Florida - Nesting Season

[Guy Schmickle]

Haven't been too active here lately...busy times! I just returned from a trip to Florida to visit the in-laws and sneak away for a bit of birding. I mostly concentrated on the rookeries at both Gatorland and Venice to capture the mating season rituals at these sites. Right now, it's mostly the great egrets and great blue herons that are going at it. Soon other species will join in. Here are a few of my favorites...

Great Egret courtship display

Great Blue Heron Nest

Great Egret Nest

More fuzzball egret chicks

Anhinga nest...heavily cropped and not the greatest light, but I had never seen these chicks before and thought it was pretty cool.

 

[Darcy Grizzle]

Awesome shots Guy, love all the babies . I think the third one is my fave! Gorgeous!

 

[Jim Sanderson]

A nice series. I’d like to visit there.

 

[AlanLichty]

Great set Guy - hard to pick a favorite but that first one with the great egret courtship display is quite unique.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Fantastic, ultra sharp, great poses, I can't choose a fav.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Guy, you have been missed!

You sure came back with some very nice shots, you really nailed it. What lens are you shooting most of these with?

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Great images, Guy. Those babies look a lot like dinosaurs.

 

[Mike Mancil]

All are excellent but #2 and #3 really ring my bell. Wow!

 

[BarryHamilton]

What Mike said....good stuff but 2 & 3 really stand out. Nice work!

 

[Guy Schmickle]

Hey Guy, you have been missed!

You sure came back with some very nice shots, you really nailed it. What lens are you shooting most of these with?

These were all shot with my Sigma 150-600 sport and the new Nikon D850. Really been happy with this combination so far -- quick focusing and sharp.

Thanks everyone for the kind words...#s 2 & 3 were the images I was really after when I went out there and are my favorites as well.