1/27/19 1/27/19

MINWR Field Workshop

January 25, 2019 - 7:00 AM field trip to Merrit Island National WIldlife Refuge, Black Point Drive yielded some decent images once the clouds dissipated and we got some good light. The day prior was a washout because of the storm that came through the area - high winds, heavy rains and reports of tornados.

Reddish Egret fishing - Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Leica 100-400 mm lens. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 500

This year the number of Glossy Ibis in the reserve is exceptional. I have never seen so many flocks of 20 Ibis or more.

Glossy Ibis stepping into the water - Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Leica 100-400 mm lens. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 640

On the other hand, the Roseate Spoonbills are not as abundant as in past years.

Roseate Spoonbill with a Great Egret keeping a watchful eye - Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Leica 100-400 mm lens. Exposure triad: f/7.1, 1/1300 sec, ISO 200

1/28/18 1/28/18

A trip to the Kennedy Space Center

Yesterday January 27, 2018 I had the opportunity to go with a group of 18 participants to the Kennedy Space Center to find and photograph the Florida Scrub Jays.The Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) is one of the species of scrub jay native to North America. It is the only species of bird endemic to the U.S. state of Florida and one of only 15 species endemic to the continental United States. The Florida scrub-jay is the rarest of five species belonging to the genus Aphelocoma, which means ‘smooth-hair’ and refers to the absence of the head crest possessed by some of the more ubiquitous North American jays. The Florida scrub-jay has a co-operative lifestyle. Each Florida scrub-jay pair mates for life and builds a new nest each year between February and March.As there was a fair amount of hiking through the scrub I carried no tripod and hand-held the Panasonic Lumix G9 with the new Leica 200mm f/2.8 lens and the 2X teleconverter. This is an amazing combination with 6.5 stops of image stabilization the configuration was perfect for this excursion.For this last image I used the pre burst feature to capture RAW files with the camera set to auto focus continuous. I selected this image for the truly awesome wing position as the jay too flight.