Feb. 6, 2022 - Birds in Flight - Part 2

Here’s a second set of “birds in flight” from our December 2021 trip to Sanibel Island, FL.

Brown Pelicans are very common in Florida today. It’s hard to believe they almost disappeared from North America between the late 1950s and the early 1970s. A pesticide called endrin was killing them directly. Also, eating fish contaminated with DDT made the Pelicans’ eggshells so thin that they broke when the adults sat on them. A ban on DDT in 1970 and decreased use of endrin in the 1970s saved the Brown Pelican.

PelicanBrownadultflightLighthouseBeachSanibelIsland20211214

This photo illustrates the importance of light when photographing birds. The dark sky in the background, combined with the warm light from the setting sun shining on the bird, gives this photo a very different look from the previous one.

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An even different light situation is shown by this Pelican silhouetted against the setting sun.

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The most common tern on Sanibel is the Forster’s Tern.

TernForster'sflightShalimarbeachSanibelIsland20211204

Royal Terns are also quite common on Sanibel Island.

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This Royal Tern is about to land near a mixed flock of gulls. I like capturing the wide-spread tail feathers that help slow the bird down as it comes in for a landing.

TernRoyalflightBowman'sBeachSanibelIsland20211210

This Sandwich Tern is also coming in for a landing. Notice the dark beak with its yellow tip.

TernSandwichflightBowman'sBeachSanibelIsland20211210

Here’s a Laughing Gull that is about to touch the ground.

GullLaughingflightBowman'sBeachSanibelIsland20211210

Ruddy Turnstones are small shorebirds, and they are fast flyers. That’s why I was pleased to get a decent flight shot of this one.

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The day I went to Corkscrew Swamp, I took a side trip to Lake Trafford Park in Immokalee, Florida. There were two Limpkins chasing each other around, and I managed to photograph one of them in flight.

LimpkinflightLakeTraffordParkImmokalee20211208

Willets are gray, drab looking birds when they are on the ground. But when they fly, the black and white pattern of their wing feathers is dramatic. I’ve been trying to get a photo like this for years.

WilletflightLighthouseBeachSanibelIsland20211214