North American River Otter

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

One morning, while in Florida in December, I went to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park hoping to see and photograph the North American River Otter that I had briefly seen the day before. Shortly after arriving at the same location on Lake Wauburg, the otter appeared right in front of me and seemed to be checking me out. My camera and I were prepared, but very surprised to see the otter so quickly after arriving and so close.

An adult North American River Otter can weigh as much as 30 pounds. They are protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur. Fish is a favored food, but they also consume amphibians, turtles, and crayfish. This otter was after fish that morning and proceeded to hunt and catch fish, several fish, while I watched and photographed.

Each time the otter caught a fish, it would swim along the shoreline to an opening in the reeds along the bank. It would then leave the water and casually walk into the reeds where it would disappear for several minutes. It would then reappear, return to the water and hunt for another fish.

Above, the otter is leaving the water with a fish and turning into the reeds. Below, the otter is returning to the lake.

I could not believe my luck. The light was very good, the location was excellent and the otter continued hunting and returning to the reeds for about an hour. Most likely, the otter had a den with young otters in the reeds. I saw the otter bring at least 4 fish into the reeds.

When the otter dove under the water, its tail (below) would briefly appear as it propelled the otter through the water.

And to close, one more image where the otter and I were making eye contact, or was it eye to lens contact.

Posted in Wildlife | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Spider Web on Tuscawilla Prairie

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Shortly after sunrise on December 14, 2011, I went to Tuscawilla Prairie Preserve south of Gainesville, Florida, hoping to find wildlife or early morning sunlit landscapes to photograph. After arriving at the preserve, I could hear Sandhill Cranes nearby, but could not see them. The vegetation in the prairie was very tall and mostly shades of brown from the fall and lack of rain. Its height blocked any distance viewing or photography.

As I walked the trail, I noticed a nearly perfect and abandoned spider web that was covered in the morning dew. It was glistening in the morning sunlight, and the dew drops on the web looked like tiny pearls. After setting up my tripod and mounting my camera, I captured that special moment. It was special because the web would be gone shortly and most likely not seen by anyone else. It also was special because I did not see anything else on the trail worth photographing. Regardless, it was a beautiful, cool morning in an unspoiled natural setting that was peaceful, relaxing and refreshing.

Double click on the images to zoom in on the web

Last night, I processed more of my images that I shot in December at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park focusing specifically on a River Otter that was hunting and catching fish, and then bringing them to its nearby den. I was not able to see the den, but I able to photograph the otter as it was working the nearby shoreline. I will be posting an article with those images this weekend.

Posted in Landscape Photographs, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, sunrise | Tagged , | 4 Comments

First Day at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

I visited Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park several times while in Florida in December. One of the best things about the Prairie is that you never know what wildlife you are going to encounter. There are wild bison, horses and hogs, alligators, deer, and numerous species of fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and other mammals, and fabulous landscapes.

Paynes Prairie can be very wet (even flooded) and, at other times, very dry. For the last two years, the Gainesville area has been suffering from a severe drought, and that is where Paynes Prairie is located. When the Prairie’s wetlands are wet, they are teaming with wildlife, but when they are dry, the wildlife is sparse in comparison. However, even when sparse, there is plenty to be seen (and photographed), if one takes the time to look. Over several visits and many hours at the Prairie, I saw and photographed a wide variety of wildlife.

The images in this article were made on my first visit to the Prairie in mid-December and are limited to three exciting moments when I saw and was able to photograph a Northern Harrier (opening image), a Sharp Shinned Hawk and an American Kestrel (both below). As I continue to review and process more images of other birds and wildlife from the Prairie, I will include them in future blog articles.

Below is a Sharp-shinned Hawk perching on top of an old, dead tree stump. These hawks surprise and capture their prey, small birds, while flying quickly through dense vegetation, which can be hazardous to their health. This hawk may have suffered the ruffled breast feathers while chasing its prey. (Click on the images to zoom in closer.)(Double click on the hawk’s eye.)

Below is an American Kestrel. I could have cropped this image down to show more of the Kestrel, but I love the background, its colors and 3D effect, and also like how the background colors compliment those of the Kestrel. And of course, the afternoon sunlight was beautiful on the Armaranth plant where the Kestrel was perched. Kestrels are falcons and are easily identified by their hunting behavior, which is to hover at a height of around 30–60 ft over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects. This Kestrel dove to the ground and then flew up into the Armaranth (without a catch), where it posed for me.

As I was leaving the Prairie, the sun was setting, and after locating an unobstructed view, I stopped to watch and photograph the sunset. This sunset was not one of the spectacular ones, but it was a bit unusual because of openings in the heavy dark clouds that allowed the sun’s golden light to streak down to the ground.

Posted in Bird Photographs, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Sunset | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Sunset Photos from Lake Wauburg, Gainesville, Florida

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

On December 14, 2011, my daughter, JulieAnne and her partner, Ivor, gave me a “guided tour” of Lake Wauburg. Visiting the lake at sunset is becoming a tradition that I love. We did it in December last year. As before, they let me ride up front with my camera and gear, shooting photos as the setting sun’s golden light illuminated the trees and wildlife.

Lake Wauburg is located south of Gainesville and adjacent to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. The lake is mostly undeveloped and, therefore, unspoiled.  It has some amazingly gorgeous sunsets and a lot of wildlife. This year’s trip did not disappoint.

All of the images in this article were from my sunset “cruise” on Lake Wauburg.

Before the sun went down, its golden light transformed the dull winter greens of the above shoreline into an awesome glowing dreamscape. It was an unusual sight, unless you visit the lake often. It is easy to see why JulieAnne and Ivor take me here.

Above a Wood Stork was working the shoreline for food in the golden light.

You can see why I could not take my eyes off the horizon. As I watched and photographed, the colors were changing and intensifying. Above, while JulieAnne and Ivor were readying the ganoe for leaving from the boat ramp on Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, I kept shooting.

Just before leaving the lake, we heard and spotted a couple of Great Horned Owls. It was too dark to photograph them from the ganoe, but I was able to get their profiles against the evening sky, as they looked curiously at us.

I am back home and beginning to review and process the many photographs I made from the Panhandle to the Everglades.  As I make progress, I will upload them to my Website and post additional articles to my blog.

Posted in Bird Photographs, Landscape Photographs, Sunset | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Redheaded Woodpecker

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

I returned to Gainesville this afternoon with a couple photography goals. One was to photograph the Redheaded Woodpeckers at Prairie Creek Preserve. I arrived late in the afternoon, and the sun was in a perfect position lighting up an old dead tree where I saw the woodpeckers two weeks ago. The conditions were perfect, and before long several Redheaded Woodpeckers began flying in the trees around me. One landed on the old dead tree about 50 feet above the ground and began pecking at it. Eventually, the woodpecker pulled an acorn from a hole in the tree, and I was able to capture it with the acorn in its bill.

In the fall, woodpeckers store acorns in dead trees by burying them deep into the tree to prevent them from being eaten by other birds. Below is one of the many images I captured of one of the woodpeckers. I will eventually upload more of these images to my website.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments