In part 2 of Sparky’s Florida Bird Adventure he travels from Jupiter to Miami and inland to find some amazing birds in interesting locations:

Jonathon Dickinson State Park—Florida Scrub Jays, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Nuthatches.

J.W. Corbett WMA—Bachman’s Sparrow, Swallow-tailed Kite family, 

Grassy Waters Preserve—a very close Snail Kite catching 3 apple snails

Vista View Park—17 Burrowing Owls!

Sparky also shares his best butterfly and reptile finds of the trip.

—South Florida bird photography Part 1—Nearly eaten by Croc!

In Part 1 of Sparky’s Florida birding adventure, he takes his Canon R5 and Canon 100-500mm lens to South Florida…IN SUMMER!

Birding and bird photography stops in the South Miami, the Keys, and the Everglades include:

Brewer Park-Miami (parrot roost-Red Masked Parakeet, Chestnut-fronted Macaw)

Black Point Park & Marina (Mangrove Cuckoo, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Common Myna)

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park-Key Largo (Magnificent Frigatebird)

Big Pine Key (White-crowned Pigeon, Key Deer, Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo)

Fort Zachary Taylor S.P.-Key West (Roseate Tern, Least Tern, Sandwich Tern, Great White Heron, Common Ground Dove)

Key West Botanical Gardens (Magnificent Frigatebird)

Flamingo Boat Launch-Everglades National Park (American Crocodile, West Indian Manatee)

Part 2 will cover Florida from Miami up to Jupiter and inland to Johnathon Dickenson State Park and more.

Churchill Manitoba on Hudson Bay is a premiere destination for bird photography and birding. It is one of the most accessible tundra habitats in North America. Home to Arctic Hare, Willow Ptarmigan, Short-billed Dowitcher, Tundra Swan, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Nelson’s Sparrow, Common Redpoll, Common Eider, Pacific Loon, Red-throated Loon, Hudsonian Godwit, Beluga Whale, Harbor Seal and more.

Cape Merry is an awesome spot to watch the hundreds of Beluga Whales feast on Capelin fish in the Churchill River. Many Red-throated Loons are flying by at eye level!

In part 2 of my June 2022 trip, I take you along on a birding and bird photography trip; Halfway Point, Fox Drive, Twin Lakes Road, Goose Creek Road, Coast Road. We also do some bushwhacking out on the wet tundra looking for birds and nests.

I get a little too close (accidentally) to a Parasitic Jaeger nest. I also takes you along on a zodiac tour of the Churchill River with James of Sea North where we get up close and personal with dozens of Beluga Whales.

(Yes, this was June of 2022…and it has taken me 10 months to finish this part 2 video!)

Birding and bird photography in South Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley part 3. Highlights include Aplomado Falcon along Old Port Isabel Road, Red-crowned Parrot pair in Sabal Palm Sanctuary, nine species of wading birds along the boardwalk at South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. Sparky also visits Laguna Atacosa National Wildlife Refuge and SpaceX along Boca Chica Road. Sparky gets video of a spastically hunting Reddish Egret, White-tailed Hawk, White-tailed Kite, Clay-colored Thrush, Green Jays and Altamira Oriole. January 2023.

And he goes down memory lane to his rarest mammal sighting ever!

It’s been quite a winter here in northeastern Minnesota; tons of snow and long! How does Sparky keep his “photographic sanity”? A series of inspirational books saves the day and motivates Sparky to try some “out of the box” bird photography ideas. The books are the annually-published Bird Photographer of the Year compilations, and the creative images between the covers are truly amazing. 

So on two days in March Sparky tries some free-form creative bird photography…one session with Wild Turkeys in his backyard, and another shoot with Mallards in an unfrozen pond.

Did he succeed? Or was the whole thing an epic fail?

http://www.thephotonaturalist.com

http://www.sparkyphotos.com

Laguna Seca Ranch in south Texas is a unique bird photography destination. For a $280 fee I had a personal guide and use of three different photo blinds. …One for raptors including Crested Caracara, Harris’s Hawks, Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures.The songbird blinds produced goodies like Green Jays, Long-billed and Curve-billed Thrashers, Pyrrhuloxia, Bobwhite, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Lesser Goldfinches, Black-crested Titmouse, and Olive Sparrow. A javelina even wanders by!

Snow Blind—Making a Photo Blind / Photo Hide out of snow for bird photography.

Sparky and Ryan put ancient skills to a modern use…A quinzhee is a type of snow shelter used by the Ojibwa in the North Woods and it is a perfect shelter for hiding the photographer.

Sparky’s kids also put in a cameo!

2011, 2013, 2023

More at http://www.thephotonaturalist.com

Photo Galleries at http://www.sparkyphotos.com

Part 1—Sparky’s Texas Bird Adventure

Leaving snowy Minnesota behind Sparky returns to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas for some birding and bird photography. 

I explore Estero Llano Grande & Bentsen state parks and find some great stuff including roosting Pauraques, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Tropical Kingbird (what a great name!), Red-crowned Parrots, Gray Hawk, White-tipped Doves, Hook-billed Kite, Least Grebe, White-faced Ibis, Cinnamon Teal

It has been 35 YEARS since my first trip here and 15 years since my last visit, and I share some memories from 2008 when Ryan Marshik and I participated in the Valley Land Fund photo contest. 

One of my goals is to add species to my “Photographed List,” which stands at 525 species for the ABA area (north of Mexico in North America). In this episode I add 4 new species and improve on my photos for 8 more species. I don’t find the Social Flycatcher so I do not add any Lifers to my ABA birding list.

Stay tuned for Part 2 when I rent out an entire Texas ranch for bird photography!

February 2023: Sparky makes a quick birding/bird photography trip out to “Minnesota’s tundra” of Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge and Polk County. Is there anything to be found out here at Minus-40F? YES! Snowy Owls, Greater Prairie Chickens, Snow Buntings, Gray Partridge, basking Red Fox and more! Sparky even makes a visit to Key West…but he finds NO beaches…NO bikinis…NO bars or beers.

Is it possible to get into the heart of a Western Grebe colony and witness the amazing and complex courtship of these water birds? It certainly is….if you use a floating blind/floating hide. In this episode of Shooting with Sparky he and Ryan take you out to central North Dakota’s prairie pothole region where spring bird courtship was in full swing! Western Grebes were the star of the show, performing their courtship rituals right in front of us including the “weed-dance,” “dip-shaking,” and of course, “rushing.”

Bird photography/Bird video from a floating blind is not an easy thing…but the Canon R5 makes it MUCH more possible. The animal-eye tracking works wonderfully when shooting at water level.

Other birds encountered included Eared Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, courting Forster’s Terns, American Avocets, Dunlin, and we visit an old friend at their nest, the Ferruginous Hawk.

http://www.thephotonaturalist.com

http://www.sparkyphotos.com