Category: Birds

Birds In Our Midst Part II

8/6/2022

Bird photographers have the patience to sit behind a tree blind for hours waiting for the bird to appear. To the contrary, when I see a bird, I raise my camera to shoot and I get a photo of a bird flying away.

“Backcountry Osprey” - Carol Ellis Photo Osprey with Ladyfish catch in flight.

One winter, when the birds are plentiful, I hired a guide to tour the Florida Keys Backcountry on his flats boat. The guide was skilled in finding birds, the only problem, the 500 horsepower announcement of our arrival, caused the birds to fly, which then resulted in a high speed pursuit from my perch in front of the center console, firing 10 continuous frames per second with my camera. A guide's reputation is only as good as the fish they catch, or in this case, birds that are sighted. We return to the dock with bird images captured, albeit flying away. Looking back at the experience, it is quite disturbing, for me to have disrupted the birds for the sake of a photo. The only consolation is, unlike James Audubon's artwork, I didn't have to kill the bird, in order to paint it.

“White Pelican takes Flight” - Carol Ellis Photo White Pelican takes flight in Everglades waters.

During July 2020, we're just emerging from Covid lockdown, and I get a call asking for help. My caller states he's undergoing cancer treatments and needs to focus on his camera to relieve some of his pain, and to feel productive. He wants to make a journal, and illustrate it with his photographs.

At our first meeting, I thought I was there to solve some technical problem with the computer and the camera. By the third session with Joe the C.E.O. (I always promised to keep his identity confidential), I realized I was his teacher, and guiding light in this journey, which had no certain end.

Joe was used to worldwide hunting excursions, and had impressive shots from those trips. But now with cancer, his travel was limited to what he could capture in his backyard. Fortunately for Joe, his backyard bordered on a wildlife refuge. where he was documenting the American Crocodile in the mangrove lined creek behind his house.

Joe thinks the photos are not turning out so well. On first inspection, let's say his photos were extremely artsy. There was a little motion blur, camera blur, and a few photo filters added for good measure. Joe thought perhaps it's his camera. I viewed it as the challenges of low light photography, and just trying to make something good out of what he’s captured.

I shared with him my recent experience involving my health, and how it affected my confidence and balance. I learned by attaching a mono-pod to my camera, my pictures would remain clear and in focus. I lent him my so called “photographer’s cane”, thinking perhaps his cancer treatments had affected his steadiness.

“Red Shouldered Hawk” - Carol Ellis Photo Red Shoulder Hawk, a year round resident, overseeing from a native hardwood tree. It’s main conservation threat is deforestation

Immediately his photos improved. He went on to photograph with extreme competency an amazing array of species from his lanai, including Bald Eagle, Osprey, Crocodile, Heron, Egret, Red Shouldered Hawk, Red Cardinal, and Iguana. The images were compiled into a coffee table book, prefaced with Joe’s words, and then he put the camera away. Yes, away. Project complete. On time and a little over budget.

Fast forward to Spring 2021, not too far from Joe's lanai, in a small pool of water next to a bridge, I encountered a diverse group of wading birds, just hanging out. A rare sight, I had to give it a shot, so I set up my tripod and Hasselblad medium format camera. So far so good, it is quiet, the birds are unfazed by my presence behind the cover of a green buttonwood branch. The resulting sepia tinted photograph I call the "Breakfast Club” and features our winter wading and shoreline bird visitors including Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret, White Ibis, and Great White Heron.

“Breakfast Club” - Carol Ellis Photo Sepia-tinted photograph of shoreline and wading birds congregating in a North Key Largo pond.

Seeing these birds congregating within a residential community was a special experience. In 2020, scientists captured ten adult Roseate Spoonbills nesting in Florida Bay and attached cellular tracking devices so they could learn about their nesting and foraging habits. They’ve found the birds are using more ponds inside bay keys than the mangrove wetlands on the mainland that they historically preferred. Audubon incorporates trail cameras to monitor nesting success. The photos taken by the cameras are able to capture truly candid images of every movement these birds make. I cannot wait to learn more and hopefully see more birds in the future.

Joe passed this year. I miss him, however his memory lives on, whenever I sight birds in our midst.

