The light was really moody when we hit the beach. In front of massive angry clouds, we watched the birds on Bolivar Beach waking up. As the clouds rumbled and far off lightning sparked, I picked the spot where I wanted to shoot. When I placed the Z 9 / 800AFS mounted to the panning plate on the sand, there were no birds in sight. I saw the surface I wanted, but it was empty. I laid there in the sand waiting, the surf slowly working its way up the beach to kiss me. Then slowly they came by, kinda like a Field of Dreams. Piping Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Laughing Gull, Willet, Semipalmated Sandpiper ventured by but didn’t stay. Finally one took the small area as its own and I was in business. A Sanderling claimed the small patch of beach as its own and started to forage. An hour and stiff neck later I had the images I wanted for the morning. It was the perfect spot to reflect.

As I watched the snow falling outside the window I hear the birds singing their brains out, looking at nesting sites and fighting for mates. Despite what the weather is doing, critters and the sun say it’s spring. It’s time to get the binoculars out and start being a wildlife detective looking for your next project. Nesting birds are a very rewarding subject. You can do it safely by doing some homework and testing now so you’re good to go once you find the nest. You might want to start by reading this nesting primer here on the website. You might continue it following what’s in that primer. Then go further picking up a copy of my book Captured. As long as you remember no photograph is worth sacrificing the welfare of a subject and can walk away when you see it’s not working, you can comeback with a story that when shared can make a difference. Cause despite the weather, it really is spring!

The Snail Kite gives away in its name what it eats, snails. This highly specialized raptor eats just one thing, freshwater apple snails of Florida’s Central wetlands. It can snatch from the water and pop a snail out of its shell faster than a French Chef! Those talons & bill give it the ability to grasp the snail with great efficiency. The Snail Kite’s problem causing it to crash to just 64 individuals in the 80s is the loss of habitat and its food source. Then in 2004 a very destructive and evasive island apple snail came in. Bad for the environment, the island apple snail, the size of a tennis ball is prolific and has replaced the freshwater apple snail, the size of a ping pong ball. You might think that for a highly specialized predator like the Snail Kite this would be the last nail in its coffin. But the Snail Kite evolved in the matter of a decade with longer, stronger talons and longer mandible. So in the short term, the kite found a sudo solution for its own problem. Or did it? I guess only time will tell but in the meantime watching this mater of the wetlands is a joy as it uses its tools of specialization that evolved.