Birds of South Florida

Once again, Russell Burden’s Nature Photography Tour. This round is Birds of South Florida. Actually it was the invitation from Russ for his last pre-tour scouting before he officially offer the tour in 2010.  Our first stop was Anhinga Trial in the Everglades National Park, followed by Shark Valley. We drove north to Venice Rookery near Fort Myers for the nesting birds and Sanibel Island for shore birds. Our last stop was West Palm where we visited the Wetland, the water treatment centre – Wakodahatchee and Green Cay.

If you want to see cameras and lenses, that is the place to go. I can’t remember how many times I regret I do not have a longer lens.  A 500 mm or 600 mm with 1.4 extender works well but at time you may want a shorter lens cause the subjects flew too close. So, have a 600 mounted on the tripod and another camera with a shorter zoom ready on your shoulder will help. Carrying the big lens will give you a better workout than the gym!

The birds we have encountered in this trip included, Great Blue Herring, Great White Egrets, Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Green Back, Anhinga, Pelican, American Least Bittern just to name a few.

Here is Russ’s team picture taken at the parking lot of Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park.

Left to right: Russ, Rickie, Steve, Cal, Patrick