This what a White Ibis really looks like. A muddy white bird.
There’s a reason they have this odd shaped bill. Digging in muck.
I think the only place that has clean White Ibis is Florida, on the side of a highway. Otherwise, there will be mud on them somewhere.
Here is something interesting;
If you click to enlarge the image below, look into his eye. You will notice a reflection. You can see the bank of the marsh, you can also see me standing there taking this photograph. The image was shot at 150 mm , the short end of my lens.
There was no good way to estimate how big he was. If you could see how many inches between his nose and eyes, then convert that to feet it might be close.
The above was taken as he turned away from me. I think it’s an interesting angle.
This was one of those days when the larger Alligators seemed to be more curious than usual.
Total concentration on a school of tiny minnows.
It’s a good thing too, takes a lot of them to fill up a Snowy.
Sometimes I upload a good number of images to this site at the same time. Usually that happens when I am falling behind with photographs and have made an effort to catch-up.
I believe this one got lost here.
I thought it was a pretty good Spoonbill shot and not one that should fall in a black hole.
The Black Skimmer is another of those birds that keep photographers humble. They are fast, agile, and unpredictable.
When shooting Skimmers I make sure to have my best wildlife gear ready. Yes, a good photographer will get images of fishing Skimmers. But the number of decent photos, well not that many.
If I have worked to get out there with them I would like all the help I can get.
Click, or double tap, any image to view the gallery.
I prefer to shoot sunrise / sunset with my backup Canon 70D and a prime lens. I just think I get better colors and tones with that body.
I swapped before we left so I could play with a zoom a little. These images were buried on the other card and almost forgotten.
Click, or double tap, any images to view the gallery.
A clear morning, the sun above the horizon, but still low with plenty of shadows.
Taken at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, South Carolina.
One of those photographs you’re not sure how it will turn out, but afraid not to make the effort.
When this close there is no room for error since the bird is considering flight, even if they initiated the situation. It’s instinct.
This Heron knew I was right there, but walked out of the high reeds anyway. My settings were not right for anything this close, meaning I had to make adjustments, slowly, then raise the camera.
This Heron was OK with all I did. Pointing a big lens can immediately frighten them.
Conclusion; this was another Heron born down the road in the local rookery. He knows paparazzi .