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Birds in our Midst Part I

8/6/2022

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There are the visible and the invisible birds. There are the ever-present seagulls perching on channel markers, that follow a the boat’s wake, or swoop down on outdoor diners as they jockey for crumbs. Hungry pelicans float beside fish cleaning stations in eager anticipation of the scraps from returning anglers. Noisy red-bellied woodpeckers tap tap tap-ing on tree bark in search of small bugs that constitute their diet. The bright red male cardinal and mate, sporting a slightly duller flock of feathers, flit through the shrubs. The noisy grackles taunt the indoor cats through the screen enclosure, and consistently poop in the rain gauge. The mockingbird, Florida's state bird, and the mourning doves, with their coo-coo-cooing, are all familiar sights and sounds… living in our midst.

“Dockside Pelicans” - Carol Ellis Photo Brown Pelicans awaiting fish cleaning scraps.

We find these birds not just in nature, also in our neighborhoods. The tall white egret named “sam” or “george” whose regular circuit of sea walls, docks and neighborhood parks have earned him notoriety. Same too, the white ibis, are at home on the tidal mud-flats, but also show up on our front lawns and green spaces, probing the grass with their long beaks for whatever hidden treats lie in the soil. Immature ibis are brown with a white belly. Like an ibis flock seen at a crosswalk, some are well adapted to asphalt, as are the roosters and hens in the Tradewinds parking lot. We don’t have to search them out… they are in our midst.

“Ibis in a Crosswalk” - Carol Ellis Photo Flock of Ibis in a crosswalk.

In the northern end of the Keys, at the entrance to our island chain, lies the unique tropical habitat of the Upper Keys. Starting at the Circle K / mm 106, and extending 10 miles to the north is a two lane thoroughfare with bicycle path, called CR-905 or Card Sound Road. On each side is preservation land, I fondly refer to as the "hedge." On the west side of the road is Federal land, known as Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, on the east side of CR-905 is State preservation land, Key Largo Hammocks State Botanical site. Ever wonder what is behind that hedge? Fifty years ago it was all platted for development. There was a monster development planned called “Port Bougainville” just a mile north of the circle K, oceanside. Environmentalists and concerned folks, most notably conservationist Dagny Johnson fought for its protection. The goal of the acquisition was to connect parcels of nature, into one contiguous uninterrupted habitat. This preserved land contains an impressive collection of mature hammock, as well as recovering habitat, formally scarified and slated for development. The park entrance is designated by an arch left from the former “Port B” development, and portions are open to the public for passive recreational use such as walking and observing nature.

One recent Sunday morning I met up with a group of naturalists at the entrance to “Port B”. They had cameras, and binoculars, smelled of “Keys Cologne” mosquito repellant, and were covered up with long sleeves, long pants and hats with mosquito netting. For the next hour or so, we ambled through the "Port B”. The slightest movement in the brush would cause us to stop in strict attention. Our Upper Keys habitat contains a rich diversity of native plants, found only here in North America and add to that the migrating species who feed and rest here on their journeys North and South. The depth of the naturalists observations made me realize, "where have I been?" Though I understand the importance of native habitat for sustenance of wildlife, and can recite facts from my reading, this was nature LIVE!

“Cape May Warbler” - Carol Ellis Photo Cape May Warbler in a Jamaican Dogwood tree in bloom.

While learning about the plants and wildlife, the camera is a great tool for making positive identification. There is an app called iNaturalist where experts and researchers are quick to provide identification of plants and wildlife, simply from a photo and location provided from your phone.

After an hour or so ambling through the "Port B", we opted to head south under the power lines next to the road. The sound of any songbirds were drowned out by the noise from the backed up line of cars trying to access US1. We pass a few littered sites, including old toilets, construction and household debris chucked into the woods. Flashback to what Card Sound Road used to look like pre-cleanup and park acquisition. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at (another kind of bird) Buzzards Roost, talked about the morning’s discoveries, and shared photo successes. A wonderful meal and a park adventure, fresh air, and exercise provided me with a total reset.

Nature, it was what attracted me to the Keys in the first place, and yes though it is forever changing and becoming “less rustic”, we must share with all our visitors and friends the importance of preservation of nature, not only to sustain wildlife, but also for our quality of life.

Carol Ellis has lived in South Florida her entire life and Key Largo for 37 years. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of Florida and is the resident photographer/artist at Ocean Reef Club.

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Birds In Our Midst Part II

Birds in our Midst Part I

CAROL ELLIS

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