Thursday, April 1, 2021

Crops & Clips: Flashback three years to April, 2018

At the beginning of the month I like to review images from three years back and  look for favorite themes and memes in the monthly collection-- critters of all kinds (especially birds), skies and reflections, flowers and fences as well as scenes which speak for themselves. 

We started the month of April, 2018 exploring the wonders of nature on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Mexico. Our Illinois children and grandchildren flew in and we spent several days with them on Sanibel Island.  

Instead of my trusted DSLR, I carried my new mirrorless camera (Olympus E-M10 Mkii) to Sanibel. It was straight out of the box and its features and controls were utterly different from those of my Canon. Therefore I learned how to use my new camera by trial and error (mostly error). 

Shorebirds at sunrise (Sanderling, Willet and a gull):


Sun rising over the beach:


Willet:

Panoramic iPhone view of the Gulf from the condo where we stayed:

We visited Ding Darling refuge and were entertained by the antics of foraging Reddish Egrets:


I was not pleased with the colors, as they were sometimes over-saturated and not true to life, as with this Little Blue Heron:

Marsh Rabbit:

Panorama (iPhone) of the estuary at Ding Darling:

On the way home we stopped briefly at Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, where we saw Roseate Spoonbills (which did not need the extra saturation to show off their magnificent plumage):




A Great Egret was badly overexposed, but I liked the composition:

Back home at the local Bald Eagle nest, their eaglet had fledged:


Wood Storks were raising their young at the rookery in Weston:

A Tricolored Heron guarded nestlings:

On our wetlands, Least Terns had migrated in to breed on shopping center rooftops:

A vine growing up in a tree in our local wetlands had these pretty little flowers (Clematis?):

Fog lifting on April 18:

We finished the month back in Illinois. We had decided to sell our condo there and live in Florida permanently. Our first visit was Jones Meadow Park near our condo. Recent heavy rains had flooded the trails:


It was a treat to see American Robins, as they are infrequent winter visitors in Florida:

 

Brown Creepers do not migrate into south Florida:

American White Pelicans had arrived at Nelson Lake:


Iconic twin oaks at Nelson Lake:

At Lippold Park, Canada Geese had a nest at the end of the boardwalk, with a fair warning as they will attack people who come too close:

Indeed, this goose, possibly the gander, was guarding the entrance to that part of the boardwalk:

Nearby. three male Mallards swam in precision as they approached a pair of Blue-winged Teal:

We could see the male Bald Eagle on its nest across the road:

A Red-winged Blackbird was singing:

Trout Lilies were in bloom:

Marsh Marigold bloomed along a muddy part of the trail:


= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to:


Garden Affair

Fences Around the World

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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14 comments:

  1. Enjoyed the look-back photos, Kenneth, especially the Wood Stork and Heron fledging shots. Our best wishes to you and your family for a Happy Easter weekend.

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  2. Wow Kenneth...where do I start??? Your photography is so impressive. I love those sky shots...but the Spoonbill steals the show. It's such a beautiful animal, I've never seen a bird like that, thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos!!! :)

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  3. I commented on your post yesterday..Sometimes I get an error message..Love your photography and your accompanying narration..Robins are her all winter (Pa) but there is an influx in the Spring..Best wishes for a Happy Easter..Stay safe..

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  4. Wonderful selection from the past. Enjoy your Easter!

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  5. Hello,
    Beautiful skies and reflection photos! The birds are all gorgeous, some of my favorites are the Reddish Egret, Spoonbill, the Eaglet and Eagle and the Tricolored guarding the nest. As always, great post. Happy Easter to you and your family. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  6. Such a gorgeous and impressive collection of images! Thank you for sharing this wonderful nature moments with us.

    Happy Easter.

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  7. Your photography is exceptional. I too like the composition of "the over exposed egret". All are beautiful...the soft sunlight hue on the willet breast is wonderful.

    As always, thanks for taking time to share your birds with us!!

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  8. What wonderful colours in those first pictures - and in the spoonbill as well. Hope all is well.

    Sorry for rather long silence, things have been a bit crazy here.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  9. Oh gosh! These are all beautiful - every one of them.
    Thank you so much for sharing your talents with us at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/04/after-rain.html

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  10. It looks like your mirrorless camera picks up more color, eh? Am getting the idea you are a gadgets guy:) Beautiful birds, but I also love the views of the flooded areas, since they're not often seen! Many thanks for this variety shared with All Seasons. Have a fun and relaxing week, Jes

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  11. Those reddish egrets plus the hues from the sky is just golden! Thank you so much for taking me to the beach brother Kenneth, it's been more than a year since I've been to one, despite living in the islands huh! Take care always!

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  12. This was a really nice set of memories, Ken!

    New equipment is a challenge for me even after using it for quite awhile. You achieved great results while learning!

    That Sanibel sunrise makes me want to schedule a trip ...

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