Photos taken for Ben and Luke

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At Anahuac NWR in Texas

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit. 

Reddish Egrets at sunrise

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Photos taken January 29, 2025 at Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, Florida. OM-1 camera with 150-400mm f/4.5 TC lens.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit. 

Photos of Aerial Feeding by Tricolored Herons

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Aerial feeding by Snowy Egrets has been observed by many people. Among the various forms that have been described are: hovering to retrieve surface food, agitating the water with one or both feet while hovering (hovering-stirring), capturing prey from the water while continuing in direct flight (dipping), and dragging one or both feet in the water while catching prey during direct flight (foot-dragging). I have observed Snowy Egrets engaged in foot-dragging feeding many times and have quite a few photos of the behavior. An example is shown below.

On a recent trip to the eastern coast of central Florida I saw and photographed Tricolored Herons engaged in the foot-dragging feeding behavior. Photos of the behavior are below. This was the first time I had observed Tricolored Herons feeding in this manner.

The bird is dragging the feet and leaving a disturbance of the water that marks the flight/drag path. Presumably, based on the head position, the bird has spotted a potential prey off to the right.

That (my interpretation) initiated a short hop in which the feet leave the water and …..

the bird lands a short distance away (note the distance beween the location of the feet in this photo and the flight/drag path behind the bird.

The bird lifts the wings to positions that create a shadow. Some ornithologists speculate that the shadow area may be perceived by minnows as a place to hide.

The foot-dragging episode ends with the heron striking in an attempt to capture the prey, ….

an attempt that is successful.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit. 

Wilson's Snipe and their reflections

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The photos were taken on January 25 and 26, 2025 at Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island NWR, FL.

Olympus OM-1 camera and 150-400 f4.5 tc lens

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit. 

The Wood Stork as a model for staying in sync with your mate

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A slide show of photos taken Jan. 26, 2025 on the Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island NWR - click on the arrow to advance.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit. 

Green Heron & Reflection Compared

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While visiting Merritt Island NWR in Florida, I have been amazed by the detail preserved in the reflection of birds when the water is still. Actually, I seem to have become addicted to including the reflection in the photos of my subjects. Evidence of my addiction is found below.

Photo of the Green Heron

Photo of the reflection of the bird

The reflections of the birds are a bit darker than the image of the bird. It should be noted that during post processing, I adjusted the exposure slider to try to remove that difference in order to enable comparison of the detail in the image of the bird and that of the reflection.

The photo of the reflection of the bird has been flipped vertically.

Image of the bird on the left and the flipped version of the reflection on the right

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit. 

Snowy Egrets engaged in foot-dragging feeding behavior

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I had many opportunities to view and photograph the foot-dragging feeding behavior of Snowy Egrets while spending December, 2024 and January, 2025 in Titusville, Florida. Eight photos of successful behavior in which the catch can be seen in the beak of the bird are shown below. The last photo captured an occasion in which success may have been thwarted because a tern reached the prey first.

Both birds in the photo above have minnows in their beaks. It was when I saw pools of water with multiple birds simultaneouly engaged in the foot-dragging behavior that I was motivated to photograph the action. Thus, my efforts to photograph the foot-dragging behavior almost never yielded a photo of a single bird in the frame. The photos showing a single bird are cropped versions of the original.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit. 

Who Gives A Hoot

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Who gives a hoot

about the feet

of a Coot,

 

even if for fun

across the water

you might run.

 
 

But, finding your lover

might be difficult

in the midst of a cover*.

*The collective noun for coots is a cover.

 

Photo of a cover of American Coots taken in January 2016 at Merritt Island NWR in Florida

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.