Going airborne

And a' one

and a' two

almost there

CRESCENT BEACH, FL - - Once airborne, the Eastern Brown Pelican, likes to 'float' on the wind and glide just above the water.  However getting airborne requires some fancy footwork to get the (average) 8-10 lbs. bird with the nearly 7' wingspan into the air.

Washington Oaks Gardens SP color

Morning glory

Orange blossom nectar for breakfast

Sunny Azalea blossoms

A small waterfall

Palm Coast, FL - - Saturday morning views of Washington Oaks Gardens (Florid) State Park

Grumpy

Hey!  You'd look grumpy too if you had three noisy kids to take care of.

Air show

Dad makes flying look so easy

Sometimes after watching the kids I just want to take off

Click on the photo.  Look just above the right ankle to see the bird has been banded.

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - We were alerted to an eagle's nest with 3 youngsters in it just 3 miles from home.  Our local newspaper published photos of the family so we decided to go take a look. Friday morning there were only two other photographers on site so we got a good view of the family - - although for me it seemed I was never looking when all three turned our way.  Two our of three kids isn't bad and, fortunately, "Pop" decided to go soaring after we had been watching for over an hour.

Now where did that grocery cart go??

Still life..with grocery cart

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Hey, Winn Dixie.

Kingfisher

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - We're always on the look out for a chance to photograph a Kingfisher.  Why?  Because these birds never seem to land in one place for more than a few seconds.  And when they fly off, they fly away from us.  This Kingfisher was apparently spooked by Lydia, but flew in my direction.  Gotcha'

Gotcha

An Osprey makes its meal selection from the buffet

...and shakes the water from its wings and body

...turns toward safety

and speeds off to find a safe place to enjoy the freshly caught meal

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - On the return run from a weekend trip to St. Augustine, we stopped at Bing's Landing.  This a Flagler County (Park) favorite with fishermen which has a boat put-in and a recently opened BBQ / bait shop combo.  The outside dining area of the BBQ  offers a good view of the river activity and good food making the stop worthwhile.
     As I was wandering around on one of the fishing piers, I spotted an osprey circling  and looking for fish swimming near the surface.  Good eyesight and a blitz dive netted the raptor in the four photos above a (small) meal.