Cruising Lake Kissimmee, we saw lots of amazing birds going about their daily life. While we mostly had blinders on looking for just Snail Kites, some things stopped us in our tracks. We had seen days before a Great Blur Heron (GBH) with a Rice Rat in its bill, we’d all seen that before. On this morning we’d already seen lots of GBH but this one stopped the airboat in its tracks! What the hey does the GBH have in its grasp?

As we watched the scene trying to decipher what we were seeing, the GBH flew a short distance and closer to us. When it took to the air, we could see just how long this thing was and we were shocked! Long, black, slimy, it was pretty alien. Even our guide was befuddled about what the heck we were seeking. The Z 9 / 500 permitted us to zoom in on the photo and we could see two, tiny legs along with more slim on a rubber-looking body then we cared to see. After we got back to shore and did a little research, it was determined is was a Great Siren, North America’s largest salamander. If it wasn’t disgusting looking enough, what we witnessed next put it over the top!

The dang thing was still wiggling! We saw the GBH “pecking” at it, they didn’t look like killing blows to me. And before we could get closer to it, the GBH with the greatest of ease, swallowed the WHOLE thing in seconds! Ooo yuck! The GBH acted as it does it all the time, it probably does but I’d never seen nor photographed such a thing ever! It happened so fast, was so disgusting, all I could say was, what the hey?

The Snail Kite is a very specialized species eating one particular aquatic snail. The loss of that food source an exotic coming in and its habitat has put the Snail Kite on the endangered species list. We were very fortunate to spend time with five individuals and watch firsthand a small part of their fight for survival. Finding, snatching, and eating snails as its name implies, is a big part of it. Its bill and talons are specialized to grab and pull the snail from its shell. Perched on a twig on a floating island that you wouldn’t think would support its weight, they are able to pull that snail out and consume it in seconds flat. It takes longer to wipe all the slim from their mandible than it did to consume it. They are a gorgeous and spectacular part of our wild heritage!

These highly specialized raptors are simply grace on the wing! They eat basically nothing but snails, snails, snails, and are able to pluck them from the lake and after four of them, are full. Being incredibly efficient, you don’t have much time after the sun comes up to work them when they are hunting. You also have to get where they are which requires an airboat. It was the most amazing experience! mtc

As we pushed off from the dock in the airboat, I thought we were taking off on a kinda hopeless odyssey. I had been warned when I first contracted the airboat, a month before when I reconfirmed the dates and that morning, that we might come back empty-handed. Within minutes of leaving the dock, the Z 9 was blasting away and the illusive Snail Kite appeared in the viewfinder. Three hours and 15k images later, we had spent our entire time on the water with three kites. It was an amazing morning that continues today and tomorrow. mtc

Where we live near the Canadian border, it’s still a little hard to believe it’s that time already when it’s two degrees in the morning. But as the radar map shows, 10.8 millions birds have started to make their move north for spring. This amazing rhythm of life that is nearly as old as life unfolds each spring bringing with it the joy and challenge of photographing this explosion of color and life. Research shows that birds are migrating over a week earlier now than they did fifty years ago which means now is the time to get ready for their arrival. How?

A good place to start is to find out where they might be coming to your area. Your local Audubon Chapter is a great resource in this pursuit. Tap into the large pool of knowledgeable birders to learn where and when to find the spring migrants. Some locations like Point Pelee publish not only publish dates of arrivals, but dates of arrival by species. There are fortunately many avenues to find out this information these days which leaves us to our favorite pursuit, thinking about gear.

The Yellow Warbler above pushed the 800mm to its limit, its MFD limit that is. How close your lens can focus is really important for most small birds like warblers. These days the winner of the best lens for this IMHO is the Z100-400 that focuses down to nearly 2.5 feet! That produces a great image size in a small package. And when connected to the Z 9, you have a killer package so then the only challenge is getting the lens on the subject fast enough because they are moving. Literally, moving north and don’t hold still much if at all. A great way to practice is placing small egg-sized balls on tree limbs and then you move around, swing the lens, and put your lens on that object fast and get a sharp capture. Getting ready now makes you ready for when they hit your neighborhood because they are making their move.

With the 20+ winds, the falling and fallen snow whipped about the truck putting us in a near whiteout! We were near Grizzly Point and going nowhere, way off in the distance we could see the NPS groomer slowly making its way towards us. All we could see were its two lights “floating” above the snow off in the distance, the only thing telling us what it was. There we sat parked. Then off to the left, a pair of infatuated Coyotes came up a rise and appeared out of the blowing snow a short distance out. The truck was white but I can’t believe they didn’t know we were there. It didn’t seem to matter to them so I put down my window. Snow came flying in coating Sharon & my lap with fresh snow. I stuck the 180-400VR with Z 9 attached out the window and pointed it at the pair. I was too late, they were already tied, it happened really, really fast (tied = copulating). By the time I had hit the AF-On button, the male was already celebrating. What could I do but take the photograph. As I rolled up the window, I asked, “got a cigarette”?