Sportsmanlike conduct.

Posted on 2013/04/27 by birds n' bugs

I often see herons and other birds hanging around the launch ramp and fishing piers at Ponce De Leon park. They are moochers and are looking for leftover bait at the end of the day. Quite often they are fed by the returning fishermen. This morning, I saw an instance of sportsmanlike reciprocity that astonished me. I walked along the beach watching the pelicans feeding offshore, a Yellow Crowned Night Heron and some sort of peep in the shallows. I came to a Great Blue Heron who was also walking the shallows feeding as he went. He came to a fisherman who was working from shore. The fisherman had a cast net which he had used to catch bait and had left it in the shallow water. The heron stopped and looked it over for a while, gradually getting closer. When he got very close, he suddenly stabbed down and came up with a fish that must have escaped the net. Then, he threw it back into the net for the fisherman and continued his own feeding. It was probably the most unusual human/animal interaction I have ever seen. Here are the shots.  First observing the net and catching the escaped fish.

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Then, tossing the fish into the net and then catching one for himself.

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As usual, just click on the image to see a larger version.  The exif is available if you can read it.  It’s interesting that there is subject movement even at 1/800th of a second around the herons head and beak.

Posted in animal behavior, Bird, Park - Ponce de Leon | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A walk to the park

Posted on 2013/04/26 by birds n' bugs

This morning, I walked down to Ponce De Leon Park.  I hadn’t been there for a while even though it’s my closest city park.  When I got to the Peace River Wildlife Center I noticed a couple of Great Blue Heron nests.  One of them was on a platform which had been established to attract Ospreys.  The two young in that one were almost full grown and will be leaving soon.  But, there was another one in the tree that overhangs the fence.  Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a way to see the activity there.  The only view is from almost directly below the nest.  From any other angle, all you see is tree.  In the second picture here, I circled what you can see of the nesting heron.  A bit of it’s beak.
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After looking at them for a while, I took to the nature trail.  Not too much happening but after the fishing pier, I looked over the side to see a mangrove crab and a fiddler crab in a threat display.  No fighting, just threatening moves to control their territory.  This is the Mangrove Crab guarding it’s hole.

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On the way back, I found a Red Shouldered Hawk sitting on the power lines.  As I approached, it flew off and perched on one of the poles.  This seemed to be a little too close to a Mockingbirds nest for the Mockingbird so, the smaller bird began harassing the hawk.  This consists of flying and pecking at the larger bird.  After a bit, the Hawk gave in and flew away.

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So, my little exercise walk turned out to be pretty interesting.  As usual, you can click on the images to see a larger size.

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Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)

Posted on 2013/04/11 by birds n' bugs

The loggerhead shrike is a neat little bird. It’s a small bird that is a predator of insects and reptiles. The reptiles can sometimes be larger than the Shrike. On my morning walk today, I ran across a pair who seemed to be engaged in some courtship ritual. They were flitting as a pair among a lot of perches in someones yard.

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When I approached them, the female zipped off into a pretty dense bush. The kind of thing they look for as a nesting place. The male positioned himself between me and the female and began adopting threatening postures like holding his wings out to make him look bigger.
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I stepped a little closer to the bush where the female had fled and he quickly interposed himself and began making angry noises.

These are tough aggressive birds in their own right and he certainly wouldn’t have been afraid to attack me in defense even though I am at least 5’10” taller than he is. I’m going to keep an eye on the nesting bush. Getting any pictures will be difficult though.

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You can’t have a US airshow without a P-51 Mustang

Posted on 2013/03/24 by birds n' bugs

And, here is Quick Silver. The official Mustang of the 2013 Florida International Airshow in Punta Gorda FL.
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The Wingwalker

Posted on 2013/03/23 by birds n' bugs

Today was the first day of the Florida International Airshow here in Punta Gorda. Unfortunately, the government sequestration meant that the Blue Angels wouldn’t be flying, nor the F-22 or the Heritage flight. Without the big jets, an airshow loses some of it’s appeal.

That doesn’t mean that the show can’t be exciting though. We did have the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team and Jane Wicker, Wingwalker. Her show was particularly spectacular because she doesn’t use a safety line while actually walking between the wings of her Stearman biplane, Aurora, and hanging off the leading edge. This happens while the Stearman is being flown though a variety of aerobatic maneuvers. Here are a few shots from her show.

