June 27, 2010 - Workshop Photos

At the photography workshop I attended near Vero Beach, Florida, we spent a lot of time at Blue Cypress Lake. Red-shouldered Hawks were pretty common there. This one was calling to its mate. This photo shows you the “red shoulder” after which it is named.

HawkRedshoulderedBlueCypressLake20100524

We discovered this Short-tailed Hawk soaring with the Turkey Vultures. These hawks are common in Mexico, Central and South America. In the United States they are occasionally seen in southern Texas and there is a small population (maybe 500) in Florida. Because they are so uncommon, we felt very fortunate to see this crow-sized hawk. They hunt by soaring quite high in the air and then swooping down to capture large insects, small birds, and lizards from the tree tops.

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Blue Cypress is a fairly large lake with cypress trees like these around the edge. Note the Black Vultures resting at the top of the tallest tree.

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Many of the cypress trees have Spanish moss hanging from their branches. Ospreys use this moss as nest building material.

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The many cone-shaped, woody projections around the base of the cypress trees are called cypress knees. They grow out of the water from the roots of the tree. No one is quite sure what their purpose is. The most likely theory is that they simply provide a stable base for the tree.

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Most of the cypress trees have Osprey nests in them and grow right along the shore of the lake. Some, like this one, were farther out in the lake. Because it is standing off by itself, this tree provides a well-protected place to raise an Osprey family.

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Yes, there were alligators in the lake. Here’s one gliding silently through the reflection of a cypress tree.

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