Venice Rookery: Night Shift

I hope all my readers are safe and well from the pandemic that we now face. I’ve been mostly at home, at my new residence at the Lake of the Ozarks. However, I did take some time off to check out some “new” photo spots here, primarily for wildflowers. Nice to get back out in nature, away from the virus threats from other people, and to once again enjoy the beauty that God has given us in the great outdoors!

Today’s post comes from a favorite photo spot of mine in Florida … the Venice Rookery (Venice, FL). Arriving before sunrise, I set up my camera on a tripod and made some time exposures (it was still dark enough that it was a bit difficult to make out the birds in the rookery).  Also, most of my images were too blurry to use (have you ever tried to tell a rookery-full of birds to “stay still”?).

Enjoy these early morning images … subsequent posts will feature individual species and some of their courting/mating/nesting behaviours.

Much of the overnight rookery residents are white ibis:

Venice Rookery and Residents, Pre-dawn

Below, several White Ibises, along with a Great Egret (the one in the center, with the black legs):

White Ibises and Great Egret at Venice Rookery, pre-dawn

As sunrise approaches, this White Ibis and a Heron await takeoff from their overnight perches:

White Ibis and a Heron at the Venice Rookery, pre-dawn

Lots more Florida wildlife coming up … along with some of the Missouri spring wildflowers beginning to “pop”!

Photographic Equipment Used:

  • Canon 7D Mark II
  • Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens (top photo) and Canon 500mm f/4 lens (bottom 2 images)
  • Bogen 3221 tripod
  • ISO 6400 (all)
  • Aperture f/9.5 (top photo) and f/5.6 (bottom 2 photo)
  • Shutter 1/8 sec. (top photo) and 1/5 sec. (bottom 2 photos)

 

 

Posted in Bird Photography, Nature Photography, Travel Photography
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