Yes, it is a “hummingbird bird and no, it’s not part of its name, but after that, it’s still all hummer! The Booted Racket-Tail is another of those rare hummers living in a small niche in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador. It’s why I went down there, to see, watch, and if possible, photograph this little dynamo. From the tip of its elaborate tail to the tip of the bill, we’re talking five inches. They be small! But when it comes to either moving off another male or trying to attract a female, they show their mettle. In the lower photo (a challenge to get), they curve their body, flare their “boots,” and fly right in the face of the other hummer. I did not come back with the photos I wanted from what I witnessed, only hints of it. That means I’ll be going back as I want more of that five inches of attitude!

Unlike most birds of the rainforest, you can see the Golden Tanagers coming long before they arrive. That helps! These tiny little birds are no bigger than a couple of grapes. Their energy level, though, is off the charts. They are rather gregerious which is fun to watch and a challenge to photograph. It’s dark, ISO 3200 dark, and even with that, you’re still working at 1/125. The Profoto A10 pop of light is for color (not exposure), making that crazy “gold” color come to life against the green. When I was there, I thought I had captured plenty of photos of these little jewels, but now that I’m back in the office, I find that is not the case. I have come to treasure this gold in the rain.

They bend with the wind! That’s the main way this 34″ tall marsh inhabitant hides. It stands vertically amongst the reeds, and when it feels like it might be threatened, it stands as tall as it can and slowly sways with the reeds. It’s so effective that this relatively common bird is not regularly seen. We were on an airboat at Kissimmee Lake when we spotted it. We were able to float in close, engine shut off, and the closer we got, the better the background got. When we finally finished drifting in, not only was the background vastly improved, but we were at point-blank range! I’d never been so close to one before, it was grand! It normally doesn’t work this way, it doesn’t come easily.

As long as I can remember, Sharon has marked the start of spring with the return of one of her favorite birds, the Evening Grosbeak. The first male appeared just a couple of days ago, and now we have numerous pairs in the various feeders. We are so glad to see them, as their numbers overall have crashed, according to many researchers. We know that last year, our numbers were down over 50%, which was truly alarming. Their constant calling in the trees at times made it hard to have a conversation. Last year, that wasn’t the case. We’re looking forward to seeing more pile into the clean and sterilized feeders, 100lbs of seed is awaiting them. Hot dogs, they’re back!!!

Now that I think about it, who could blame him on such a nice, warm morning. We’d had a week of very cold temps and at times, a bit of wind. This was the first nice morning all week. We’d been working with Snail Kites on Kissimmee Lake and having a blast. It was our last morning, and we were working the east shore. We’re on an Airboat that’s powered by a Chevy 350, we are anything but stealthy! This was not our first time with this male Snail Kite, as a matter of fact, we’d spent a lot of time photographing it, mainly perched. This particular perch had a clean background, so I signaled our most excellent captain the direction I wanted to approach. The engine is running, the prop turning as we slowly, oh so slowly, approach him. The entire approach, I shooting away. The Kite couldn’t care less! The captain cut the engine and with the water vegetation, we figured we would coast forward a tad and then get stuck. Still, the kite didn’t move, in fact, it appeared like it was going to go to sleep! Since airboats can only go forward, I figured we were stuck for a while as forward travel would have literally run  him over. Then he slowly opened his mouth, and I figured we’d get shots of him coughing up a pellet. I was so surprised when it turned out to be a long, giant yawn! He looks like he’s calling, but not a peep came out. He closed his mouth, and his eyelids started to go down! That’s it, we’re stuck here as the great light goes by I thought. Luckily, his mate flew by, and that got his eyes open and him on the wing. It’s an experience that will stick with me for a long time, the greatest compliment a critter can give one, falling asleep in front of the lens. Can you say, AHH?

I had read in the papers that they occasionally, rarely, will eat a turtle. But in my month with Snail Kites, I’d never seen it for myself. Snail Kites got their name because they are highly specialized to eat one thing, apple snails. Look at those long and curved talons and that bill, they are meant for plucking the snail right out of its shell. When this female popped out of the water with this turtle, I couldn’t tell it was a turtle. It wasn’t until we got closer and it had already eaten some of it that I could see the shell and that one, lone leg. It seemed to have no issue plucking the turtle out of its shell, it dispatched it pretty darn fast. The most interesting thing is, we saw a little time later a male Snail Kite with its own baby turtle. They didn’t seem to have a chance with this superior, specialized hunter, they need more than a leg up.