Destin-y Birds

sm4him

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It has been pointed out to me that my membership in the Elite TPF Wildlife Photographers Club is in danger of expiring, due to complete lack of photo posting. I've posted only two threads in this gallery all summer! Well, in my defense, it's not been the summer for pursuing wildlife photography for me.

My skills were already only in the absolute bottom tier required for admission anyway, and now I've gotten rusty on top of it. But I DO have Kris' old D800 to compensate for the rustiness and lack of skill a bit, so maybe I'll get by. :D

Anyway--my sister and I finally got a vacation this year! We headed off to Destin, FL in my convertible and spent a week relaxing on the beach, eating seafood and drinking margaritas (well, she doesn't drink alcohol, so I had her margaritas too....). We got the vacation in JUST in the nick of time, as my mother was released from rehab the day we got back--we knew we couldn't go once she was at home, since she'll need close to 24/7 assistance.

I didn't do much birding, intentionally. My kind of birding trip makes my sister insane--waiting in the same spot for hours for just the right shot is just not her idea of vacation! And I didn't really want my D800 to spend much time out on the beach--so I took it to the beach one day and just did photography, and then on two mornings, we went to a birding spot called Okaloosa Holding Ponds. There were probably about 86 different species of shorebirds there (okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but there were a LOT), but most of them never got close enough to get anything but ID shots; a shame, since several were lifers for me.

This is a few of the ones I thought were worth sharing. I should say that MOST of these are not what I would consider stellar, print-worthy sort of shots, but more just "fun to share" shots.

I may do a separate thread on one bird in particular, because I have several shots of the same species, and because they're cute. :D

1. Immature Little Blue Heron Dance
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2. Black-Necked Stilts all in a row. This was a lifer bird for me; shame they never got any close than this.
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3. Flying School for Gulls
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4. Laugh it up, Fuzzball!
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5. Great Blue Heron doing its best Ostrich impression.
This heron landed so close to me that this was all that would fit in the frame!
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6. Great Blue Heron flight over the ocean
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7. Reflections of an Immature White Ibis
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8. Another lifer bird, and another that would never cooperate and come close enough for a better shot, the Wilson's Snipe. Finally, a Snipe! After all these years of snipe hunting!
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As always, C&C, general comments and witty banter are all appreciated!
 

jaomul

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Sounds like an ok vacation to me
 

JacaRanda

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Thank you for Shar-on :) Could not resist.

GBH Ostrich impression - Classic!

Are you or have you thought about doing an official Big Year?
 
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sm4him

sm4him

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Thank you for Shar-on :) Could not resist.

GBH Ostrich impression - Classic!

Are you or have you thought about doing an official Big Year?

Man, I would LOVE to do a Big Year sometime!! I'd say it's probably not going to happen while my mom is still alive--I'd just rather focus on getting time with her for now. But that may well be something I do in a year or two, as a bit of an homage to her and my grandmother. My grandmother loved birds of all kinds (well, except Blue Jays, lol), and my mother has just always loved to travel and see new places--so a Big Year would be the perfect way to pay respect to both of them!

I might just have to start legitimately planning where I'd go for a Big Year and start saving towards it.
 

baturn

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They all look great to me. I got a chuckle out of #5, but #7 is the winner in this set. At least for me.
 

John Hunt

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Nice job. Looks like you had a good time.
 

Designer

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All superb shots!
 

WesternGuy

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Sharon, looks like the holiday was a success. I will put the holding ponds on my list of places to visit the next time I am in the Pan Handle. These are great shots. :biggrin-93:

#2 of the Black-necked Stilts is priceless as is the White Ibis reflection.

WesternGuy

P.S. - I wondered what Kris had done with his Nikon gear - now I know.
 

spiralout462

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Nice shots! Number 3 does a great job of showing just how white the sand is in Destin! That was the most memorable thing for me when I visited there over 20 years ago.
 

snowbear

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I guess I'm all alone in loving #4.
 
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sm4him

sm4him

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Nice shots! Number 3 does a great job of showing just how white the sand is in Destin! That was the most memorable thing for me when I visited there over 20 years ago.

Man, that white sand and the blue water is just so Caribbeanesque!

I loved how the sand almost looks like snow sometimes. In fact, I posted the picture below on FB with the comment: "Look, a Snowy Owl!! Well, okay, it's a gull, not an owl, and it's sand and not snow, but yeah..." :D
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