Black Crowned Night Heron

Video: Black Crowned Night Heron

Black Crowned Night Herons roost low in trees during the day and then take of around dusk for a night of hunting. I was lucky to catch this beautiful bird taking off from its daytime roost. They are unusual for herons with short stout necks and short legs. 

Typically solitary when foraging, the Black-crowned NightHeron

is most often observed at dawn, dusk, and on

cloudy days. Black-crowned Night-Herons have distinct

immature plumage and attain full breeding plumage in

their third year. Virtually worldwide in distribution, it

breeds from the northern United States and southern

Canada south to Hawaii, Peru, and Argentina.

Habitat. This cryptic species is inconspicuous at roost and

when seeking food, even though it forages during the day

while feeding young. Outside the breeding season, the

Black-crowned Night-Heron forages mostly at night,

usually wading in shallow water, and feeding on fish,

crustaceans, small amphibians, reptiles, nestling birds,

and mammals, as well as other aquatic organisms.

This species nests in homogeneous colonies, in colonies of

other waders, and, rarely, singly. Nests are formed of

dead surrounding vegetation in a marsh or built of sticks

in trees or bushes near or over water. Three to 5 bluegreen

eggs hatch in 24 to 26 days, and the young fledge

at about 42 days of age.

Seasonal Occurrence. Breeding has been reported from January through August, but the presence of young

birds in south Florida in December indicates that breeding may occur year-round there. In summer, Blackcrowned

Night-Herons are absent from most of the Panhandle. Migratory individuals appear in March and April,

sometimes as late as May. Fall migrants have been reported in September. Florida populations increase

considerably in winter with the influx of northern migrants. Florida is probably the southernmost wintering

ground for Black-crowned Night Herons from the eastern United States.

Status. Because it is a wetlands-dependent species, it is considered a Species of Special Concern by the Florida

Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals .

The statewide breeding distribution of the Black-crowned Night Heron follows the availability of wetland habitat

Most nesting colonies are located in central and southern Florida, with scattered colonies in north Florida. Howe

(1932) mentions breeding in Pensacola, but no records west of Wakulla County were obtained during the Atlas

project. No trends are currently measurable for this ubiquitous species. 

http://legacy.myfwc.com/bba/docs/bba_BCNH.pdf

New HD videos uploaded frequently. Subscribe at: 

http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Black Crowned Night Heron

Osprey Sky Dance And Mating Calls

Video: Osprey Sky Dance And Mating Calls

High Definition Audio. Amazing male Osprey Sky Dance and courtship calling right over the Backyard and low. While the male shows off his voice and stamina for over 10 minutes the female can be heard calling loudly from high in a long leaf pine tree below probably encouraging him on! Hopefully they will build a nest nearby in the coming weeks. Luckily I had just attached my new external microphone with wind screen - this was the perfect test!

Appearance:

The undersides of the toes on each foot are covered with short spines, which help them grasp slippery fish.

Habitat:

The osprey is smaller than the bald eagles that typically share the same habitats, but its five to six foot wingspan is impressive nonetheless. Adults are dark brown above with a white underside and head. Look for the distinctive dark line that extends behind the eye and the gull-like way the narrow wings are angled downward when the birds are in flight.

The osprey is found year-round in Florida both as a nesting species and as a spring and fall migrant passing between more northern areas and Central and South America. Ospreys in Florida did not suffer the serious pesticide-related population declines that occurred in other states in the 1950s and 1960s. Pesticides, shoreline development and declining water quality continue to threaten the abundance and availability of food and nest sites for ospreys.

Behavior:

Ospreys, also known as "fish hawks," are expert anglers that like to hover above the water, locate their prey and then swoop down for the capture with talons extended.

In Florida, ospreys commonly capture saltwater catfish, mullet, spotted trout, shad, crappie and sunfish from coastal habitats and freshwater lakes and rivers for their diet.

Ospreys build large stick nests located in the tops of large living or dead trees and on manmade structures such as utility poles, channel markers and nest platforms. Ospreys have adapted so well to artificial nest sites that the species now nests in areas (e.g. inner cities) once considered unsuitable. Nests are commonly reused for many years. Nesting begins from December (south Florida) to late February (north Florida). The incubation and nestling period extends into the summer months.

The osprey is listed as a Species of Special Concern only in Monroe County. Permits are required throughout the state to remove a nest for these wonderful raptors, however, and a replacement structure must be erected to mitigate the removal of the nest.

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/raptors-and-vultures/osprey/

New HD videos uploaded frequently. Subscribe at: 

http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Video: Osprey Sky Dance And Mating Calls

Squirrels Trash Thanksgiving Dinner Party

Video: Squirrels Trash Thanksgiving Dinner Party

Backyard Gray Squirrels were invited to Thanksgiving Dinner, but it didn't go well. Most of the year they seem to be able to function, however the holiday festivities apparently upset their routine and the first guest to arrive - from above of all places - totally trashed the carefully planned seating arrangements and party favors. Talk about an entrance - well It was downhill from there!

New HD videos uploaded frequently. Subscribe at: 

http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Video: Squirrels Trash Thanksgiving Dinner Party

Test of Tamron 150 - 600 mm Zoom Lens With Vivitar 2X Teleconverter 1920mm

Video: Test of Tamron 150 - 600 mm Zoom Lens

1920 mm optical zoom lens - Tamron Auto Focus A011C700 SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Zoom Lens for Canon EF Cameras with Vivitar Teleconverter Lens (2X4C). With special guest appearance!

