Osprey

The Osprey is one of my favorite birds to watch.  When they leave the water after a succesful dive they frequently hesitate about 10 feet out of the water and shake the excess water off.  I can only imagine the power it takes for one of these birds to take off from the water carrying a fish, and then repeat it with a full stop for this shaking behavior.  I always watch for it and have seen it countless times, but I've never captured it on film or digitally.  There are many similar instances when I rediscover I'm a watcher first and photographer second.  I'm going to make an effort to reverse that for a while because I'd really like to capture some of the interesting behavior demonstrated by birds such as the osprey.  This photo was taken near lighthouse point on Sanibel Island.  There are quite a few dead trees at the waters edge where Ospreys congregate to hunt.  You can get within 20 feet of them on occasion if you move slowly and deliberately.

Great Horned Owl

This owl is a resident of one of the avian rescue organizations located in Central Florida.  He is a used in various educational projects and is a wonderful ambassador. 

Cooper's Hawk

This is another shot from the Sunnyhill Preserve dike trail along the Ocklawaha River.  There are a great number of hawks and vultures that occupy the perches along the way.  The west side of the river is largely uninhabited with no trails along the waters edge while the east side has a very wide trail along the top of the dike.  The water management people do a great job of keeping this trail mowed.  There aren't many trees on the east side but they are usually occupied.  If you start at the Blue House trailhead off of county road 44 you will find a nice shelter (no facilities) at the 2.5 mile point.  It's another 5 miles northward to get to the Moss Bluff dam trail head.  I highly recommend this trail for the cooler months.  It would be brutal on a hot summer day due to the total absence of shade.

Bald Eagle

My wife and I went on a 6 mile walk along the Ocklawaha River this morning.  It was a brisk 40 degrees at the beginning but quickly warmed up as the sun rose.  We spotted several hawks and this one Bald Eagle on the opposite side of the river.  I wasn't carrying a long enough lens for the tight closeup but these birds are magnificent anyway. 

Red Shouldered Hawk

I took this shot along the Ocklawaha River in the Sunnyhill Preserve.  There is a 7.5 mile trail along the eastern bank that is a super place to see hawks, black vultures and other raptors.  On the day I took this there were red tailed, red shouldered and Coopers Hawks.  The trail runs along the dike that was put in years ago as part of attempting to control the Ocklawaha.  On the prairie side of the dike are canals and smaller dikes.  There has been talk of  trying to undo all of this "progress" but I doubt if it will happen.