Last of Season Hike at Brooker Creek Preserve

Saturday we led our last of the season photography hike at Brooker Creek Preserve. The cool front that moved through Thursday and Friday left us with a pure blue sky, bright sun, and pleasant temperatures. Our group of enthusiastic photographers and nature lovers enjoyed a hike full of photo opportunities. At the bridge a juvenile hawk sat on low branches in plain sight, while several Black Vultures posed in the branches overhead. Suddenly the resident Anhinga pulled himself out of the water to a branch, and began preening and drying his wings. The side/back lighting perfectly showed off his wet feathers and cast a precise shadow on the spangle fern covered water.

Karl thought he spotted an alligator, and checking with my binoculars I saw one of the smaller gators with only his head showing. As we watched he began gliding toward us, stopping midway. Behind him, a Great Egret stood motionless waiting for prey.

We practiced manual focusing on some of the Golden Silk Orb weaver webs, played with the lighting on the scarlet and purple flowers of the blooming air plants, and tried a bit of ‘action photography’ with some bees and a butterfly enjoying the nectar from the button bush flowers. As we approached one of the areas still containing water after our very dry winter, we saw a Black-crowned Night Heron directly below the boardwalk. Used to people walking by at that point, we all took a few shots as we watched him.

As Karl always says “It isn’t Disney”. In a nature preserve there are no guarantees of what you might see, but that is part of the fun. This particular hike produced plenty of subjects, likely due to a perfect blend of weather, time of year, and avid photographers.

Our once a month nature photography hikes start once again the last Saturday of September 2017. See you then!

Leading the Last Hike of the Season at Brooker Creek Preserve

We lead the last photography hike of the season at Brooker Creek Preserve this Saturday, May 27 starting at 8:30 a.m. This will also conclude our hike series called “Seasons of Florida”. We start again on the last Saturday of September, 2017 with a new hiking series.

Our dry season either broke or came close to breaking some records this year. The lack of rain since October caused many wetlands visible from the boardwalks to completely dry up. The main channel, seen from the bridge, still contains water but appears more like a pond than a creek. Last week Karl spotted a large alligator, Great Blue Heron, and Anhinga together in that small area. Rains this past week may cause the creek to refill somewhat. We will see.

The long range forecast calls for a chance of rain on Saturday, though that will likely change between now and then. In the event of rain, we stay inside for a presentation and discussion of nature photography.

Some recent photographs from Brooker Creek Preserve, Tarpon Springs, FL:

Water Snake sunning itself

Summer Tanager and Blurred Photographs

Photography changes as all art forms change. Once “tack sharp” and only tack sharp meant an acceptable photograph. Now, blurring as an indication of motion or movement attracts a lot of attention, and acceptability.

The rules seem simple: everything except the item in motion remains sharp. This shows the viewer that you are not passing off a shaky photography or mistake as something you meant to do.

I found I need to add another rule. Shallow depth of field can throw the background out of focus in order to concentrate attention on the subject. When combined with the blur of the figure in motion, it appears jarring to me.

I photographed this Summer Tanager sitting in the tree, and kept the lens on him as he took off. I would have really had something if the pine needles had not been in the background. The tree itself is sharp, but that background has to go. Back to the drawing board! 

Alligators and Some Effects of the Drought

As I mentioned in other postings, west central Florida experienced dry conditions starting in October and continuing for a while, at least according to the ten day weather forecast. These conditions mean wildfires. The Anclote fire in nearby Starkey Park caused several mornings of haze and a smoky smell here at home.

At Brooker Creek Preserve it means that several of the wetlands are now dry, or perhaps mucky, but not wet. Salvinia, a floating fern and invasive species, covers most of the water that remains. It also means that wildlife dependent upon water concentrate in those areas with water, or travel from one water hole to another.

From the bridge over the main channel, the large alligator first seen a few weeks ago sleeps peacefully in full view, and shows no sign of leaving. Our hike, actually a large training hike, apparently disturbed him at some point as he slowly turned and re-entered the water. Another hiker had seen a smaller alligator walking along the water further up the creek, so perhaps that moved the larger one. He swam around to make sure everyone knew his territory.

The photographs show the alligator, but also the covering of salvania on the water and on the alligator.

Nesting Mourning Doves, and the Value of Telephoto

While on a recent hike we stopped to find a bird singing loudly in the distance. We guessed a Carolina Wren as the source, but the song varied so much we wanted to confirm. Sure enough, it came close enough to see through the binoculars, though far more challenging to find through the camera lens.

As I attempted the shot, I heard the clear call of a Morning Dove behind me. I turned around, and with my binoculars found the source. A pair of doves built a nest just off the trail, and not too far up the tree. I immediately backed off since the one dove clearly sat on eggs, or even young, I couldn’t be sure. The other dove, the one who called, flew to the nest and both watched me.

Using the telephoto lens at the full 400mm, I took several quick shots. I pointed out the birds and nest to my hiking companions, and after a look from a respectful distance we moved on. Without a long telephoto lens, I would not have taken this shot. It would have required getting too close to the nest, and risk the birds flying away.  We are naturalists in addition to photographers, and know the risks of spooking a bird away from the nest. No shot is worth that.

We took our master naturalist training through Sensing Nature, Jeanne Murphy and Brian Lane. They stressed during our courses the respect of nature and our responsibility not to disrupt it. Unfortunately, we meet many birders to whom the sighting or photograph takes precedence over the animal itself, to the point of disrupting it or playing calls of their predators to spook the bird into sight. We are glad we took our training from people who believe as we do and teach that belief.