Angels Have Wings Too

Would you support the release of non-indigenous Love Birds into the wild at the perils of the environment?

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed in rural Cape Coral in January 2012.

Replies to this question posed for many months at this blog, with the poll now closed, were nearly all in favor of the answer of "no" with one respondent answering conditionally.

The final poll results were very surprising to me.

The Great Horned Owl above was photographed in rural Cape Coral in January 2012.

I had considered releasing the species and will postpone that idea until I am convinced otherwise.

This post is dedicated to my grandmother Anna Bohannon Pelkey who passed away at the age of 104 on 28 December 2011.

The sunset above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

Anna was my sole surviving grandparent and will be remembered very fondly.

Several efforts were made this week to capture images of wildlife in her memory.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed in rural Cape Coral in January 2012.

I first met up with Frank Constantin again, visiting the area with his family.

Frank had arrived before me at the rural Cape Coral site which has proven very reliable for Florida Scrub-Jay observation.

The Great Horned Owl above was photographed in rural Cape Coral in January 2012.

He had made some refinements to the "stick" with hopes the birds would find it an accommodating perch while offering us a nice photo opportunity.

I continued my attempts to capture a good image of the scrub-jay in flight using manual focus set at a predetermined point.

The Herring Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

The Canon 5dm2 is not best suited for this type photography with few frames per second capability a major hindrance.

The soon to be released 1dx will be a different story however where it offers an astounding 14 fps when shooting in JPEG.

The Forster's Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

Frank found the second Great Horned Owl on a previous visit with observation of the species very rewarding on the day I met up with him.

The initial angle of observation had the rising sun behind the owl requiring adjusting the camera's settings to compensate for the conditions.

The Forster's Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

The Burrowing Owl was not seen on this trip with Tom Obrock reporting the same this week.

A Cooper's Hawk was observed hovering above the BUOW burrows at mid morning.

The Piping Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

The best light on the Great Horned Owl off the nest was made approaching noon as I began my first exploration of all the roads at this great venue in limbo while the real estate market founders.

Later in the day I made a stop at Bunche Beach as the weather warmed from freezing lows further inland.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

The flats in San Carlos Bay were well exposed with the water uncomfortably cold upon entry.

The birds were congregated in a few areas while I chose to observe the Herring Gull which stood out like a sore thumb.

The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

A wind surfer was on the scene with hopes of taking advantage of the shallow water and wind.

The surfer was never able to get mobile although his kite which took to the air at one point spooked virtually all the birds on the beach into flight.

The scene above above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

I was sure I wouldn't need the wetsuit myself, but sure missed it after leaving the Preserve this day.

Particularly interesting bird behavior was noted here between a pair of Black-bellied Plover.

The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

The highlight for me was observation of the Long-billed Curlew which has been in the area with its last report I know of from Hemant Kishan.

The numbers of birds are increasing steadily with Tom reporting to me this week his observation of Green-tailed Towhee.

The Long-billed Curlew above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

Observations for the week would close at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge again meeting Frank in the early morning.

The tide was low and offered good observations on the first drive through considering the species that should be expected.

The Bald Eagle above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2012.

Very likely to be observed at this time of year was an egret frenzy on the east side of Wildlife Drive.

A dominant Willet offered interesting behavior this week as well.

The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2012.

The overall bird activity at the Refuge was good, but the tide was low during the early morning which allowed the birds to be much more dispersed and far from photographic range.

I made an hour long study of the birds from the observation tower.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2012.

It was hoped that a flyby could be photographed while I observed the birds with the camera set upon the viewing scope that needs a good cleaning of its glass elements.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron were skulking in the mangroves in typical difficult to photograph fashion.

The Great Egret above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2012.

Belted Kingfisher and Pied-billed Grebe were observed in greater numbers than I've seen at the Refuge before.

Osprey were offering numerous nest building efforts as they snatched seaweed from the flats.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2012.

It was particularly impressive to view the shorebirds as they made in from other areas of the Refuge.

Roseate Spoonbills were interesting to watch on their move as well although they never approached closely which had been hoped.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2012.

The tide was coming in forcing the birds closer to Wildlife Drive, but the sun was also rising fast making photography of the birds less favorable late in the morning.

Cherish everything we are offered fleetingly.

The scene above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2012.