This is a practical non-technical real-world test of what can expect using this setup in less than optimal shooting conditions for the vast majority of users this should be acceptable especially considering cost-benefit. Remember for every picture a professional sells or gets published they probably discard hundreds if not thousands of shots. This was just one day of examples in bad conditions.

All pictures and video were shot on a Canon T5i with the Tamron 150-600 and Vivitar 2X converter and remote shutter control. This provides an effective 1920 mm optical focal length. It was also a very windy day which has a significant impact when shooting at nearly 2000 mm. The lens was 1000 bucks with a $200 rebate and 10% cashback and the converter $75 used/recondition at Amazon so I have about 800 bucks total in this lens setup.  

None of the pictures or videos have been cropped or enhanced prior to loading into the Filmora Video Editor, of course in the process of conversion into this video there was some degradation of the imagery, but it is presented as best as can be to give you an idea of the results possible with the Tamron and teleconverter.

I set the shutter speed at 1-800 and let the camera choose the f-stop and ISO and manual focus. Autofocus will not work with the teleconverter as the video demonstrates this is to be expected and not a defect.

All of the imagery was taken in what would be considered bad to poor or harsh lighting conditions.

Of course all the videos and pictures could be improved significantly with post-processing.

The next generation Tamron lens (Tamron AFA022C700 SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 f/5.6-40.0) is out at around 1,300 buck with a $400 teleconverter available and this setup would probably provide incrmentally better results in poor conditions. I personally shoot mainly video and use a Canon SX60 1300mm 65x optical zoom for my workhorse, but I find the video with this 1920 mm setup more than acceptable especially in the sun. 

New HD videos uploaded frequently. Subscribe at: 

http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Video: Test of Tamron 150 - 600 mm Zoom Lens

Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)

Video: Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)

Male Belted Kingfisher on a traditional perch hunting over the St. Johns river marsh in Florida. He's having a bad hair day due to high winds.  For a nice example of a female Belted Kingfisher see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0yjFHbFAAo

Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)

With its rattling call, large crested head, and habit of

perching conspicuously, the Belted Kingfisher is familiar to

many Floridians, even those with only a casual interest in

birds. Kingfishers breed as far north as Alaska and winter

south to northern South America.

Habitat. Because it usually nests in burrows dug into

embankments, the breeding range of the Belted

Kingfisher is limited to areas of the state containing river

bluffs or disturbed areas, such as canal banks, borrow

ponds, and mine sites.

As their name suggests, these birds feed largely on fish,

but they also eat insects, crayfish, frogs, young birds,

small rodents, and berries.

Belted Kingfishers typically select clay or sand banks for

breeding. Both adults dig the burrow, using their bills and

feet. The nesting chamber is built at the end of the

burrow and may be up to 5 m (15 ft) in length, but is

usually 1 to 2 m (3 to 6 ft) long (Bent 1940). In this

protected chamber, 4 or 5 unmarked white eggs are laid

from May through July (Stevenson and Anderson 1994).

Both adults share in incubation, which takes 23 or 24

days. Young are fed regurgitant produced by their parents (Wheelock 1905) and fledge at about 23 days of age

One brood is raised per year.

Seasonal Occurrence. Belted Kingfishers are resident in Florida, although more common in the Panhandle an

north Florida in summer, and central and south Florida in winter. They nest April through July.

Status. Belted Kingfishers are rare and very local breeders in the peninsula, although more widespread and

common in the Panhandle. While many Panhandle breeding records were probably located in natural river and

stream banks, the majority of the confirmed breeding records outside the Panhandle were located in artificially

created embankments.

http://legacy.myfwc.com/bba/docs/bba_BEKI.pdf

New HD videos uploaded frequently. Subscribe at: 

http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MyBackyardBirding

Video: Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)

Gulf Fritillary or Passion Butterfly

Video: Gulf Fritillary or Passion Butterfly

Video: Gulf Fritillary or Passion Butterfly

Beautiful Gulf Fritillary or "Passion" Butterfly - bright orange catches your eye and the 3 little white dots on each fore-wing are the clincher. Watch for a guest appearance by a spider!
The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae (Linnaeus), is a brightly colored butterfly common across extreme southern portions of the United States. At home in most open, sunny habitats, it frequents roadsides, disturbed sites, fields, open woodlands, pastures, yards, and parks. It is a regular in most butterfly gardens, including those in more urban settings.

The Gulf fritillary occurs throughout the southern United States southward through Mexico, Central America and the West Indies to South America. In Florida, it can be found in all 67 counties. The butterfly undergoes distinct seasonal movements each year. Adults move northward in spring and form temporarily breeding colonies throughout the southeast. Individual vagrants may occasionally reach into the central U.S., but rarely into the Midwest. Starting in late summer and continuing through fall, huge numbers of adults migrate southward into peninsular Florida. Adults overwinter in frost-free portions of their range.

Adult: The Gulf fritillary is a medium-sized butterfly with elongated forewings. Adults have a wingspan range of 65 to 95 mm. Females are generally larger than males. The sexes are dimorphic. The upper surface of the wings is bright orange with black markings. Females are somewhat darker and more extensively marked. The forewing cell contains three black-rimmed white spots. The undersides of the wings are brown with elongated silvery-white spots.
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/gulf_fritillary.htm