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Birds at Florida's St. Marks NWR
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Dec 10, 2019 07:41:14   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the United States. The refuge was established in 1931 as a wintering ground for migratory birds, it encompasses 68,000 acres spread between Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor Counties in the state of Florida. The refuge is less than a 1-hour drive nearly due south of Tallahassee, Florida's state capital.

The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a North American bird of the pelican family. They are one of three pelican species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving in water. The brown pelican is found on the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Chile, including the Galapagos Islands.

Brown pelican by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) is a small species of heron that is native to coastal parts of the Americas. The tricolored heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and insects.

Tricolored heron


The American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) is a species of bird in the ibis family. They are found from Virginia via the Gulf Coast of the United States south through most of the coastal New World tropics. Their diet consists primarily of small aquatic prey, such as insects and small fishes. Crayfish are its preferred food in most regions, but it can adjust its diet according to the habitat and prey abundance. Its main foraging behavior is probing with its beak at the bottom of shallow water to feel for and capture its prey. It does not see the prey.

White Ibis


In the 1820s, the town of St. Marks, Florida was considered an important port of entry. The town served as a port for the prosperous planting region of Middle Florida and some counties of South Georgia. Growers hauled their agricultural products down to the port town in wagons by way of an early road which connected the then territorial capital of Tallahassee to the town of St. Marks.

On May 23, 1828, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an act which authorized the construction of a lighthouse at St. Marks and appropriated $6,000 for its construction. The first tower at this location was lit in 1831. By 1842, erosion threatened the lighthouse. A new tower was constructed further inland away from the water using materials from tearing-down the first tower. The original lantern and illuminating apparatus were reinstalled. The St. Marks Lighthouse is the second oldest lighthouse in Florida.

St. Mark's Lighthouse


Digital images shared in this post were captured in RAW using an EOS 5DIII and the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II along with the Extender EF 2x III. Processing was performed in Lightroom and noise processing in Topaz DeNoise6. HDR processing using Topaz Adjust to the lighthouse and ibis images.

The ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) is a medium-sized gull. Ring-billed gulls forage in flight or pick up objects while swimming, walking or wading. They also steal food from other birds and frequently scavenge. They are omnivorous; their diet may include insects, fish, grain, eggs, earthworms and rodents.

Ring-billed Gull


The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge includes coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and estuaries of seven north Florida rivers, and is home to a diverse community of plant and animal life.

Tricolored heron


These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.

If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html

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Dec 10, 2019 07:50:56   #
GalaxyCat Loc: Boston, MA
 
Excellent information, photos, a fantastic series. Thanks for posting.

Reply
Dec 10, 2019 07:51:35   #
DirkWill Loc: Albuquerque, New Mexico
 
I love your posts! Educational and amazing photography!! Thanks!

Reply
 
 
Dec 10, 2019 07:51:57   #
In-lightened Loc: Kansas City
 
Nice expose on St. Mark's NWR. I especially liked the Tri-colored images.

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Dec 10, 2019 08:02:58   #
Xanadu Loc: Clay County FL
 
You neglected a principle ingredient of the ring-bill gull's diet - MacDonald's French Fries.

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Dec 10, 2019 08:03:49   #
sseeley52
 
Masterful images once again.

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Dec 10, 2019 08:11:55   #
mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma
 
What a great set! Thanks

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Dec 10, 2019 08:16:30   #
jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana
 
Nice birds, Paul.

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Dec 10, 2019 08:19:03   #
AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!
 
These are very nicely done.

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Dec 10, 2019 08:23:38   #
Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the United States. The refuge was established in 1931 as a wintering ground for migratory birds, it encompasses 68,000 acres spread between Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor Counties in the state of Florida. The refuge is less than a 1-hour drive nearly due south of Tallahassee, Florida's state capital.

The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a North American bird of the pelican family. They are one of three pelican species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving in water. The brown pelican is found on the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Chile, including the Galapagos Islands.

