I am available for weather dependent, morning In-the-Field Instructional Photo sessions at either ILE for the cranes or Stick Marsh for the spoonbills: Thursday 4 April through Monday 8 April. e-mail<\/a> for ITF details and possibilities.<\/p>\n After hearing of a Burrowing Owl nest with five chicks, I drove over to Cape Coral, FL on Saturday afternoon. I checked out a few locations suggested in the old SW Florida Site Guide and with the help of passers by, miraculously located the nest. Photography was difficult at best. I received a text from ILE neighbor Claudia Cemken letting me know that a second nest hatched very recently! I still think that there may be at least one more nest. I fly to North Dakota on 9 April to do grouse and prairie chickens with BPN friend and IPT veteran Kevin Hice. <\/p>\n Today is 31 March 2024 and I am headed back to the baby owls. Spring is a glorious time for bird photography in Florida. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. <\/p>\nWhat’s Up?<\/h3>\n
\n| \n | This image was created on 30 March 2024 down by the lake near my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated on damp grass, I used the toepod technique with the handheld Sony FE 300mm f\/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E)<\/a> and the ridiculously amazing Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera<\/a>. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000: 1\/1000 sec. at f\/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger,<\/a> the raw file brightness was determined to be dead solid perfect. AWB at 7:33:24am on a clear sunny morning about 15 minutes after sunrise. <\/p>\n Tracking Zone\/AF-C with Bird Face\/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.<\/p>\n |