It’s eagle season and Florida has a lot of bald eagles. I got extremely lucky with this one, spotting it on a branch on my way somewhere without a lot of time and no nearby place to park. I pulled over off the right of way and thought I’d give it a few minutes before I got shooed away. Ten minutes later it took off away from me but circled back giving me a lot of shots to choose from. (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) (Sony a1M2, 200-600 lens at 600mm, 1/2500 second, f/6.3,ISO 1000)
Tags: Bald Eagle eagle stick nesting material blue sky Haliaeetus leucocephalus Sony a1M2 Sony a1ii
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The Wood Storks have moved into the rookery, pushing around the smaller nesters like Anhingas, and crowding the pre-existing Great Blue Heron nests who can do nothing but put up with them. This was a quick, handheld shot, which caught the light as the bird flew by me. When the light hits just right, the green iridescence shown here shines nicely. (Mycteria americana) (Sony a1M2, 400mm lens @ f/2.8, 1/4000 second, ISO 200)
Tags: wakodahatchee Wood Stork nesting material Mycteria americana Sony a1M2
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I am partial to orange skies and looked for a subject to position in front of the rising sun a few mornings ago. This cooperative pair of mated Great Blue Herons were in perfect position. (Ardea Herodias) (Sony a1M2, 200-600mm lens @ 289mm, 1/800 second, f/16, ISO 640)
Tags: Great Blue Heron Ardea Herodias Sony a1M2 Wakodahatchee
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This Blue-winged Teal was messing around with a few others, making short flights. I imagine there was competition of either mates or territory going on. At relatively close range he gave me this nice little flight shot. (Anas discors) Sony a1, 400mm lens with 1.4 extender giving 560mm, 1/4000 second, f/4, ISO 1600)
Tags: Green Cay Blue-winged teal sonya1 Anas discors duck takeoff drake water
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It took the help of some friends who know snakes well to identify this as a juvenile Southern Black Racer. Their top side turns a deep black as they age and their belly and chin a nice contrasting white. They are very common here in southern Florida, in part because they are so fast at escaping. This guy greeted me ready to strike when I opened my garage door. Very aggressive. He kept attempting to strike at me and my camera. I moved him to some rocks where he could quickly do the disappearing acts that snakes do so well. If you see one, while their bite is not vemenous, they will defend themselves cornered. They eat things we consider pests, including other smaller snakes. If you’re one of those many people who have the fear of snakes built into their genes, best advice is to leave all snakes alone and, in this case, enjoy watching how fast it will slither away. (Coluber constrictor Priapus) (Sony a1, 70-200 lens @94mm, 1/250 second, f/10, ISO 1250)
Tags: Coluber constrictor Home juvenile snake Coluber constrictor priapus Black Racer Southern Black Racer
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