ROSEATE SPOONBILLS

self | April 29 2010 | swampsniper

[SWAMPSNIPER]

This little marshy pond is not far fron the alligator farm, this flock of Roseate Spoonbills is probably nesting there.

They filter through the mud on the pond bottom and filter out the little edible organisms.

[vpintheak]

Cool!

[SWAMPSNIPER]

pinglist

[lysie]

Great shots. Thank you.

[lysie]

The plants look like Pickeral Rush.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Yep, they are blooming pretty!

[Hot Tabasco]

Great pics! How were you able to take those photos? Was there a path or something you were able to walk or did you have to wade thru hundreds of yards of underbrush and muck to access your location?

[historyrepeatz]

..and in some parts of Southern California, the swallows have arrived in rather large numbers compared to previous years.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

About 100 feet from a four lane. I didn’t even need the mobility scooter.

[JoeProBono]

HERE!

[cweese]

You take some GREAT photos. I always look forward to your pictures posts.

[TEXOKIE]

Thank you. Profoundly.

[brytlea]

Really incredibly beautiful images. I think I have managed ONE shot of these beauties in the 6 years we have lived here, and none are as lovely as these. I would be sick with jealousy but, you’re too nice to hate! ;)

[afraidfortherepublic]

Now, why would anybody want to farm alligators? Oh yes. I know.

Your birds are gorgeous today, as usual. At home I have one of your pictures as my “desktop”. I still haven’t replace Sarah Palin at work — picture from the Republican National Convention in 2009. But, if you keep posting pretty birds, Sarah may have to go.

Thanks for the ping.

[handmade]

Absolutely beautiful.
Thanks for posting.

[UB355]

I’ve seen those at a Sanibel Island, FL refuge. Georgeous creatures.

[pandoraou812]

Thanks, your pictures always brighten my day

[Liberty Valance]

Beautiful.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

We just live on the coolest planet, don’t we? I wonder what beings on other planets take pictures of? LOL! :) Lovely photos as always! :)

[mojitojoe]

Gorgeous! Great photos. They are the prettiest color of pink. I’ve seen them around the Everglades are fairly frequently but it’s still always a treat to see them.

[rustbucket]

Roseates are a favorite of mine. They seem less sure footed on small limbs than the big egrets and heron that nest in trees.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Great shot. I’m planning on a trip to the rookery next week, I can get a lot closer than when they are feeding.

[SFConservative]

Beautiful as always, SWAMPSNIPER. Whenever that New posts to you pops up I hope it is a pinglist post from you.

[poobear]

I love to watch those guys. They seem so animated. Probably their unique color. Nice catch Swampsniper!

Haven’t done much research but all my finch and painted bunting have left my thicket. Do they come back every winter? All I have left are the cardinals and blue jays. I do have a nice pair of red chested woodpeckers that are fun to watch. The hawks cleared out the squirrels and most of the mourning doves. It is quite the animal kingdom around here.

Thanks for the great pics!

[poobear]

Swamp sorry to have bothered you earlier.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

What are you talking about?

[nw_arizona_granny]

Beautiful.

[VOA]

Great photos.

Could you share what type of camera you’re using. I’ve got a Samsung digital
that does a decent job, especially for macro shots of flowers, etc.,
especially as I got it for $105 at WalMart.

But (someday) I’ll probably try an upgrade to Nikon/Canon.

Thanks in advance.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I used a Sony A200 and a Sony SAL75300 lens for these. The combo gives me 450mm of reach. If you want to go for bird shots you can't have too much zoom.

Nikon/Canon isn't the only consideration, the Sony line is excellent, Pentax makes high quality stuff. The 4/3 system cameras fron Olympus and Panasonic are excellent and offer some real advantages.

Fuji is making a camera they call the H10 that some of my friends are raving about, the images I've seen from it are first class.

Don't get hooked by the camera cultists, Nikon and Canon are still excellent but there is a lot going on in the industry.

[VOA]

“
Don’t get hooked by the camera cultists, Nikon and Canon are still
excellent but there is a lot going on in the industry.
“

Thanks for that and the rest of your advice/info.
I’m definitely a camera “pragmatist”. Some decades ago I got my
first real camera from a Spiegle catalog (probably no longer in biz).

Even though The Cold War was still on, it was a “Praktica” brand manufactured
in Dresden, East Germany. But it was an SLR with built-in light meter
and also included a 135mm lens in addition to the standard 50mm.
Can’t remember the actual price but it was really inexpensive compared
to the prestige brands.

It was built like a tank relative to Nikons, Pentaxes...but I used
it for the high school paper; even won a state-wide photo contest
for high school photographers. (Not braggin’...it sort of shocked me
as I don’t have an artistic bone in my body!)

Thanks again for sharing your camera info/experience.

[r9etb]

Nice shots, but they seem a little heavy on the blue this time. Any way for you to adjust the balance?

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I suspect a little volcanic ash in the air. All settings were usual. I didn't shoot these in RAW, they just wouldn't totally correct.

Things don't look like the usual summer haze, the air is just flat looking, no sparkle.

I ordered a haze filter from Tiffen yesterday.

I shot some Great Egrets a few days ago with the Panasonic, the white had a visible blue tinge.

[r9etb]

As always, though, they’re fine shots.