The Osprey Nest

 

In my last post , found here, I mentioned looking for the nest of the osprey. 

The osprey that hovered around our condo on a regular basis.

 

I had seen his flight path and sort of had an idea of where the nest might be.

Searching I went and found the nest way high, high above a telephone pole.

I noticed that there were actually two of them sharing the nest.

My goal now was to try and capture their face rather than their derrier.

Therefor,  I waited patiently.

 

And finally one of them looked down at me. 

 

 Mission accomplished.

 

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Long Shutter/Light Painting Week 12

 

This week's challenge required using a slow shutter speed to capture photographs. There was also an extra challenge section which dealt with using any source of light to do some light painting.

Since both the regular challenge and the extra challenge basically required the same type of set up, I chose to do both.

First set of photos were taken with an off camera flash on the right of the subject and a small flashlight on the left side. My goal here was to create some light trails, but I wasn't very successful in that area.

The next set of photos were taken, again with a slow shutter speed and the use of a small flashlight, to paint some light and shadows on the subjects.

And in this last photo, instead of a flashlight I used a string of LED lights.

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Anhinga

 

I went searching for the osprey's nest. The osprey that kept, on an almost daily basis, flying onto the rooftop of the condo across from ours. 

 

I figured if he was flying in and out of our area, he was then residing somewhere close. 

 

So a hunting I went.

 

In my search I did find his nest.   

 

But because I came across this beauty, the osprey's nest became secondary in it's imporatance (I did evenetually find the nest and it will show up at some later post) and instead I concentrated on grabbing a few photos of this long necked bird called Anhiga. 

 

"The anhinga sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". The origin of the name is apparent when swimming: only the neck appears above water so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nares (nostrils) and breathe solely through their epiglottis.

The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (Anhinga melanogaster), African (Anhinga rufa), and Australian (Anhinga novaehollandiae) darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak."

He/she was perched on one of those trees which by itself was also very photogenic, but I was more interested in the beauty of this bird.

He was way up there, but luckly I had my 200-500mm lens with me and was able to get close enough without disturbing.

 

Anhingas and Cormorants are very similar in looks. They, just like Cormorants do not have oil glands because their feathers are not water repellent. This benefits both species by allowing them to move easier underwater while foraging. 

 

Perhaps the most easily identifiable difference between the two birds is their bill shape. Anhingas have straight, long, bils as opposed to Cormorants curved, hooked, bill  In addition, Anhingas have longer tails and small, white markings on their backs.

 

 I clicked from every possible angle I could get to from way down there until I noticed he was getting ready to take off.  

 

Hence, I turned on burst mode and followed as best as I could. 

 

 

Obviously, lost him in the trees but was really happy to have had the opportunity to capture a portrait or two. 😊

(source) 

(source)

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Sundays in Stuart (5)

  The bands for this open air free concert come from all over Florida as well as other states. After all, this is the winter season in most northern parts of the country and many, including bands, choose Florida to spend their winters days. 

 

Yours truly included  😊 

 

 

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