Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Birds of the Suncoast


This blog post features many stunning birds seen on a recent visit to Longboat Key, Florida.


A beautiful juvenile Roseate Spoonbill searches for food amid a patch of water hyacinth


Perched on a dead limb, a regal Osprey scans Sarasota Bay


The dusky midnight blue plumage of an adult Little Blue Heron


Seeking prey in the pond ~ Juvenile Little Blue Heron


A prehistoric-looking Wood Stork soars aloft


A long-necked Anhinga dries its feathers in the sun


A handsome Red-shouldered Hawk scans the area for food


Fishing in the shallows ~ Great Egret


A striking Great Blue Heron snares an unfortunate fish


A juvenile White Ibis settles into the mangroves


Preening amongst the lush green leaves ~ Brown Pelican


A female Belted Kingfisher rests on a bare branch


46 comments:

Joop Zand said...

Wonderful birds and pictures..... nice work Julie.

Greetings, Joop

Marco Luijken said...

Hey Julie!!
Nice to see some shots of you again.
It's always enjoyment to see your fantastic results. These shots are all so great and special to see. So nice the regal Osprey and the fishing heron. But your last shot of the Kingfisher is the best, so beautiful!!!!
It's really amazing how you captured them so well.

Thanks for your very faithful visits and comments on my blog, that's so very sweet of you!!

Many greetings and have a merry christmas,
Marco

Dan Huber said...

Wonderful photos Julie, always amazing to see :)
dan

Kerri Farley said...

Oh Julie ..... another series of breathtaking images! You always get them in the BEST poses - particularly that preening Pelican! And that kingfisher ...... just makes my heart sing!

RVDaalen said...

Wonderful bird shots, with amazing sharpness and colors.

Well done!

Greetz,

Remco

Maria said...

What variety! I especially like the flying wood stork, the Roseate Spoonbill, and the Osprey.

PoetessWug said...

How wonderful!! :-] It reminded me of a few things: It's been a while since I've been fishing...I really miss the sunshine...I need a new mirror...and a comb this morning! ^_^

Isidro Ortiz said...

Excelentes capturas.Saludos

Lasse said...

Wonderful series of great pictures !

TexWisGirl said...

your shots are spectacular, julie! this whole set is awesome! you put my lousy attempts to shame!

Tinie said...

What a beautiful pictures and so many different kinds. Very nice to see, my compliments.


Groetjes Tinie

Laurence Butler said...

Sweet stuff Julie! What a spread!

Mia McPherson said...

These are lovely Julie!

Bets said...

Hello Julie
A lot of great pictures, very nice.
Greetings Bets

KaHolly said...

Julie, your pictures are exquisite. It's difficult to choose a favorite one!! Thanks so much for sharing.

Digi-Irma said...

Hi Julie, nice to put some pictures of you to see.
You make really great bird photos.
My favorite of this blog, photo 2, photo 12 5 and, amazingly well photographed.
Have a nice day, Irma

Bob Bushell said...

Brilliant work Julie, who says " No one captures close-ups like you do!"

Bas. said...

wat een heerlijke vogelserie laat je hier zien wat genieten is dit.

de schoonheid van de natuur said...

erg mooie foto's zijn het.
groetjes Herman.

Jim Braswell said...

Great post, Julie!

Ruth Hiebert said...

This is a fantastic set of images. The only thing better would be to see all these birds myself. Thanks for sharing these.

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Julie,
What a nice gift for viewing those incredible photos at the end of autumn. Indeed, those Wood Stork do look prehistoric. We did see them first at the Lake in Lakeland, Florida. Very interesting.
Enjoy the last week of Advent and may you have a Merry Christmas with fond memories of those that are no longer with us...
Hugs,
Mariette

Laura Delegal - Leroy Photography said...

Those are wonderful. I've never seen so many different birds in one place.

Debbie said...

I would have wet my pants!! What beautiful birds in gorgeous natural settings!

