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:

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

    Greetings, Joop

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  2. 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

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  3. Wonderful photos Julie, always amazing to see :)
    dan

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  4. 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!

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  5. Wonderful bird shots, with amazing sharpness and colors.

    Well done!

    Greetz,

    Remco

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

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  7. 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! ^_^

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  8. Wonderful series of great pictures !

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

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


    Groetjes Tinie

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

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

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  13. 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

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

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

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

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  17. 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

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

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

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

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

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  22. 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 :-)

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  23. 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

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  24. 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:)

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

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

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  27. 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!!

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  28. 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

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  29. Um excelente ano novo com muita saúde. Bj

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  30. 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.

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

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  32. 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.

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

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

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  35. 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!

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  36. 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!

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  37. 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

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

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  39. The Great Egret and Belted Kingfisher are stunning.

    Love them both!

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