Crops & Clips: The Golden Hour

Storms threatened one morning as we walked into our local south Florida birding patch:



Looking towards the west, opposite the rising sun, cloud tops were bright but darkness persisted over the lake:



A full Moon will soon settle opposite the rising sun:



Cloud tops break up the rays:



The rays converge on the western horizon creating the illusion of a second sunrise, with the sinking Moon on an apparent collision course with the virtual Sun:



A Great Egret forages before sunrise. The rays have not yet hit the surface of the lake, and light reflecting from the clouds bathes the scene in gold. Low light provides both a challenge and a reward to the photographer:



Out across the lake the shape of another Great Egret sharply contrasts in the semi-darkness:



A smaller Snowy Egret also stands out:



Shooting into the low sun creates glare which can spoil many an image. The finer plumage details of this Spotted Sandpiper are softened, but the overall effect is nonetheless pleasant:



Sunlight touches the trees at the far end of the wet meadow, but another Great Egret is still in shadow:



Sun rising behind this American Redstart produces a mere silhouette but also illuminates its colorful tail feathers: 



Warm morning light enhances the colors of a Red-shouldered Hawk:



Clouds rise at the dead end of "The Road to Nowhere" at the north end of our patch. Guard rails were placed before construction of the road ceased ten years ago.:



The planned completion date for the road is uncertain, but it will transect the patch and run right along this shoreline:



For now, beauty overcomes progress. The white flowers of the Duck Potato (Sagittaria latifolia) stand out against a golden sky: 



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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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