Two Reflections

Pictured is the famous Sanibel Lighthouse located at the east end of Sanibel Island, Florida. Also pictured is a bird I often hear called a "flamingo" but in reality is a Roseate Spoonbill, a beautiful bird with a unique bill and feeding habits. Reflections make for fun photographs and getting both the lighthouse and spoonbill in one shot was a real challenge.

Common Nighthawk

Common Nighthawks historically nests on the ground in grasslands and in open patches of soil or gravel. Today they commonly nest on gravel roads or flat roofs with a gravel cover. The bird shown chose on old parking lot with apparently low traffic volume. They usually lay two eggs which hatch in about 18 days.The female broods the young birds for about fifteen days protecting it from the sun and weather. Notice the young bird in front of the mother and how well he/she blends in with the loose rocks. Common Nighthawks are not hawks and they hunt mostly insects in both the day and night.

Cooper's Hawk Baby

I was recently asked to take pictures of baby Cooper's Hawks nesting at Douglas Hart Nature Center. They had recently fledged their nest but were returning peroidically to be fed by the parents. The nest was built fairly high in a Maple tree and the viewing was difficult. In fact, there was only one spot from which I could get a decent shot and that landed me right in the middle a large, very healthy bunch of poison ivy. Fortunately, I don't get an itchy rash from this ominous plant. That was really fortunate for me since I stood in that one spot for over an hour. There was only one baby in the nest and at first he/she was just hunkered down in the nest. However, something roused the young bird. It stood up and gave me several nice shots. This photo shown is the baby looking at me, thinking, "that fool is standing in poison ivy." Coooper's Hawks nests are fairly unusual for our area so I felt very lucky to be informed about the nest and asked to try and capture their beautiful images with my camera. What a truly special experience!