What started out as maybe our worst morning, weather wise, turned out to be one of the best. A line of pretty strong thunderstorms passed through the area early this morning so we delayed our departure by an hour. It was supposed to be much cooler with rain off and on, however, we lucked out again! Not only did the weather cooperate with cloudy bright with occasional sun, but the birds did their part too.
At one end of the little bay we have been shooting in all week there is a sand bar where the birds congregate ….. sometimes. It’s a really nice place when conditions are right and the birds cooperate. This morning it all came together.
The way the wind was blowing, the birds were taking off pretty much towards us. As they passed by our right, they were right on sun angle. To make it even better, the background was perfect with the dark green behind. The spoonbills are really colorful against a blue sky, even a white sky, but I think they are best against that beautiful green!
Even the reddish egret looked good on takeoff. We had as many as four of these guys playing around together this morning. They are some of the most fun to watch as they dance around, chasing one another. We even saw one hard to spot bird, tucked under the mangroves.
This yellow crowned night heron kept back in the shadows most of the morning. They are nocturnal by nature so it’s often hard to spot them during the day. He made one move across this opening which allowed me just enough time to shoot three frames of him before disappearing back into the shadows.
Lots of small shorebirds worked the edges of the sandbar all morning. These are just three of the willets bobbing along looking for breakfast.
All in all, a great morning, and a perfect way to end the week, and a great trip. Sure was fun to be back shooting birds again in one of my favorite places. When I get home I’ll have more time to sort through my files and share more images from the trip.
don’t forget to click on the images to see them bigger!
One Comment
The spoonbills are so brilliant this time of year. Nice images Mark.