It’s been a while, but I finally got to venture out with my camera this morning. There’s been such photographic excitement from Orlando Wetlands this spring, with the baby Spoonbills, baby Sandhill Cranes, and now the baby Barred Owls. I decided to take my 100-500 and just walk around to get some exercise and enjoy the show. Of course, now I want to go back with my 600mm, tripod, and teleconverter!

I started out looking for the owls but came across a nice pair of volunteers reminding me of the Falcon 9 rocket launch in a few minutes. Orlando Wetland is not too far from the Space Coast, and I stopped to enjoy the show. The sun was still very bright in the eastern sky, so I ended up photographing the rocket and the landscape separately, then stitching them together in Lightroom.

The volunteers were super friendly and pointed out details I would not have noticed. We watched the rocket ascend, and you could see the burst of flames at the second-stage cutoff. A few minutes later, we heard this distant rumbling noise that was the noise of the engines – light travels faster than sound, remember!?

After that, we started to feel a faint vibration in the ground. The alligators were especially sensitive to it. All around the wetlands, they started to bellow. I was glad to have the volunteers explaining this part because I’m not exactly a fan of over-excited gators! Then we heard the sonic boom as the booster landed. Pretty cool!

I continued on my walk, pausing to say hello to the Anhinga in spiffy breeding colors. He stared at me and asked if I know a good barber (hi Noelle!)

As I made my way back to Alligator Alley, I noticed a few Cattle Egrets in breeding colors doing regular fly-bys. They’d go to this one tree with lots of dead branches, then wrestle with the twigs until they broke off a good stick. Then they’d fly back to this island where there was a small nesting colony. Fun repetitive behaviors like this make for great flight shot opportunities…

Then I found the current celebrities, a pair of Barred Owlets that have recently emerged from their nest in the trunk of a tree. They have started branching. When I got there, they were mostly sleeping! One owlet was more cooperative when it came to looking at the camera. The light wasn’t great, but hey, sometimes you need inspiration for your next visit. I can’t wait to try my 600mm Beast with these adorable little guys.

There were Purple Gallinules all over the wetlands. I love their bright iridescent colors. Then I came across some gallinules that were fighting each other. They face each other in the water, lean back with their legs pointed at their opponent, and splash/kick each other to settle territory disputes. It’s never quite clear who the winner is but the action is always fun!

As I headed back to my car, I found the other local celebrities – a Sandhill Crane family with two colts. I think the colts are around three weeks old now. They were just out for a stroll down the wetlands trail. Periodically they would stop to offer a nice bug to the babies.

They walked very quickly, and I kept walking ahead trying to stay on the good side of the light. After a while I just stopped and watched. There’s something so amazing and precious to just be in Nature sometimes. :)

So hopefully I can get out again soon, and until then – Happy Spring!