American Avocet At Bunche Beach

The temperatures here in southwest Florida were a few degrees below normal this week in the eighties for highs as the northeastern United States was pummeled with an unusually early snowstorm.

The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

I'm not sure the affect this might have on the theory global warming.

Plans to take advantage of what might have been very good conditions for warbler action at Six Mile Cypress Preserve following a storm front were lost with a need for rest.

The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

The next opportunity to look for Florida Scrub Jay was postponed as well feeling a little under the weather and possibly not offering an update this week.

I heard from Tom Obrock advising me that he had a sighting of the species found only in Florida while posting great photos of the species.

The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

It was too late for me to make tracks north in his direction and was on the way to Bunche Beach with slim hopes that the very rare Greater Flamingo might be seen.

With this species as daunting a find as the scrub jay in my wildlife observations, I was content with hopes of seeing oystercatcher, avocet, and the significantly less likely Merlin coincidentally seen at the beach I would travel to.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

I arrived at Bunche at an unusual hour around midday (preferring sunrise or late afternoon) with the tide at its low.

This is not considered a good time of day for photography, but I attempted to make the best of.

The Semipalmated Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

I like how a negative exposure bias setting increases the shutter speed in AV (aperture) mode while unfortunately the opposite happens with the need to improve light of a dark subject against a bright background typically.

This control of the camera will hopefully give photography enthusiasts a little more courage to capture their images under the widely considered unfavorable condition.

The Least Sandpiper above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

This would likely be particularly useful for photography of wildlife subjects in areas where the sun is even closer to the horizon the further you get north from the equator at this time of year.

The especially bright light source allows one to favorably utilize an aperture setting that expands the area of sharpness of the subject that as a detraction reduces your shutter speed for action shots.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

Selective enhancements of some of the images have been made in post processing to improve the overall result to my preference while the ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for anything more than a minor adjustment of an image with merely sharpening a goal.

The first few images of this blog entry were taken with experimental exposure bias settings with results I think are appealing considering the time of day.

The American Avocet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

Before my arrival with the intent to stay until sunset, I traveled to the Sanibel toll plaza (western fringe of Bunche Beach Preserve) to scan the bay where the flamingo had recently been seen.

I grappled briefly with some clouds that passed over the Preserve which offered an additional challenge in photographing the wildlife.

The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

There were a significant number of Least Sandpiper, Black Skimmer and Laughing Gulls on the flats, but no flamingo.

The wind was strong from the north on the day of my observations which kept the water level in San Carlos Bay lower than it might have been otherwise.

The American Avocet with Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

At Bunche Beach Preserve from the John Morris Road parking area I made my way beyond the west channel where I observed a Tricolored Heron and Reddish Egret that were especially active in their feeding behavior.

I devoted much time to observing these birds with otherwise primarily Least Sandpiper seen working the sea grass for their survival.

The primarily Least Sandpiper above were photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

With the flats exposed to the extent they were, the birds were scattered over a very wide range.

It wasn't long before I filled the 8GB memory card of the camera and had to return home for the 32GB card I've been spoiled by thanks to Tim Rucci.

The American Oystercatcher juvenile above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

With my anticipated upgrade to the Canon Mark V when it becomes available (saving now), a 128GB card will hopefully be reasonably priced.

Although I gave a brief thought to calling it a day after my return home, none of my target species had been seen and I was excited by the favorable tide conditions with the possibility for good light through the late afternoon.

The American Avocet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

So I made the return trek to one of the greatest wildlife beach venues I know of.

The shorebirds in particular at Bunche Beach will congregate at much closer range in a predictable manner as the tide rises from its low.

The Forster's Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

This event occurs as long as they are not disturbed by humans or one of their predators.

I walked further into the bay than I had earlier and was rewarded with the sighting of an American Avocet.

The American Avocet with Forster's Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

The bird was among a flock of primarily Short-billed Dowitcher with a lone Black-bellied Plover although other of the latter be heard calling to it from not too great a distance.

I consider the American Avocet one of the more beautiful species of bird and was fortunate to observe the characteristic side to side motion of its bill indicative of its feeding behavior.

The Caspian Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

As time went on and the birds were forced closer together, a lone Caspian Tern was also a standout in the crowd.

I initially thought the Caspian was a Royal Tern, but closer inspection of the bird on the computer clearly showed evidence of a dusky tip of the bill indicating Caspian.

The American Avocet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

My second target species, American Oystercatcher, would make an extended appearance before flying off the the east which was the direction it had arrived from.

This was a special treat with the oystercatcher a juvenile as noted by its darker bill.

The Sanderling above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

Its parent remained closer to the shoreline while I wonder if this was the same oystercatcher observed last week while I didn't see the juvenile at that time.

Dozens of Sanderling arrived about a half hour before sunset.

The American Avocet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

Upwards of a hundred Least Sandpiper were very active in flight in the immediate area.

I was entranced by the dominant behavior of Forster's Tern, a much smaller bird than the avocet, which numerous times discouraged the avocet from approaching too closely to its territory which didn't appear more than a few square feet.

The sunset above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

At the near exact moment of sunset, the avocet would bathe briefly which regrettably wasn't photographed in better light.

While the Merlin failed to make an appearance, the flamingo failed to show as well and remains a nemesis bird seen in the wild.

The American Avocet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in November 2011.

My visit to Bunche Beach Preserve this week was nonetheless one of the more enjoyable experiences I've had observing the wildlife there.