Birds of Sanibel

As mentioned in my last post, I wanted to share some of the bird photography that I did during my last trip to Sanibel Island, Florida. Though Sanibel is known for great birding, I went there in December which is not an exceptional time to see birds (March- April is the best). During my short stay there, I ventured into the famous Ding Darling reserve area a number of times and also shot on the shores. This is my favorite bird shot from the trip, which was taken on the shore as the last rays of sun illuminated these busy terns and I was looking for a natural pattern, warm reflection on blue water and a great background...


Since I am not really a bird photographer, I tend to shoot birds more of a "part of landscape". That's the way I see most of the time and the intimate bird portraits are not-so-interesting for me. I also don't have any huge telephoto lens to shoot close up of shy birds. Here is one group portraits that I liked - as the grouping of pelicans formed a wonderful diagonal pattern and I waited for the middle pelican to do something - it eventually did spread its wings and fly away...



The other shot that I liked beacuse of the low angle of light made the tidal water so dark and helped the wading bird stand out nicely - adding a smooth reflection too. This one looks great on a large print..

The last shot was a very close encounter with a heron. It just posed for me for a long time - until another very loud photographer showed up with his large lens and irritated this guy away. Until then, we (the bird and me) were enjoying each others company. Observe how the curves of the branch mimics the gentle curves of the bird's body. Again I took advantage of the light to make the backgroun go dark and let the bird stand out.