Horned Grebe - Biolab Road, Canaveral National Seashore, Wilson, Florida

Yet another Horned Grebe, and this guy was quite friendly (so long as I stayed in my car). For this capture it sat there looking at me for several minutes, so I cranked down the ISO to 100 and took my chances with some slow shutter speeds to see if I could get some crisp captures while keeping the noise to a minimum.

This guy was a little too close to capture all of its reflection, but I'll take a close shot over a longer shot with a reflection 6 days a week.

Tags:   KH0831 Florida xplr 125 bird ThousandPlus Smithsonian2018 1000+ Top 1000 Nature

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Horned Grebe - Dan Click Ponds, Melbourne, Florida

I used my standard diving bird approach where I wait for them to dive and then run 100 feet down the road, and wait for them to surface. However I got very lucky and this guy popped up a mere 25 feet from where I sat in wait. I don't think it saw me, but when it heard the shutter it had trouble locating the sound and checked the sky for a possible threat.

Thanks grebe, it was fun doing business!

Note:
Click on the magnifying tool to view the details at the actual pixel level

Tags:   KH0831 Florida bird ThousandPlus 1000+ Nature

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Horned Grebe - Gator Creek Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida

There were a number of these guys fishing in the ditch along Gator Creek Road, but in true grebe style they ducked and swam 100 feet under water every time I got close. But I too can play that game, and every time they dove I ran 100 feet down the road, then stood very still with my lens pointed where I expected them to surface, and waited for them to arrive. But of course as soon as they saw me they'd dive again so I decided to lower the tripod a bit and shoot through the "weeds" as they swam by holes in the mangrove bushes I was hiding behind.

I'm sure I looked a little strange running down the road with a 20 pound rig (600 mm lens with a 6 foot tripod) and hiding behind bushes, but that's OK with me since it's all about the photographic image, and my personal image will have to fend for itself.

Tags:   KH0831 Florida bird Nature

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Horned Grebe in winter plumage - Pull-off 6, Playalinda Beach Road, Canaveral National Seashore, Wilson, Florida

We don't see a lot of these guys in Florida so when I see one it gets its picture taken.

This guy was over 100 feet away under poor lighting so the distance of the subject is depicted by subject size in the image.

Tags:   KH0831 Florida bird ThousandPlus 1000+ Top 1000 Nature

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Horned Grebe in winter plumage - Assateague Island, Assateague State Park, Berlin, Maryland

A half dozen of these guys and a coupla dozen Bufflehead where feeding on the island side of the bridge, and I was just beginning to make some halfway decent captures as they came closer and closer to my car, when a concerned ranger asked me to leave for my own safety. There had only been 3 or 4 cars that had passed in the hour I was there, but I figured he knew best and did as I was told. And then there was that pesky "No Stopping or Standing" sign, but I figure that only applies in the summer when there's actual traffic. :{)
I considered parking the car at the visitor center parking lot, and walking the half mile back to the bridge, but figured these guys and their Bufflehead buddies wouldn't come anywhere near me if I were sitting exposed on the bank. :{(

Tags:   KH0831 Assateague bird aquatic bird Nature

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