Posted on June 8, 2019
While I was photographing birds at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm I noticed these 2 Spoonbills, high up on a branch, interacting together. They kept prodding each other and making quite a bit of noise squawking as they were going at it. But it gave me an opportunity to get some interesting photos of them while they were busy. I was using a zoom lens from 350mm to 600mm. Maybe the one just wanted the spot on the branch the other one was standing. After a few minutes it did get the spot on the branch. While I was working on my files I was amazed at the detail of the images from the Canon R. Especially the fine feather details and the clean look of the files.







Posted on May 27, 2019
As I was photographing birds on nests at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, this Roseate Spoonbill flew by overhead. The sun overhead was so bright that it really lit up the wings as it flew by giving a lot of detail in the wings and feathers.
Posted on May 27, 2018
From an earlier trip to the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel Florida. Sometimes it takes me a while to go through images I have shot. Work gets in the way and then I might work on more recent images when I go back to my personal images. Spoonbills are definitely fun to photograph, they seem almost comical the way they interact with each other. Plus they are a big subject and colorful for photography.
Posted on April 30, 2018
These were from a previous trip to Florida. Did not post these then, but was working on older files and found them and decided to work on them. They are a fun bird to photograph and almost comical in some ways. Plus they are a large and colorful bird so easier to fill the image and get interesting poses. It is fun to watch them interacting with each other. You just have to make sure you do not overexpose the whites especially in bright sunlight.






Posted on November 22, 2015
Going through some of my old files and found this image of a Roseate Spoonbill from a trip to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.
Category: Birds, Blog, Favorite Locations, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Wildlife Tagged: Roseate Spoonbill, st., St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Posted on January 17, 2014
Here are a few photos taken at dusk as the sun was setting adding a warm color to the scene. The birds were settling down for the evening, American White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Egrets, Cormorants and others made an interesting mix. Also Ospreys flying in the colorful warm colored sky back to their nests. Many other birds were flying overhead heading to where they roost. At Ding Darling, the busiest time for photos is Dawn to early morning, then later in the evening as the sun sets. We usually go throughout the day, seeing individual birds or a few here and there in groups. This gives you the opportunity to get closeup images, detail shots or even head shots. Also there are many opportunities for flight shots. The opening photo is a 4 shot panorama stitched together manually in Photoshop.

American White Pelicans Settling Down for the Night
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/8, 1/800 sec, +0.67 exposure compensation, ISO 640

Osprey Flying Home for the Night.
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/8, 1/400 sec, +0.67 exposure compensation, ISO 400

Pelicans with fading Sun
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/8, 1/1600 sec, ISO 640

Wood Stork Flying In
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/8, 1/1600 sec, ISO 640

TriColor Herons adding to the Mix
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/8, 1/800 sec, +0.33 exposure compensation, ISO 640

Golden Light with Silhouettes
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/8, 1/6400 sec, -0.33 exposure compensation, ISO 640

Ending Another Day of Photography as the Sun Sets
Canon EOS 1D MkIII, Canon 24-105mm f/4L, @105mm , f11, 1/400 sec, -0.33exposure compensation, ISO 400

Roseate Spoonbill Looking Around, Keeping an Eye Out
Canon EOS 1D MkIV, Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens, Canon 1.4X Series III Teleconverter, f/8, 1/1600 sec, ISO 640
Category: Birds, Blog, Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel FL, Nature Still Lifes, Wildlife Tagged: American White Pelicans, ospreys, Roseate Spoonbill
Posted on October 24, 2013
One of my favorite birds to photograph at the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is the Roseate Spoonbill. They are colorful and quite animated large bird which gives photographers a host of photo opportunities. Also being a large bird helps in photography in the vast areas of Ding Darling. Most of the images here were with the Sigma 300 – 800mm lens at 800mm. The photo at the top of the page shows a Roseate Spoonbill montage in a landing sequence. The others are just random shots around the refuge. If you are ever in Sanibel look for them. They are entertaining and fun to watch.
Spreading its wings, Canon 1D MkIV @800mm, effective 1040mm
Napping Canon 1D MkIV @ 800mm, effective 1040mm
Flyby, Canon 1D MkIV @ 400mm w/ 1.4X Teleconverter, effective 728mm
Coming In, Canon 1D MkIV @ 400mm w/ 1.4X Teleconverter, effective 728mm
Splashing, Canon 1D MkIV @ 400mm w/ 1.4X Teleconverter, effective 728mm
photoartflight