Brown pelican by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) is a small species of heron that is native to coastal parts of the Americas. The tricolored heron stalks its prey in shallow or deeper water, often running as it does so. It eats fish, crustaceans, reptiles, and insects.

Tricolored heron


The American white ibis (Eudocimus albus) is a species of bird in the ibis family. They are found from Virginia via the Gulf Coast of the United States south through most of the coastal New World tropics. Their diet consists primarily of small aquatic prey, such as insects and small fishes. Crayfish are its preferred food in most regions, but it can adjust its diet according to the habitat and prey abundance. Its main foraging behavior is probing with its beak at the bottom of shallow water to feel for and capture its prey. It does not see the prey.

White Ibis


In the 1820s, the town of St. Marks, Florida was considered an important port of entry. The town served as a port for the prosperous planting region of Middle Florida and some counties of South Georgia. Growers hauled their agricultural products down to the port town in wagons by way of an early road which connected the then territorial capital of Tallahassee to the town of St. Marks.

On May 23, 1828, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an act which authorized the construction of a lighthouse at St. Marks and appropriated $6,000 for its construction. The first tower at this location was lit in 1831. By 1842, erosion threatened the lighthouse. A new tower was constructed further inland away from the water using materials from tearing-down the first tower. The original lantern and illuminating apparatus were reinstalled. The St. Marks Lighthouse is the second oldest lighthouse in Florida.

St. Mark's Lighthouse


Digital images shared in this post were captured in RAW using an EOS 5DIII and the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II along with the Extender EF 2x III. Processing was performed in Lightroom and noise processing in Topaz DeNoise6. HDR processing using Topaz Adjust to the lighthouse and ibis images.

The ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) is a medium-sized gull. Ring-billed gulls forage in flight or pick up objects while swimming, walking or wading. They also steal food from other birds and frequently scavenge. They are omnivorous; their diet may include insects, fish, grain, eggs, earthworms and rodents.

Ring-billed Gull


The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge includes coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and estuaries of seven north Florida rivers, and is home to a diverse community of plant and animal life.

Tricolored heron


These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.

If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is one of the o... (show quote)


Love those images of the Tri-colored Heron , the group of Ibis and that one shot of the Ring Billed Gull.......wonderful. And thank you for the great detailed history of the region as well. I still believe you should publish your works....you have all the makings of a great author or journalist.
Thanks again as always for your signifigant contributions to this awesome forum.

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Dec 10, 2019 09:13:04   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
Xanadu wrote:
You neglected a principle ingredient of the ring-bill gull's diet - MacDonald's French Fries.

LOL and thank you Xanadu! The image may not make it through culling, but I think I have a gull from another location flying away with, I think, a chicken bone.

Reply
 
 
Dec 10, 2019 09:14:24   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
Blair Shaw Jr wrote:
Love those images of the Tri-colored Heron , the group of Ibis and that one shot of the Ring Billed Gull.......wonderful. And thank you for the great detailed history of the region as well. I still believe you should publish your works....you have all the makings of a great author or journalist.
Thanks again as always for your signifigant contributions to this awesome forum.


Thank you Blair! I've made it back to Chicago after nearly a month in FL, AL and GA. There will be a flurry of activity as I work through the results. Glad you've enjoyed.

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Dec 10, 2019 09:14:33   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
Thank you GalaxyCat, DirkWill, Kim, sseeley52, mizzee, John, AzPicLady! These images are from my first day at St. Marks. It was a cold windy day and I was out for as long as I could take it, not exactly dressed for the conditions. There was also a flurry of Monarch butterflies in this area, but they were fluttering too fast to get anything useful, imagewize. Glad you enjoyed.

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Dec 10, 2019 10:04:30   #
Swamp-Cork Loc: Lanexa, Virginia
 
Fantastic images and very interesting and helpful info, Paul---thanks!

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Dec 10, 2019 10:14:00   #
kpmac Loc: Ragley, La
 
Outstanding set, Paul. I have photographed all those birds here in La. but yours truly stand out. Great job.

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