Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Florida Sampler

I had a work assignment starting in Miami yesterday, so I took the opportunity to fly into Tampa last Thursday and drive through Florida. I hit a few familiar places, including the flagship National Wildlife Refuge, "Ding" Darling on Sanibel Island. Eleven years ago I saw a young yellow crowned night heron with bright orange eyes who ignored me as I snapped his portrait. The picture below is so old it was actually shot on FILM. Saturday in exactly the same spot, I saw another yellow crowned night heron hunting for little crabs. I lingered for a while and got some interesting (digital) images. Click on images for larger versions. Click here for more Florida photos.


Yellow Crowned Night Heron 2002


Yellow Crowned Night Heron (and crab) 2013

Monday, January 21, 2013

Fort Madison Eagles

Since 2004, I've been trekking to the Mississippi River in January to find bald eagles. As usual, I headed to the dams near Burlington and Keokuk (Iowa). The town in between, Fort Madison, has provided infrequent eagle views in the previous years, but this year it was the place to be. There were several large branches just offshore that the eagles found convenient. Click on images for larger versions.