Saturday, November 24, 2012

Sunrise over Yachts

Sunrise at the Cape Coral Yacht Club. More popular for it's sunsets, the CCYC has great sunrises too.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Osprey with Catch


osprey with catch, originally uploaded by BerksAwhile - Mike Roush Photography.

Bunche Beach on San Carlos Bay is a great escape for both nature and sun lovers. 

This osprey grabbed a mullet, flew right in front of me and the sunset, then perched in a tree nearby and ate it. 

The narrow almost secluded beach still has old weathered mangrove stumps that adds to its uniqueness. 



Sunrise on River

This is one of my favorite canal views in Cape Coral off of Del Prado Blvd looking east to the river.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Babcock / Webb - Webb Lake

Just east of Punta Gorda, FL is the 65,000 acre Babcock / Webb Wildlife Management Area.

This multi-use area is one of my favorite for wildlife viewing. Besides sightings of alligators, I've seen an armadillo, deer, herons and a pair of sandhill cranes. The colors of the panoramas in the late afternoon are breath taking.

Bald Eagle - Cape Coral

Lee County Florida, including Cape Coral, is the nesting haven for around 50 nests.

Considering that Eagles reuse their nests for multiple years, I went back to the same nest where I saw a nesting pair last year and got lucky that the raptor was on watch duty.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Cape Coral Yacht Club Sunset

One of the best looking sunsets I've seen in years magically emerged from a windy, cloudy and unimpressive afternoon.

The normal hot spot around sunset, the Yacht Club was almost empty when I arrived as the ball was dropping. Most weren't impressed enough and left minutes after. I saw a hint of color in the clouds so I waited around just in case there might be an after show.

As veteran sunset watchers know, the best part of the light show may come after the sun drops below the horizon. As was the case this night where it took 8 minutes from sundown to reach this point. The colors lasted only another 6 minutes before fading into the blue hour.

Six Mile Cypress Slough

The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is usually the first nature spot I go to when visiting Florida. A 1.5 mile boardwalk through four ecosystems offers so much natural beauty to experience.

The lush flora is habitat for all kinds of animals. Plenty of reptiles like alligators, snakes and turtles reside near the wet areas. The large lake is a good viewing area for alligators, big turtles, nesting herons, and egrets. Small ponds are active year round but especially in the dry season when standing water is scarce.

I've never visited the preserve with this much water so the cypress swamps were rich with color and reflections.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Bald Eagle of Conowingo MD

In November and December the migrating Bald Eagles stop over at Conowingo Hydro Electric Dam for some fish gorging.

The array of spectators range from very serious nature photographers with $10,000 of gear to simply Bald Eagle fans with a $20 set of binoculars.

Patience and luck can be rewarding for the acrobatic Eagles hunt, eat, fight and soar sometimes within feet from the shore and their fans.

The Facebook page on the subject offers great tips and photography for a day out to the dam.