Above the wing

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Between the wings

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Below the wing

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A really, really impressive show.

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Some close ups with the Nikon 1 V1 and some old, old friends

Posted on 2013/03/19 by birds n' bugs

There is no dedicated macro lens for the Nikon 1 system to date. I have tried the 105mm f2.8 VR Micro-Nikkor with the FT-1 adapter. This was successful but, it does not use the normal operation of the V1. I had a couple of old Apochromats from long ago. They are Leica Leitz ELPRO VIa and VIb. I was able to get a 40.5mm to Series VI adapter and today took them out to see how well they would work with the Nikkor 1 30-110mm. Very well as it turns out.

Here are a few shots with them.

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The first two, above, were taken with the VIa which provides a bit less magification than the VIb.  The a is much easier to handhold since the Depth Of Field (DOF) is extremely shallow.  To get a bit more control, I took these pictures of ants with the VIb on a monopod.

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A tripod would have been a better choice with a clamp to hold the stalk on the second shot.

Until there is a dedicated CX macro lens, I think I will prefer this to my other macro lenses using the FT-1 adapter.

Posted in Bug, Camera Gear, Flower, Photography, Wildflower | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Urban Ospreys

Posted on 2013/02/23 by birds n' bugs

Here in SW Florida we have plenty of Ospreys. So many that they often find odd places to nest. In this case (two blocks from my house) they chose a utility pole. The power company tore it down a couple of times but they always came back. As a result, the power company just extended some insulation on the wires and let them have it. They do trim it back after nesting season.

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As you can see, the eggs have hatched and the babies can peek over the top. Check out the mockingbird bottom right. This is a multi-family dwelling. There are several nests within the nest and at least one in the hollow steel crossbar.

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Punta Gorda History Park Owls

Posted on 2013/02/22 by birds n' bugs

Well, the babies have taken flight. Not too far. Just to another pine with some branches which overlap. More of a hop than a flight really. I’ve seen the squirrels go further. It does make it harder to find them though. Great Horned Owls blend into the pine bark very, very well.

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In the first above is one of the adults.  The one on the right is one of the babies.  You can still see some fuzz that hasn’t been replaced yet.  The other adult was a bit more circumspect and could only be seen at all from this angle.  Any other and it blended into the bark.

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Posted in animal behavior, Bird | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Celery Fields, Sarasota FL

Posted on 2013/02/18 by birds n' bugs

The Celery Fields is a park near Sarasota FL which has the active participation of the Audubon Society. There is a path to walk around the marshland and two boardwalks with a covered pavilion at the end for rainy days.
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Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t very cooperative and I arrived on a damp and cloudy day.  It wasn’t great for photography but was an opportunity to watch the many marsh birds there.  It was the first time I had actually seen a Pie-billed Grebe catch a fish and swallow it whole.

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There were a pair of them in the reeds near the southern boardwalk hanging out with some American Coots.  On the other side of the boardwalk was a sleeping duck who had one eye open to see what I was up to.

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Walking on the north side on the path along Palmer Road I saw a cluster of many types of waders including several Roseate Spoonbills.

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Further along, I found this Limpkin off on it’s own and a Red-winged Blackbird in the growth near the path.

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He wasn’t as showy as the one I found later at Venice Rookery but still a chirpy little fellow.

Posted in Bird, Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another visit to the the Venice Rookery

Posted on 2013/02/17 by birds n' bugs

Last Friday, I was returning from Sarasota FL and decided to stop by the Venice Rookery. There was some fuss about the Rookery after some heavy landscaping work a year or so ago. The new plantings are doing well though and the invasive Brazilian Pepper was pretty much gone on the shore. There is still plenty of it on the Rookery island but, that’s prime nesting space so it is left alone. There was plenty of activity on the island with a wide variety of nesting birds.  This is the Rookery Island.

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Here are a few shots from around the pond.  The image on the left shows a Common Moorhen, Tricolor Heron and an Anhinga.  On the right, a Black crowned Night Heron.

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The Tricolored Heron stalking the reeds and a Great Blue Heron in flight.

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An American Alligator, these are called The Guardians at the Rookery and on the right a Great Blue Heron nest being tended to.

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Finally, a Red-winged Blackbird in the reeds showing his colors.

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If you can get there, now is the time.

Posted in Bird, reptile, Scenic, Venice Rookery | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments