When In Rome, Do As The Romans Do

When traveling about Florida to photograph its magnificent and diverse wildlife, it is always a thrill to visit a venue for the first time.


The Cattle Egret with juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.

Such was the case when I made a trip to Gatorland located east of Walt Disney World Resort, and north of Kissimmee. As a bonus in observing the rookery here, a haven for numerous wading birds and other species, it was my great pleasure to meet up with renowned wildlife photographer Arthur Morris and his fellow BirdPhotographer.net friends Denise Ippolito and Cheryl Slechta. Once we entered the venue and had settled down, it was immediately clear to me that everyone preferred to hand hold their cameras and medium sized zoom lenses. That didn't deter me from using my tripod and all that until well over an hour had passed when I realized how opportunistic the use of gear like that might be with the birds flying in and out of the rookery at very close range. I would ultimately go into the bag and utilize the 70-200mm which allowed for greater ease in tracking incoming birds. Most images taken with the longer lens clipped the birds photographed to one degree or another, in some instances even when they were perched. The 1.4x and 2x converter/ extenders brought along for possible use were not considered as I knew my visit was coming to a close with the sun rising and it warming up quickly. I thought it interesting how frequently small branches were brought into the rookery area by some of the birds so late in the season. There were of course a lot of alligators in virtually every direction as Artie and I considered the pruning of trees. At another point I had my first sighting of a Common Peafowl that seemed very comfortable perched beyond a fence. The lores of the egrets showing peak breeding plumage were few as Artie noted another great time to photograph the birds at Gatorland is in March.


Arthur Morris above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Tricolored Heron with juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


Denise Ippolito, Arthur Morris and Cheryl Slechta above were photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret with juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Boat-tailed Grackle above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Little Blue Heron juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Wood Stork above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Tricolored Heron with juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Northern Cardinal above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The alligator above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret with juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret with juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret with juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Tricolored Heron juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Tricolored Heron juvenile above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Osprey above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Common Peafowl above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Common Peafowl above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


The Emu, the national bird of Australia, above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.


Arthur Morris above was photographed at Gatorland in July 2012.

Time Management Difficulty

Faithful readers of this blog know that I am often pressed for time to report on my wildlife observations and provide results as promised.


The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in April 2012.

There is very little time outside of my routine of primarily work and then observation in the field for something noteworthy to write about with image inclusion here that has possibly gotten out of control. Uploading the images to my Pbase site has become cumbersome. Nevertheless I embarked today on my long anticipated creation of maps that provide an opportunity to easily find the places I reference in this blog. What has been especially time consuming in this endeavor for you is the inclusion of a brief summary of the wildlife venue to accompany the map. I hope that you consider it time well spent. For me it is a relief to finally undertake a years old concept after an inquiry for directions. This particular effort will hopefully always be work in progress.

Life Goes On At Little Estero Lagoon

Near cloudless skies were common following Tropical Storm Debby, a lingering low pressure system that wreaked havoc on Florida's southwest Gulf Coast beaches, islands, and their wildlife.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.

I had an opportunity to visit Little Estero Lagoon south of Fort Myers Beach, a mecca for shore and wading bird observation, on 29 June which offered what appeared an absence of that devastation. Although my visit was limited to the breeding area of the shorebirds, the beach that protects the south lagoon looked to me like it had sustained minimal erosive damage. However, the high tides and relentless storm surge were reported (see link above) to have caused the demise of countless shorebird hatchlings, and destroyed many turtle nests. At the time of my visit to the Lagoon, it appeared a turtle had made an effort to nest earlier in the day, but turned around without any evidence of digging based on the tracks it left behind. Least Tern, Common Tern, Red Knot, Sanderling, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Wilson's Plover, Willet, American Oystercatcher, White Ibis, Willet, Osprey, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Skimmer, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Ruddy Turnstone, Magnificent Frigatebird, and Brown Pelican were observed from one spot over a few hours time at the Lagoon approaching sunset. Two pairs of Least Tern were seemingly attempting to re-bond for perhaps a second attempt at mating and nesting. I interestingly observed an adult Least Tern bring a fish to a juvenile which refused it after having been fed ten minutes earlier. I am quite sure I have observed this behavior before, but am unsure whether the juvenile simply had a full belly or possibly was attempted to be fed by an adult other than one of its parents. Little Estero Lagoon remains accommodating to the wildlife that chooses to breed or merely find respite here. More wildlife study awaits.


The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Little Blue Heron juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Sanderling above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


Mary Goetzinger above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Wilson's Plover above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Magnificent Frigatebird above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Wilson's Plover above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern with juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern with juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern with juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The scene above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern with juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Red Knot with a lone Sanderling above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The scene above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The scene above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Semipalmated Plover above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Common Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Least Tern above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The Willet above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.


The sunset above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in June 2012.