Morning on the deck….

I had some time to kill this morning before heading out to a golf outing. I decided to grab the camera and sit on our deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean for a half hour or so to see what might happen by. The first visitor was a lone Brown pelican. The pelicans are frequent fly-bys as they use the updrafts coming off the ocean and being forced upwards as they hit into the towering condos for lift. They are often only feet away from us and make photographing them an easy task. There is always something of interest to see from our deck.

My next subject was a far-off Royal tern. Even at a considerable distance, this bird is beautiful and graceful. I had the longest length lens in my arsenal mounted on my camera and shot away. The great thing about shooting in bright daylight is that the ISO stays very low, so you can fire away at high shutter speed and freeze their action without worry of getting a grainy image. These terns are the most common along this shore at this time of year and are commonly seen resting with many of their companions on the sand near the surf.

The third bird of the morning was another very common sight from our deck….the Osprey. These birds are magnificent hunters which fly high over the shallows in search of fish. When they spot their prey, they maneuver overhead and begin a steep high speed dive or “stoop” into the surf. They are not always successful and this bird sadly came up empty-handed (or taloned as the case may be). We often have them fly over the deck with their prize as if to show off their catch, however.

All-in-all, it was an enjoyable and productive half hour. These are just three of many photos taken during that brief time period and there will be many more to come for sure. We are truly blessed to be able to live here along the shores of the Atlantic for several months a year.