camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

It was indeed a short visit. I have been waiting to visit but the park was flooded since November and authorities kept it closed. It was finally opened in January. Shark Valley happens to be the Northeastern tip of the Everglades National Park and it is located approximately 28 miles West from Miami via highway 27 which is locally better known as Tamiami Trail. This is the highway to take to go to Naples or Sanibel Island.

It was a cloudy, humid day with temperatures in the mid 80's. It rained at times requiring to stay in the car. Although we are at the peak season to photograph birds in the Everglades this year, like last year, there were only a few birds present. I had a hard time photographing the few birds I saw.
Tourists were absent for this time of the year. The absence of birds can be explained, not that I am correct, by the high levels of the water in the main canal which makes fishing for them very difficult. The Southern tip of the park is visited through Florida City and I want to go there before February is over. I do not expect to find many birds but that part of the park has a variety of subjects to photograph that are not found in Shark Valley.

To make these images I used a handheld Nikon D7000 with the 70-300 VR-AF-S lens.

The first image is that of a green heron. The second one is an anhinga. These birds are also known as "snake birds" because of the way they move the neck. They pray on slow swimming fish and once out of the water they can be seen drying their feathers like this one is doing here.
The third shot is a white Ibis, very common in the Everglades and around town. The following one is a great blue heron. These birds are well known because they are plentiful in the Everglades during this time of year. They are excellent fishermen and use their beak to pierce the body of their prays.
The last one is obviously an alligator and it seems to be a very young one to me. I have seen them reached over 12 feet long. They can use their tail as a weapon and they are pretty fast runners. The rangers recommend to keep a distance of about 12 feet from them. When they have their youngs coming close to them could be very dangerous, so protective they are. They are territorial from my observations and can get really nasty if another alligator tries to venture into their territory.

This has been another slow season for the Everglades, first the weather conditions and then the pandemic. Lets hope next year it will be better.

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imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Thank you so much papi for sharing your experience, details and images of your visit ! I only wish all gallery postings were this detailed ! 8-)

jimvanells Loc: Augusta, GA

Great set

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Beautiful photographs.

Dennis

Leon S Loc: Minnesota

Really great pictures. I am especially impressed with the fact you used inexpensive equipment to take the images. So often people think if they don't have the latest and most expensive equipment, they can't do worthwhile work. I continue to use lenses like the 35-70 2.8, 80-200 2.8, 70-300 vr, D700 and others I have collected over the years. Nice to know others still use affordable equipment and produce great images. Leon

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Great pictures!

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

Nice story and posting.

GrannyAnnie

Ourspolair

Great captures and renderings. Nice back-story - hope that you are right about next year. The gator is my favourite. Good eye! Thanks for sharing - please stay well.

Craigdca Loc: California

Inspiring set! I agree with Leon as I’m using a Canon T2i from 2010. Nice job squeezing out these great images.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Beautiful set, William, thanks for sharing.

Sylvias Loc: North Yorkshire England

Excellent set and information Will.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I thank you all of you for your interesting and nice comments. This is a great group.

Leon, if you have seen some of my posts on those that want to update my advise always has been to look at their camera and their images and determine if indeed the camera is doing the job for which it was intended. More bells and whistles is not going to make photography better.
Cameras like the D700 have kept their value because they have an excellent sensor and do the job. I do not photograph wildlife often and the two lenses I use are as old as I am, one is this 70-300 and the other the first version of the 80-400 lens. I do not use these lenses for wildlife that often so updating makes no sense. The same goes for the D7000. I do not need a better AF or a faster firing rate and for landscapes and portraits it could not do better than it does already.

I also have a Nikon D610 that shares with the D7000 when I want to use "full frame." A favorite is the 18-70 f3.5-4.5 AF-S that came as a kit with the D70 but I bought it separately. Most recently the AF failed and Nikon advised me that they no longer do repairs on a lens so old. Ever since I have been using the lens in the manual mode with no issues. Old does not mean it is not useful and indeed NONE of what I have is new or I bought it new. 95% of what I use was bought used.

Cameras and lenses are only tools.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Gorgeous wildlife shots

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Excellent William!