven for wildlife as well as an attraction for people.

Regards,
Eric


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## socdad (Jan 5, 2015)

Thank you for sharing, great photos! I couldn't avoid thinking about all of the spectacular pen blanks that couldbe had … _if it wasn't against fed / state wildlife laws ... _


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## nativewooder (Jan 5, 2015)

Great Photos!  I've lived here most of my life and I've never seen a red-bellied woodpecker but I've seen a lot of redheaded woodpeckers especially the males like the one you got the picture of.  Maybe there are some red=bellied woodpeckers some where in this great Country!


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## MarkD (Jan 5, 2015)

Amazing Photos!


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## D.Oliver (Jan 5, 2015)

nativewooder said:


> Great Photos!  I've lived here most of my life and I've never seen a red-bellied woodpecker but I've seen a lot of redheaded woodpeckers especially the males like the one you got the picture of.  Maybe there are some red=bellied woodpeckers some where in this great Country!


 
The pictures on the audubon site would seem to indicate that Eric is correct in regards to it being a red bellied woodpecker.

Red-headed Woodpecker | National Audubon Society Birds

Red-bellied Woodpecker | National Audubon Society Birds


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## Sylvanite (Jan 5, 2015)

nativewooder said:


> I've never seen a red-bellied woodpecker but I've seen a lot of redheaded woodpeckers especially the males like the one you got the picture of.



There are several different species of woodpeckers with red on their heads.  Check out Woodpeckers with red heads &mdash; Great Backyard Bird Count for some examples.  The one I photographed was a red-bellied woodpecker.  The red-headed woodpecker is different.  

Regards,
Eric


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## walshjp17 (Jan 5, 2015)

If National Geographic is trolling the forums on the web, I bet they look more than twice at your photos, Eric.  The technical perfection and perfect composition are a great example of what outstanding photography should look like.


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## solobiker (Jan 5, 2015)

Great pictures!   Thanks for sharing.


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## Cwalker935 (Jan 7, 2015)

These photos stunning. Amazing work.


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