Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area

This area offers a wonderful walk along the beach and the lagoon.  Springtime of course is the time for nesting and this place has many opportunities to view wildlife, young and old.  In this area the wildlife can be moving fast, it will challenge your skills to get a good shot.  There is a mile and a half area at the bottom of the island that is set aside for wildlife protection, but during the time these areas are roped off (really string) there is room to walk in and around the area.

Map

Dive Bombing Terns are everywhere trying to protect their nests.  They never really touch you, but they come close, very close.  This is a tern coming straight down into my camera.  With manual fixed focus I was able to burst off many shots as the bird came into range, I was trying to get at least one or two that were good.

Wilson Plovers

Sanibel Island - Ding Darling

Ding is a beautiful place with a great offering of Rosetta Spoonbills and Night Herons.  In the early morning by the tower is a good place to walk around and view the flocks of Spoons.  By 9:00 am they will start to fly overhead.  A great location to get "Birds in Flight" shots.  Set your exposure manually, and start with the exposure of the bird in the water and adjust from there.

Many photographers will be using a tripod with their long telephotos for steady shots of the bird's feeding.  But will have a quick release to pull the camera off when they start flying off and overhead.

Burrowing Owls of SW Florida

Some of the locations now are more difficult to shoot because the grasses are very high around some burrows.  The spring colors though, make for good backgrounds.

It's pleasant that these birds are somewhat tolerant of people, making them great birds to observe at a reasonable distance.  This also makes them good subjects to start learning bird photography and testing your skills, without having too many disappointing shots.  These birds have helped me get to know my equipment and limitations.  You also learn to wait a lot.  I use a monopod but a tripod is better since you are waiting for the right moment.  The monopod does make it easier to move around and change views quickly.

Many shots can be taken from the car.  The birds are more tolerant of a car it seems, a good window mount helps.  I use my monopod, shortened of course, and press it between the door and seat.

I'm not fat just shaking the dust off

Family moment

Burrowing Owls of Cape Coral

Though this is not an ideal nature walk, the area is very enjoyable and productive. In Cape Coral, FL, it is common for burrows to be located within two block clusters, making their homes in empty residential lots. Early mornings and evenings are best to catch them out and about . The Public Library area is a well known location, with many sites easily seen from the road, also the area around Veteran's Park is worthy of mentioning, with at least 5 burrows.
Though I am able to walk up to within 20ft of some (many are located just 25ft from the sidewalk), I do not always feel comfortable in doing so. Daily these birds view cars and people passing by, but testing “how close” is not something I like to do.

"Tombstone Bird"

The best to hope for is to see one sitting up on their “T” posts provided at each burrow. For me this does not happen often enough. This does provide a clear shot without interference from grasses. The other challenge is to get good even lighting. Since the usual time for shooting is during low sun angles setup is important. At the right angle their eyes do light up well.

I used a 400mm IS with an 1.4x T.C., which helped with close-ups.

Bunche Beach Walk

Map
Many have commented that their favorite places this year in Southwest Florida have not shown the abundance of birds as years past.  I have seen on & off days, but the weather has been colder than normal and has remained cooler for longer periods.  The walk this week on Bunche was delightful but cool and I had to hunt for some good pictures.  Skimmers, gulls, terns, Sanderlings, Turnstones and others were out but not in great numbers.  I enjoyed stalking a Gnatcatcher for a half hour until it finally paused for a shot, also a Sanderling stopped for a second to pose.  There is always something to see if you look close enough.

My goal each walk is capturing a bird in flight that is clear, well focused, and is pleasant in composition.  This is harder with small birds, and all I was able to get this day were shots that made the bird look like a big bullet going through the air.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Where is this? Map,  Satellite View
The Sanctuary provides a beautiful raised walkway that can take you for (up to) a two mile walk. Most of the walk is inside forest and can be a little dark. Keep this in mind with your choice of camera equipment. There are open fields also, and I have seen deer there. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is owned and operated by the National Audubon Society and acclaimed as the crown jewel of the Audubon's sanctuaries I am told.

Red Shouldered Hawk

Pileated Woodpecker making a dent in this tree limb

Almost 200 types of birds are residents of the Sanctuary, either permanent or temporary. Year round, you can see egret, ibis, heron, limpkin and anhinga. Songbirds include black-throated green warblers and yellow-billed cuckoos visiting during the spring and fall as they migrate. In winter, birds include pine warblers and painted buntings.

By early spring the "Swamp" is dryer. There are at times competitive feeding frenzies at these small watering holes that are left behind when the water recedes.

These 'coons were looking for food from this small pool. They looked cautious, and for good reason, these small holes are home to at least one alligator also looking for a meal. Just a few moments after this picture was taken a small alligator sprung out from underwater but was not fast enough to make a meal of this pair. You can see the cave the alligator had created at the back of the pool. And, of course, I was too slow with my camera for that shoot.

"Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge

This Refuge on Sanibel Island, FL is well noted for birds and wildlife.  I enjoy starting early in the morning at opening (7:30am).  Spoonbills are what many come to see, but there are always other surprises to see along the five mile road.  The area around the observation tower is a good place in the morning to see Spoonbills.  When entering the Refuge I usually drive to the tower without stopping elsewhere.  A keen eye is needed along the way though, the bushes on each side of the road are always hiding something. 
Where is this?  Map   Satellite View

Spoonbill Fly By.  I have noticed in my visits that birds such as the Spoonbill are out feeding for only a couple hours after opening.  Though some are always around, the large gatherings seem to fly off to places unseen by ~9:30am.  When they start leaving there are many opportunities for over head shots like the one above.

Black Crowned Night Heron

Young Night Herons seen in late Spring

Snowy Egret by Observation Tower

Osprey (Fish Hawk) on nest alongside the road

Lakes Park, Ft Myers

Lakes Park can be a wonderful place for a walk with your camera. Much work has been done to the Park after Charley came through in 2004, and is now well landscaped throughout. There is a variety of wildlife all year round but numbers increase in the winter months. Where is this? Map Satellite View

Tri-color Heron hunting in Lakes Park Green Back Heron hunting dragonflies in Lakes Park

American Coot sunning

Dragonfly in Lakes Park

Black Snake starting a meal after a succussful strike

Harnes Marsh Walk-about

I had heard of Harnes Marsh through a couple birding websites and had the recent opportunity to have a morning walk-through. I headed south down the dirt road from my parked car and made my way around to the fields and woods on the other side of the water, a very quiet and out-of-the-way place to walk. Trees had dozens of empty Apple Snail shells underneath, discarded by Snail Hawks and Limpkins. The shells, in themselves, were interesting to look through and worth taking home a sample. 
Where is this?  Map   Satellite view

Marsh - South end of lake

Young Sandhill Crane pair - no chicks yet

A Limpkin - the Crying bird

Bunche Beach Walk

This small beach is excellent for walking and wading.  The water is shallow for quite a good distance out so it supports a number of wading and shore birds.  This is also excellent for picture taking, no large waves and it allows a person to walk out into the water and shoot back.  The picture of the Sandwich Tern was taken out in the water 100 ft where the bird decided to take a bath next to me. 

Where is this?  Map  Satellite View

Skimmer - touching down

Sandwich Tern on Bunchie Beach

Skimmer Fly-by

Osprey Hunting Overhead