A nice day..

There is nothing like passing the day at the beach...

A little birding in motion

Here is a little sample of the life of Red Shouldered Hawks at Gemini Springs Park, Debary,Florida

Swallow Tailed Kite

what an incredibly beautiful bird!!

This picture was taken at the Audubon bird of prey center. This place takes care of wounded birds, some of them will never be able to go back in the wild.

Northern Mockingbird

The Northern Mockingbird is Florida,Arkansas,misissippi,tennessee and Texas state bird. When I hear this bird sing all these differents melodies I am always in awe. You will see him flying in pursuit of other birds entering his territory.Speaking of territory the Norther Mockingbird covers 10,000,000 square kilometers of land, from the east coast to west coast, from Canada to down south Florida.

How to take pictures of Birds in Flight

As some may know, i am using a digital super zoom nikon coolpix p80 that my wife gave to me for Christmas. I used to really be into photography and moving pictures a long time ago.

For our health benefit mostly we started to walk at the park and one day i decided to bring my digital camera to see if i could capture some wildlife and landscapes.
it did not take long until i got hooked and wanted to be out there trying to catch some exotic birds at every possible moment.

I have learned the limits of my coolpix p80 pretty quick. The slow focus and processing made me cringe many times and lose many precious memories...

if there is a few tips i could give to new wildlife photographer they would be :

1. get yourself a DSLR and a good lens(if possible 200mm or more)
2. Learn to play with the aperture so you can get the bird your are aiming at in the most natural and crisp way.
3. Use your shutter priority mode to create a 3 dimensional effect without blur effect.
4. Learn to have a good eye for type of flights that the birds have and calculate distance as precisely as possible.
5. Focus on one bird at a time : )

Common Moorhen

The common moorhen,also called florida gallinule or swamp chicken, lives mostly in freshwater marshes and large ponds. They are good swimmers and the live in Florida all year-round. The common moorhen breeds in Central Florida, especially near the east coast. It is recognizable by it's red shield plate above it's bill.

A group of these birds is called a "plump".

Red Winged Black Bird

The Red Winged Black Bird breeds from Alaska to Guatemala. Like many other species of bird it is sexually dimorphic : the male as a red and a yellow bar on its wings and is all back while the female is of a dark brown colour with white discontinuous stripes

It is in the wide variety of the passerines more precisely in the ecteridae family. This Black bird broods 2-3 eggs per season and build a nes nesting area each time.

They can fly 30 mph. a group of red winged black bird can be called a "cloud"

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Tufted Titmouse

The Tufted Titmouse is considered a messenger for the Cherokees. They live all their life around the same habitat. They are seen in rainy areas like Central Florida.

A group of titmice is called a "banditry" or a "dissimulation".

Muscovy Duck

The Muscovy Duck goes through many metamorphosis and as excentric looks. I hope i will catch it doing through in a few phases . They live in suburbs in little ponds they find. They used to be traded to Europe In the 1500's by the muscovy company, hence their name.

Laughing Gull

The Laughing Gull hangs on the eastern coast and on the gulf coast. It is found often in beach lot searching for it's next meal. Don't get me wrong i do find them...cute.

Herring Gull

The Herring Gull or Larus Argentatus is widespread and is your alternative to garbage disposal. This gull is big and unmistakable.

I caught him in his winter wear at Daytona Beach,Florida

Mourning Dove

The mourning doves can live up to 19 yrs, while most birds live 1.5 yrs. Their chant is one of the most recognizable of all birds. They produce what is called pigeon milk from their crop and feed it to their babies.


They are definately love birds

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Snowy Egret

This very beautiful shallow water bird can stand still for a long time until an unlucky fish passes too close.














This Snowy egret was captured at Gemini Springs Park,Debary,Florida.

Limpkin

This unusual but fascinating bird was with his little one on that day . They feed mostly on apple snails(hmmm hmm...)By looking at the Limpkin's bill it is no wonder they can search deep in the ground for this delicacy.

American Coot

This is an hen family, duck look a like, bird which has a noisy call. They live in multitudes in swamps of Central Florida. You should see how fast they go hide when they see a bald eagle coming for lunch.

Great Crested Flycatcher

The great crested flycatcher is one of more than 400 species of it's family found in the new world.

Very beautiful bird, that is not often seen, it got my heart to do a few extra booms, i was just lucky to get a picture of him in my backyard in Orange City,Florida. The specimen in my picture is large for it's kind and like a Blue Jay and other birds he has a crest, hence his name, that is down at the moment of the picture. Sorry for the quality of the picture.

Canada Goose

This migrating bird is the cause of many bird strikes. They are monogamous and are herbivores.

Palm Warbler

I have found this pretty bird hiding under the low little branches of a tree by the water at Gemini Springs Park in Debary,Florida. The palm warbler is really one of the most beautiful exotic bird i took a picture of.

House Sparrow

They live everywhere except in Antartica. In Japan they are a symbol of loyalty.

They are philopatric wich means they go back to their birth place at the end of every migration.

Their groups are called : humiliation,blight or subdivision

Pileated Woodpecker

You can hear the Pileated Woodpecker drumming on a tree from far away. They often fly in pair from tree to tree.

I took a few pictures of them at the Gemini Springs Park in Debary, Florida.

Mallard

The duck of all ducks, known to everyone. The Mallards only stay together unly the eggs are laid, and then the promiscuous male goes his way.

I actually took a picture of them at the marina in Sanford, Florida.

Savannah Sparrow

Do not get fooled by his name,this bird lives everywhere : from north to south, from mountains to wetlands. It was probably first seen in Savannah,Georgia, hence the name.

It is a beautiful creature and i hope to get more picture of him in the future.

Glossy Ibis

This bird probably immigrated fom Africa in the 1800's. You can see them often by their cousins the white ibis.

I got a chance to take a few pictures of them at Lake Woodruff natural preserve in Deleon Springs, Florida.

Wood Stork

This bird used to be called Wood Ibis while it is in fact a large American wading bird in the stork family.

The Wood Stork it is the only of it's kind that breeds in North America.

I captured a few souvenirs pictures of this intriguing bird which supposedly carried us all at the door of our family to be, as per the legend, at the Gemini Springs park in Debary, Florida

Sandhill Crane

This beautiful animal, wich has a soaring effortless flight with his 6 to 8 feet wingspan, is a frequent sight alongside the edge of Central Florida's abondant number of ponds.

It is a strikingly big bird and you can really get close to them if you go step by step.







These sandhill cranes wee outside the AAA building in Heathrow,Florida