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.

Down in Florida, working with a favorite bird from an airboat is big time fun! One of the side perks is all the kingfishers about. The downside, them little suckers just don’t sit still! It takes all the horsepower I have to get any type of image size. Even then, there has to be something to keep their mind off the boat, a catch is one of them. Saw this male kingfisher catch this little bass and fly to a perch to eat it. We slid towards it slowly. It still took off to land where you see it. The bass was still wiggling like crazy to get loose. That was the distraction we needed as we slid up again on it. The Kingfisher needed to secure the bass before flying again. That slight moment you see above, because as soon as it was caught, off it flew. I was grateful for that alley-oop!

The soft, saturated morning light was simply luscious! As I took it all in, this Roseatte Spoonbill from a nearby nest at Orlando Wetlands landed. Swung the lens around and as it settled in, I cranked off the shots. I knew that the soft, pastel color against the spring greens and the wing outstretched would grab one’s attention. I instantly sent the photo via Snapbridge to the fam as they all understand the symbolism of those wide spread wings. But what about the rest of the world? It goes with the theme of my podcast yesterday. There is no title to label the photo, no caption needed to explain a hidden element. It stands on its own two feet, and killer pink. And the stick in the background? Yeah, I would have loved it if it wasn’t there, but if the gesture and spirit of the Spoonbill is working its magic like I feel it is, it doesn’t really matter. The only element that mattered was that the fam understood, this much!

The Glossy Ibis in full adult breeding plumage in the right saturated light is an amazing subject! I saw a photo like I just described many decades ago, and it left a heck of an impression. Being on the West Coast, I would come across the White-faced Ibis, still a gorgeous bird, but it doesn’t light up like the Glossy. Whenever I see the Glossy and the right light is just a hint, I seek that photo I saw long ago. Last week I had a Glossy in that light, and you can see a hint of its amazing color along its flanks. An adult would have those colors all the way up the breast and neck. Spectacular!! But sigh, it is an AHY individual and not fully in adult plumage. It’s the best I’ve brought home so far, but it is a long way from that photo I saw so long ago. I look at it and sigh, if only a breeding adult.

Hell’s Half Acre is what Midway Geyser Basin was originally known as. The trail across the Firehole River and up the slope to the world-renowned Grand Prismatic thermal area, one passes Excelsior Geyser. Once a very violent geyser, these days it has settled down and just pours out 4050 gallons per minute of nearly 200f degree water. In winter, it bellows out steam, which just inches from the hot influence of the geyser returns to water, freezing where the wind takes it. There is a bench on the boardwalk, and this year, well, you can see how Mother Nature decided to decorate it. With the Z 8 LCD flipped out (it was -09 at the time) and Z14-24f2.8 @f2.8, I bent over while not slipping on the ice to memorialize this work of art. Though gone the following week with the warming temps, I never forget the beauty of the sculptures born from steam.

The American Bittern is more than two feet in length and yet can hide in almost thin air, standing vertically. It stands amongst the bulrushes as tall as it can be, sways with them when there is a breeze, and its feathers are the colors that make it just disappear. It doesn’t do this sneak up and prey and catch it, I think it does it because it’s fun. I’m sure one of two gets snatched by aerial predators, but it forages like other herons and bitterns. One when caught out in the open, it appears to be like a kid with his fingers caught in the cookie jar. I don’t get them in the lens very often, wish I did. It’s a great bird, the elusive, gorgeous American Bittern.