Anonymous said...

The kingfisher looks very regal sitting on its perch. Looking forward to birding in Florida soon.
Regards.

eileeninmd said...

Julie, awesome birds and photos. ONE of my favorites is of the wood stork in flight. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

ShySongbird said...

A beautiful set of photos Julie! They are all such impressive looking birds and I always love to see herons, they are one of my favourite birds. The little Belted Kingfisher is so attractive too.

I wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful 2013 :-)

John's Island said...

Hi Julie, Another amazing series of photos and they are all wonderful. You know my wife and I have been walking 3 miles daily since mid July around Green Lake in Seattle. Seeing the nature around the lake is one of the parts I really love. We have a few herons on the lake, I'm not really sure exactly how many, but at least 4. I'm always trying to get good shots of the heron but it is so challenging. The bottom line is that it makes me appreciate all the more your wonderful photography. Your birding photos are just simply wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing. John

Tammy said...

Hi Julie, you have done the Florida birds proud! You have so beautifully captured a great variety of my favorite birds! The Wood Stork in-flight is incredible! The Belted Kingfisher is awesome too; they are so difficult to capture! I hope you have a wonderful holiday:)

Rosemary Aubut said...

Wow what a visit! Gorgeous photos! Love them all but especially the last photo!

Catherine said...

So many wonderful looking birds! I like the orange on the Kingfisher ~ pretty!
xo Catherine

Manuel Luis said...

Um dia após outro dia mais um dia e outro beijo para alimentar esse teu dia. Um sorriso para uma estrela e um abraço que era meu e agora pertence-te.
Boas festas!!

MoiCLouLou said...

Hello Julie,
Sorry for the late comment. As always, you did a fantastic job with your pictures.

I really love all of them because they are stunning!
Great compostitions and great shots!

A great series!
Thanks for sharing,
Louise

Manuel Luis said...

Um excelente ano novo com muita saúde. Bj

Jann said...

Wonderful photos as usual, Julie! I'm jealous of the kingfisher shot; wonder if I'll ever be able to get a shot myself! I've seen plenty but....this post makes me want to travel on over to the west FL coast to do some serious birding. Not seeing much here on the central east coast but then I don't get out much and am still new to the area.

Anonymous said...

Another great set of images. The mirroring of the Great Ggret is very nice and of course the capture of the Great Blue!

JRandSue said...

Happy New Year Julie.
John.

Giancarlo said...

Ti auguro un 2013 che inizi bene, prosegua come desideri e che termini con grandi soddisfazioni.

Ti auguro di camminare su una strada chiamata vita, di inciampare in una pozza chiamata fortuna, di cadere in un abisso chiamato felicità.

Ti auguro un amore sincero accanto a te che sappia comprenderti e guardarti nel cuore con amore
per ciò che sei.

forgetmenot said...

Julie-wonderful series of photos. Your "captures" are always spectacular. Happy New Year-hope it is filled with joy, peace, and many blessings. Mickie :)

Didier 85 said...

Merci pour cette superbe série !!!
J'adore....

Gunnar Hustad said...

Nice birds - beautiful pictures!

Rohrerbot said...

You're right!!! These are all spectacular birds. Nice shots of them. Absolutely love birding....and Florida is definitely on my list:) So many wonderful birds out there!

CabinGirl said...

Finally catching up on my reading and I really enjoyed these photos, Julie. Longboat Key is so gorgeous - I could feel the sun and hear the birds just looking at your beautiful images. Thanks for giving me a mental vacation!

stardust said...

Julie, whenever I visit your blog, I sigh in admiration how wonderful nature is and how your photography is exquisite. You wonderfully captured the special moment of each bird. Wish you a happy, healthy, and creative year with lots of smiles.

Yoko

cindyzlogic said...

Lots of gorgeous birds and images, Julie!! My favorite is the Kingfisher :-))

Dan said...

The Great Egret and Belted Kingfisher are stunning.

Love them both!