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Sunrise in the Everglades. A beautiful place that we should ensure we preserve for future generations
04/21/2022

Sunrise in the Everglades. A beautiful place that we should ensure we preserve for future generations

We looked for Roseate Spoonbills every day we were in the Everglades and finally found two juveniles on our second to la...
04/20/2022

We looked for Roseate Spoonbills every day we were in the Everglades and finally found two juveniles on our second to last day. Not great light, but happy to find them. Fun fact - Roseate Spoonbills become bald as they age. Adult Roseate Spoonbills have no feathers on their head and black skin becomes visible on their neck. This species is considered of Special Concern, from a conservation standpoint, in Florida and Louisiana.

Fun to watch this Brown Pelican come in for a landing as the sun was going down. Brown Pelicans are a symbol of how suc...
04/19/2022

Fun to watch this Brown Pelican come in for a landing as the sun was going down. Brown Pelicans are a symbol of how successful conservation efforts can be. While less publicized than Bald Eagles, DDT had the same impact on the eggs of Brown Pelicans (thin shells) as it did on Bald Eagles. Pesticides entering the food chain between the late 1950's and early 1970's caused extreme declines in the Brown Pelican populations. With the ban on the use of DDT in 1972 and a reduction in the use of another pesticide (endrin), the populations have recovered. In 1970, they were listed as a federally endangered species. By 2009, the species was delisted. However, they still face threats from human activity, such as disturbance of their nesting sites and abandoned fishing nets.

Anhinga are very interesting birds. Their bones are dense and their feathers are not waterproof. This allows them to m...
04/16/2022

Anhinga are very interesting birds. Their bones are dense and their feathers are not waterproof. This allows them to more easily swim underwater but also means they need to be able to sit on a branch in the sun and dry out their wings. They generally catch their prey by stabbing it laterally with a slightly open bill, which implies that they stalk their prey rather than chasing it underwater. Then they have to shake it off their bill, toss it in the air and catch it, so it can be swallowed head first. All this takes time. We watched this bird for about 9 minutes while it accomplished that task.

Big Cypress National Preserve is full of beautiful scenery. Even though you can't tell from this photo, we were able to...
04/16/2022

Big Cypress National Preserve is full of beautiful scenery. Even though you can't tell from this photo, we were able to spend considerable time viewing alligators, turtles and wading birds in the areas where water was present. As with the Everglades, though, the wildlife is under threat from a variety of man-made issues including a decline in fresh water flow and invasive Burmese pythons. The Tamiami Trail cut off a major portion of the fresh water flow to this area, however a lot of work is being done to create bridges on this road and allow the passage of fresh water again.

Great White Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, all for the be...
04/15/2022

Great White Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, all for the beautiful long plumes (called aigrettes) that grow during the breeding season. Since plume-hunting was banned, their numbers have increased significantly and are now considered to be of low concern from a conservation perspective. This is good news and allows us to view and photograph these beautiful birds in their natural habitat.

Loved watching this Bald Eagle with her chick. We were quite far away and this image has been significantly cropped eve...
04/13/2022

Loved watching this Bald Eagle with her chick. We were quite far away and this image has been significantly cropped even though I used a 600mm lens. You can still see the remains of dinner dripping from the beak. It was getting close to sunset and the light was quite nice.

According to our guide, these white pelicans truly vacation here in the Everglades - they just sleep and eat. As one of...
04/13/2022

According to our guide, these white pelicans truly vacation here in the Everglades - they just sleep and eat. As one of the largest North American birds, taking off requires putting forth significant effort. We stayed at a distance but as it turned out, they were quite skittish so we moved on

We spent a few weeks in Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve in February. Finally getting a chanc...
04/13/2022

We spent a few weeks in Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve in February. Finally getting a chance to look at some of the images. Very much enjoyed watching this Tricolored heron fishing and was lucky enough to see it catch something--although it looks like it almost missed. Tricolored heron populations have been declining in the Everglades, likely due to reduced flows of fresh water. After seeing significant breeding pair populations decline, they have been listed as a threatened species in FL.

Big Cypress National Preserve, Snowy Egret in breeding plumage. This plumage fetched tremendous prices in the millinery...
02/13/2022

Big Cypress National Preserve, Snowy Egret in breeding plumage. This plumage fetched tremendous prices in the millinery industry around the turn of the century, endangering the existence of this beautiful bird. Fortunately for us, conservation efforts have led to a come back and they are once again common in coastal wetlands. Likely best viewed full screen.

11/10/2021

Spending some time on the South Shore in Nova Scotia. This is where the Sable River meets the Atlantic Ocean.

A few more from the last few days here in the Southshore. This is a beautiful place to visit and hike or just relax on ...
11/09/2021

A few more from the last few days here in the Southshore. This is a beautiful place to visit and hike or just relax on the beach

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North Barrington, IL

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+12242615121

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