Tampa photo opportunities
Feb 9, 2015 12:57:46 #
I'll be in the Tampa area for a week beginning next Wednesday and would appreciate any suggestions on where to go to shoot birds/other wildlife/landscapes.
Feb 10, 2015 05:31:58 #
Feb 10, 2015 06:37:54 #
Wildlife:
Ft. Desoto - St. Pete
Circle Bar-B - Lakeland
Lowry Park Zoo
Hillsborough River and Lettuce Leaf Parks
Landscapes:
Shoot Tampa Skyline from Curtis Hixon Park and University of Tampa
Historical buildings downtown
How far can you travel? Makes a difference. Gary
Ft. Desoto - St. Pete
Circle Bar-B - Lakeland
Lowry Park Zoo
Hillsborough River and Lettuce Leaf Parks
Landscapes:
Shoot Tampa Skyline from Curtis Hixon Park and University of Tampa
Historical buildings downtown
How far can you travel? Makes a difference. Gary
Feb 10, 2015 06:46:49 #
Outdoorsafe wrote:
I'll be in the Tampa area for a week beginning next Wednesday and would appreciate any suggestions on where to go to shoot birds/other wildlife/landscapes.
Honeymoon Park in Dunedin is a great nature shoot. Lots of opportunity for osprey, owls eagles, pelicans etc. Also the power plant outflow just south of Tampa, which has a manatee outlook. Tarpon Springs, north of Dunedin, Florida Everglades south of Tampa, Sarasota Fl. where the Ringling Circus museum is. Clearwater Beach (although cold highs in 60's and 70's for the next 10n days... lows in the 50's.) Saint Petersburg for all kinds of shooting, And Fort De Soto nature parks.
Feb 10, 2015 07:13:05 #
gwong1 wrote:
Wildlife:
Ft. Desoto - St. Pete
Circle Bar-B - Lakeland
Lowry Park Zoo
Hillsborough River and Lettuce Leaf Parks
Landscapes:
Shoot Tampa Skyline from Curtis Hixon Park and University of Tampa
Historical buildings downtown
How far can you travel? Makes a difference. Gary
Ft. Desoto - St. Pete
Circle Bar-B - Lakeland
Lowry Park Zoo
Hillsborough River and Lettuce Leaf Parks
Landscapes:
Shoot Tampa Skyline from Curtis Hixon Park and University of Tampa
Historical buildings downtown
How far can you travel? Makes a difference. Gary
Good suggestions all! I would make Circle B Bar preserve first choice for indigenous wildlife,
Feb 10, 2015 07:26:01 #
Rick from NY
Loc: Sarasota FL
Gary nailed it by asking how far you are willling to travel. 2 of the absolute best birding sites I know of are about 90 minutes south of Tampa on I-75.
Venice Rookery (get there around 8am for ideal light) and, don't laugh, but the Sarasota County Dump (more politely known as the Sarasota County Landfill) which is immediately adjacent to I-75 at the Laurel Road exit. You are guaranteed to see more birds (and more varieties) than most of the other "famous" west coast birding locales and pretty much have the place to yourself as a bonus. No charge to enter and can stay all day. Best place I know to shoot bald eagles - make sure that you can tell the difference between a turkey vulture and a bald eagle in flight. For obvious reasons, the TV's are the most prevelant birds in the area and not particularly photogenic.
Two negatives - you may have to maneuver yourself upwind and you need to watch your backgrounds. That said, you will have unparalelled photo ops of birds. Oh and gators and armadillo are pretty common to.
Willing to travel a little further - Ding Darling and Corkscrew Swamp are must sees for birders in SW FL, but they are in Sanibel and Bonita Springs which require a longer drive.
Google them all to see if they are within your driving range. The dump and the rookery are worth the 60 to 90 minute drive,
Venice Rookery (get there around 8am for ideal light) and, don't laugh, but the Sarasota County Dump (more politely known as the Sarasota County Landfill) which is immediately adjacent to I-75 at the Laurel Road exit. You are guaranteed to see more birds (and more varieties) than most of the other "famous" west coast birding locales and pretty much have the place to yourself as a bonus. No charge to enter and can stay all day. Best place I know to shoot bald eagles - make sure that you can tell the difference between a turkey vulture and a bald eagle in flight. For obvious reasons, the TV's are the most prevelant birds in the area and not particularly photogenic.
Two negatives - you may have to maneuver yourself upwind and you need to watch your backgrounds. That said, you will have unparalelled photo ops of birds. Oh and gators and armadillo are pretty common to.
Willing to travel a little further - Ding Darling and Corkscrew Swamp are must sees for birders in SW FL, but they are in Sanibel and Bonita Springs which require a longer drive.
Google them all to see if they are within your driving range. The dump and the rookery are worth the 60 to 90 minute drive,
Feb 10, 2015 07:27:58 #
Feb 10, 2015 09:04:30 #
Go to Hommosassa Springs or Crystal River for shooting wild manatees. They will be there in numbers this time of year. About 2 hrs north of Tampa. Nat Geo did an article about the Crystal River manatees a few years ago.
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