Avian Bounty…
A raft of American coots with a few American wigeons sprinkled in… Nikon Z8 with Z180-600mm @600mm. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 560
Every time we venture out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, there is something different to observe. Today, it was not just the sheer number of birds, but also the variety. With over 50 species including some new to us for the year, we kept our shutters busy recording the avian bounty Mother Nature had to offer.
For the past several years we always make our first stop at Weather Tower Road near the WSEG boat launch. It’s been a number of years since we first discovered this nest and every year it reclaims the honor of being one of the more reliable nest sites. We watched today as one chick sat in the nest patiently awaiting the other parent to return with its next meal. While one parent remained guarding its youngster, the second was observed taking a break from parenting in a nearby pine. It was fun to watch the little guy admire the activity of its mom (?) jumping from the nest onto the adjacent limb as if it was thinking, “someday soon, I’ll be able to fly too!”
As we began the Black Point Drive loop, we noticed that some of the impoundments had been lowered as a result of water management or simply a lack of rain. With the changing landscape, the assemblage of birds in this section of the park had been altered. Last week, it seemed as if there was another Wilson’t snipe every quarter mile or so. Today? They were conspicuously absent! We did find a nice little Yellow-rumped warbler picking off insects from the mangrove roots just above the water’s surface. These little warblers are very opportunistic and will find a bite wherever it is available.
The numbers of species and individuals were picking up as we continued our drive. Overhead, a large group of Wood storks known as a “muster” was taking advantage of thermals created by the air rising off the warm land below. Below the storks, American robins were constantly flying into and out of view, taking time to land in the cedars to feed on the small berries. Continuing around the loop, we began to see more and more water birds….herons, egrets, water fowl, waders, and other shore birds all taking advantage of the shallow waters of the impoundments. Such “skinny” water allows for easy pickings of creatures which inhabit the mud below the surface and the fish confined to these pools.
One of the pools was a virtual gold mine of avian life. Our first avocets of the year were found along with Long-billed dowitchers. The image above is a small piece of the many birds hanging out in this area. Just a short distance further, we found a large number of winter visitors from the north-central US - White pelicans.
A careful examination of the photo above will reveal individuals of each of the following species…….Blue-winged teal, Black skimmers, Great egrets, Long-billed dowitchers, Laughing gulls, Ring-billed gulls, Dunlin, and perhaps more lurking in the shadows. What is it that brings such a variety of birds into one spot while other areas remain devoid of bird life? Obviously, conditions are ripe for a combination of factors such as relative safety from predators, an abundance of food, water, and shelter.
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One of the target birds of the day was a Great-horned owl. Networking, be it by electronic media or simply word-of-mouth, is a key element to successful birding. A good birding friend of ours had given us excellent guidelines as to where we might find this owl. Owls often blend in with their environment so thoroughly that without knowledge of where to look, finding them is shear luck. The birds are so well camouflaged and generally hang out close to the trunks of trees making them very difficult to pick out of the forest canopy. With the clues provided by our friend, we were able to locate this bird with just a little effort. What a fine way to end the day…a successful photograph of our target species!
Tech Tip - It probably goes without saying in this day and age that if you are in the market for a new digital camera, you are most likely going to be looking into the purchase of a “Mirrorless” body. Most major camera developers (Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, etc) have all but stopped production of any new models which are not mirrorless. There are many advantages of the new technology and among the best in my opinion is a feature known as “WYSIWYG” (pronounced Whizeewhig). This jumble of letters stands for “What you see is what you get”. Looking though the new electronic view finders (EVF), you are looking at the image that is going to be recorded onto the camera’s sensor. In the days of Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras, you would make a change in exposure which would lighten of darken the final image, but looking though the viewfinder, there was not apparent change to the image. Did your change to the settings make the image too dark? Too light? Just right? You did not know until you brought the image up on the back screen after shooting. By then it was often too late to make another change as your subject had flown, the lighting had changed, the image you were trying to capture had been altered. The owl pictured above was in very deep shade and I found it necessary to “overexpose” the image by using the Exposure Compensation button. You’ll find this on every new or old camera. Look for a button with the symbol “+/-” on it. Now, when I change the exposure, I can see the changes as they are made in the EVF. Just one of the advantages of the new mirrorless technology.
