52/50:Week 3 and Florida Birding

Here’s this week’s photo for 52/50. It’s been closely cropped, I was amazed how clear the details were when I zoomed in on the photo so our birding friends could identify it. The birds along the stretch of beach where we walked every morning are totally nonplussed by the human beings walking along the shore. They stand still and let you get incredibly close for a photo. I used my zoom lens at the Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel, but took photos for two mornings on the beach in Ft. Myers Beach with my 50mm lens, and was amazed at the photos I managed to get. I’m linking this first photo to Kent Weakley’s P52.

A Double-crested Cormorant (50mm)

I thought I’d share some of the many bird photos I took at both the wildlife refuge and along the beach. Our friends are responsible for the fact that I know which bird is which!

An Anhinga drying his wings. (zoom)

This Great Blue Heron walked out into our path as we walked to the beach. (zoom)

A group of Royal Terns (50mm)

A Roseate Spoonbill and heron. I was so excited to actually see a Roseate Spoonbill. They were all a long distance off, so using the zoom was essential.

White Ibis (taken with my Canon S95, a point and shoot)

This, according to fishermen on the beach, is Walter. I got a great photo of him one morning and inadvertently deleted it. I was so bummed, but the next morning as soon as we walked onto the beach, there he was. He stood perfectly still for multiple portraits. Walter is a Great Blue Heron. (50mm) 

American Oystercatcher (zoom)

A flock of White Pelicans at the Wildlife Refuge (zoom)

Cormorants on posts. Just as I got ready to take the first photo, one of the cormorants flew away, but when we walked back up the beach all the posts were filled. (50mm)

A Yellow-crowned Night Heron (zoom)

In all we saw 29 different species of birds while we were on the trip including two American Bald Eagles (too far away for my zoom) and a number of Sandhill Cranes in fields as we drove across Florida from the east to west coasts. I’m quite sure there’s a scrapbook page(s) about birding in my future.