Had a great time exploring various birding locations in Sarasota County with the Manatee Audubon Society. One of my favorites from the morning. A snowy egret exploring below a dock created this great shooting opportunity. Just had to wait for the gesture….
I’ve written before about carrying my D6 with the 80-400mm around the golf course. We are usually out at daybreak, a great time as well as great light for wildlife. Coming up to a tee, my friend, Alan, pointed out this Great White Egret hanging pretty close on the top of a tree. It’s breeding time and note the green patch below the eyes that happens at this time of the year. Love is in the air….
Was surprised to see a lone Roseate Spoonbill the other day working first a small wet area in the fairway and then a more predictable body of water. Staying to the shade in already 95 plus heat and burying the spoonbill in the mud and water, I captured a lot of images of a pretty pink bird that really didn’t want to show his defining feature to anyone. Like a lot of times in wildlife photography, patience paid off and he finally took a moment to reposition himself at the edge of the pond.
We have a lot of Red-Shouldered Hawks in the area. This one was more interested in finding breakfast than worrying about me. Standing as still as a statue on the edge of the fairway, it suddenly broke out in a dead run, buried its head in the grass and came up with breakfast. Still loving the Nikon D6 with the Nikkor 500mm PF combination.
After the turtle episode, this Great Blue Heron out back of the office seemed to choose a more traditional morning meal…..
Shooting with the new Nikon D6, I have been working a lot of birds in the early hours. Whether out on the golf course or out back of the office, we have water and there is an assortment of tidbits that draws the birds in. This Great Blue Heron surprised the heck out of me (and probably the turtle) when I watched him grab a small turtle, fiddle with it for 5 minutes and then swallow it whole. Hadn’t seen that one before….
We tee’d off just at sunrise. My favorite time to play golf since there is usually no one behind you and it is full of shooting opportunities at that time of day. I have been shooting with the new Nikon D6 with the Nikkor 500mm f/5.6 PF ED VR lens; a combination that I am really enjoying. It is producing excellent image quality.
As I was driving past a large shade tree, I noticed a red-shouldered hawk fly into the middle of it. With the early sun illuminating the leaves around its head, the D6 performed with its usual brilliance; especially considering the hawk was deep within the canopy keeping a low profile.
Thanks to Bedford Camera and Nikon Professional Services, the new Nikon D6 arrived on my doorstep in the past week. To date, I have been pleased with the results I am getting during my testing. The greater selection of Auto-Focus options has been particularly interesting. Despite a steady downpour of rain, a Black-Crowned Night Heron suddenly appeared out back on the edge of the pond. Shooting with the Nikon D6 and AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens, I followed him as he went about getting dinner….
One of the things that wildlife photography takes is patience and an investment of time. You may get lucky in the first hour of shooting or you may go home without an image after putting hours into the effort. This past weekend was a classic wildlife experience. I was in West Texas on a 12, 000 acre ranch with the primary goal of capturing whitetail images. But there is no guarantee that one is going to be successful. Spent 3 days and a total of 23 hours in various parts of the ranch without much to show for it and then in hour 24 this 10 point whitetail came out of the woods following a doe to exactly one of the spots I had preplanned a shot. Sometimes you get lucky….
One of the many subjects we sought during our trip to Monterey… the Black Oystercatcher
