Costa Rican Humming Birds and Frogs

Humming Birds of Costa Rica

My very first hummingbird photo in Costa Rica.  This is five separate humming bird photos blended together in Photoshop.

I was familiar with many great nature photos taken in Costa Rica, so I jumped at the chance to go for a couple weeks with a good friend of mine on an organized nature photography workshop.  We photographed endless hummingbirds, frogs, toucans, bats and vultures.  Most of it in a torrent of daily rainstorms.  Thank goodness we went in the dry season.

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Kenya is for the Birds

King fisher

The Giant Kingfisher of Kenya.  I was just as surprised as this poor fish.  Yes, he eventually swallowed the fish whole.

Kenya is for the Birds

From the ugly marabou stork and the very gross hornbills to the beautiful weavers and shiny Guineafowls, Kenya has quite the variety of birds.  Taking advantage of my camera which will take up to 20 frames a second, these bird photos will often be shown here as a series of photos.  To not lose my audience too quickly, I’ll start off with the attractive African weaver birds before getting into the ugly and gross.

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New Zealand, South Island

Roadside river along road to Milford Sound

The North Island is separated from the South Island of New Zealand by a three hour ferry ride.  Commercial trucks, motorcycles, caravans and pedestrians all pile in for the ship.  Ferry rides are always exciting, but we have some trepidation as we know we still have a five hour drive once we arrive in Picton at 3:00pm. Continue reading

Bosque del Apache, New Mexico

Bosque del Apache Red Sunset

Bosque del Apache is over 55,000 acres of managed lands for the benefit of migratory birds.  Through a network of dams and canals, fields are flooded providing a rest stop and food for tens of thousands of snow geese and sandhill cranes.
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Birds & Critters of Key West

Jungle-Iguana-20141030-_ALL7282Driving along the highway and bridges into the Florida Keys, we saw a mess of iguanas.  By the way, a ‘mess’ is the official name for a group of iguanas.  These are not native to Florida and were originally pets turned loose when they got too large and their biting personality became more apparent.  This iguana is fairly brown but some were St Patrick’s Day green.  When I parked and walked back to the ‘mess’ of iguanas, just seeing me from a distance would cause them to scatter, very skittish.  Loud trucks and cars passing nearby were not a concern as that goes on all day, but a tall gray-haired guy with a camera would send them running for the bushes.
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California Condor

Representing the California Condors, here is #83!

A Face Only a Mother could Love

A Face Only a Mother could Love

Sing it HIGH

Sing it HIGH

Sing it LOW

Sing it LOW

On the Navajo Bridge, near Lees Ferry in Arizona a couple of California Condors were seen resting on the bridge structure.  This one was number 83.  Each wing, top and bottom have a large number 83 banner attached.  On the bird’s right wing, you can see the antenna of a radio transmitter.  While the head is fairly ugly, it is certainly colorful.  Representing the fighting California Condors, here is #83!