Beauty of the
Wild
Nature photography by Jay Paredes
This birding season is slowly drawing to a close.
The migrants have moved on and summer heat, rain, and hurricane season will
soon take their place. This will be the last of the weekly updates until a new
birding season starts this fall.
Before I get too far ahead, there are still many
birds to be found around Florida, if you can brave the heat. The nesting
Black-necked Stilts will be teaching their young to fly soon, along with the
Least Bitterns. The Least Terns will also return to the marshes with their
young. The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks should be around until August.
Speaking of August, this year I hope to be able to find the Swallow-Tailed
Kite roost on the Western side of Lake Okeechobee. There's still lots to look
forward to and you can find the regular updates on the web site.
The May
Gallery has been updated. The young Red-shouldered hawks at Loxahatchee
National Wildlife Refuge were particularly cooperative when
perched.
Newsletter only images:
A young Florida Softshell Turtle at the
Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
An American Redstart perches on a branch. The
last of the migrants left over the weekend and moved North.
One of the two young Red-shouldered Hawks at
Loxahatchee searches for prey in the early morning.
The other of the two young Red-shouldered Hawks
at Loxahatchee.
A young Tricolored Heron learning to fly
short distances. These birds regularly use the boardwalk as a perch during
their learning phase.
A Least Bittern flies close to its nest for a
quick check on its young at Wakodahatchee. This picture took me hours to get.
Although the nest was nearby, I find the Least Bittern flight to be somewhat
unpredictable. They only fly short distances, leaving you little time to
react. Their colors lack contrast which also confuses the autofocus systems of
many cameras.
