Harns Marsh With 2X Extender

Bob Blanchard and I were in agreement this past week that an earlier arrival at Harns Marsh Preserve might be opportunistic in getting a better read on where and what wildlife would be offered in the best light of the day, also known as the golden hour.

The Greater Yellowlegs above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

I've not seen it noted before the potential impact cloud cover has on this event.

In the morning, I believe clouds to have an impact for good or bad with certain conditions extending the time for photography in the best light by hours or of course missing the opportunity completely.

The Black Vulture with Turkey Vulture above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The light was brighter much earlier than expected under the circumstances of the morning with an unusual absence of clouds to the east that sometimes mutes the sunlight beneficially as was the case just this past May 9th.

The majority of my visits to the marsh have had heavy cloud cover on the horizon to the east.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

There was a significant thunderstorm that rolled through the area since last week's visit to the marsh which offered only a negligible rise in the water level seen at the marsh.

This was made clear as the spit of "land" utilized to place my elbows in the mud last week was just a bit smaller.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

I was intrigued by Bob shooting with his 2X extender allowing a much closer view of his wildlife photography subjects last week.

I had acquired a 2X extender for planned trips to STA5 at the beginning of the year to photograph the subjects that had been reported at greater distances than is the norm in Florida bird observation.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The extender is certainly useful for photography at STA5 where most wildlife observers I've seen there utilize spotting scopes and you're typically observing the birds over prolific numbers of alligators.

With the sky so remarkably clear on my return visit to Harns Marsh Preserve this week it seemed like I arrived later than I should have.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

Approaching the tractor I caught sight of a pair of Black-crowned Night-Herons at the north side of the lakes.

I backtracked with hopes of photographing them in their slumber as I walked along the vegetation only finding myself almost knee deep in muck.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

On higher ground I continued toward the area I had seen the unidentified species of bird I hoped to get a glimpse of again.

With its second sighting, I'm quite confident it was Least Bittern.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

After I settled down to observe the scene, I again I had the sense that I was at one of southwest Florida's most remarkable places for wildlife observation.

There weren't any BCNH seen further which was surprising and leads me to believe that they are possibly nesting.

The 1st Spring Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

Black-necked Stilt were again observed while I thought there was a sixth of the species briefly, but determined there were again only five.

Almost immediately after my observations at this point I was sure that I was not going to get the images of the wildlife I had hoped.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The wildlife was too close and mobile for me to effectively capture what I was seeing with the camera with the 2X extender attached resulting in far fewer "keepers."

I should have the extender with me at the marsh, but certainly won't keep it attached to the camera for the entire visit as was the case this week.

The Bald Eagle above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

American White Pelican were again observed, but never close enough to photograph effectively.

A Mottled Duck was observed with an orange band on its left leg.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

There were also four Sandhill Crane seen flying north at a great distance.

I'm envious of Tom Obrock photographing the crane with juveniles in the area of the marsh a couple of weeks ago, as I haven't been so fortunate.

The Great Egret above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

It was a treat to see what I believe were about a dozen migrating Semipalmated Sandpiper in breeding plumage while I find it very difficult to distinguish this species from Western Sandpiper.

The sandpipers seemed out of place so far from the beach where the peeps are much more frequently seen.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

By far the vast majority of my time this week was observing the behavior of the Black-necked Stilt.

I believe that the stilt is very territorial and calls in alarm if you are within their territory.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The Black-necked Stilt will also flap it wings in a very animated manner for an extended period.

The species was noted to be quite aggressive to birds even much larger than itself while harassing a spoonbill this week.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

If you're ever in the situation of having to photograph your wildlife subject into the light, you must use extreme care not to underexpose the image.

I perhaps go a little heavy with the setting, but believe the results to be satisfactory under the circumstances.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

This effort was made intentionally to test all the lighting conditions at hand without neglecting wildlife observation for the sake of the better photograph.

Investigate my image's EXIF data to understand what's involved.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The image of the Roseate Spoonbill presented last week was overexposed by at least a couple of stops, but was glad to get an image I thought worth presenting.

The Black-necked Stilt worked extremely hard for a meal and I was fortunate to capture a feeding shot which I did not realize in real time.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

I had never seen this species with a catch before not withstanding that my observation time of this species has been very limited.

I hope to photograph the feeding behavior again with a fish in beak while stilt are extremely fast and offer a great challenge.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

A near complete review of images taken of the Black-necked Stilt this week revealed why the species is so aggressive toward birds so much larger that itself.

In the immediate area where a flock of spoonbills, storks, and egrets flew in for a pause in their routine was the nest of the stilt with a pair of unprotected eggs that could so easily be crushed.

The Black-necked Stilt above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in May 2011.

The nest seemed precarious with so many factors against the hatching of the eggs and survival of the next generation of Black-necked Stilt.