I usually take most of my shots on hikes and wandering shorelines and preserves. But I will occasionally enjoy a nice Zoo and see what I can find - and enjoy getting images of critters I will almost certainly not see in the wild myself. I took advantage of a drive from Florida to Massachusetts to visit the National Zoo in DC which I had not been to since I was stationed in the area in the Mid 80's A quick visit and not the best light for much of the day but did what I could trying when possible to take shots that did not look like caged subjects. Hope you find them interesting I may do a couple postings as I edit more images

Screaming Hairy Armadillo

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Cheetah - I did edit out a cable line in the background

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Clouded Leopard

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Redbilled Hornbill

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Pygmy Marmoset

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Goeldi's Monkey

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Eurasian Eagle Owl

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Emporer Tamarin

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Lion Maned Tamarin and young

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Some of my favorites, taken just yesterday (I probably took about 1200 shots at least) - I haven't posted any in ages. But these little guys are so darn cute, intense and photogenic that they jumped to the head of my posting pile.

Moring and evening are best - not only are the nocturnals of course, but they go into their burrows to avoid the heat... and get irritated if you walk around their homes while sleeping. They are protected & if harassed they can abandon their burrows

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This guy had a nice palm just behind his perch... Most burrows are in much more open landscape around the entrances

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I dug the framing on this one

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This Juvenile was very interested in my lens

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it makes sense the Birds that live on and under the ground look up frequently scanning for predators.

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A very prideful pose....

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It absolutely is a great lens and yes it is heavy - I use mine for birding and it comes in handy - Not a problem weight wise if I set it on my tripod with a gimbal - but then dragging around the tripod setup itself is not easy while hiking around, especially in Florida. My thought is eventually to upgrade the camera body to much higher Megapixels - and then I can crop my images more - meaning I can get away with using a less weighty Zoom.

That's about what I paid to repair mine, same type of issue - yeah it hurts - now my d750 won't power up after taking a bit of a knock - no local shops (central Florida) repair Nikon anymore as they can't get parts and recommend shipping to Nikon.
I may decide to upgrade instead - considering d850 but not sure... discontinued and no release slated or mentioned for ages on the successor (d860- or d880) depending on the article read....

Nice set! ~ Florida makes it difficult to choose there are so many great locations to choose from.

I have yet to make it down to Venice Rookery - there is a small one north of Tampa a Bit closer. and I heard its hard to get close enough without some major glass... or standing in the water heheheh...
I have a d750 and a 200-500mm think that would be sufficient to get some decent closer detail shots?

Nice set! - I have not been to the Rookery since last season.

What an awesome subject and some great shots as well!

I would go for the higher resolution definitely - if the cost for value makes sense.
(one idea is to get a cheaper but comparable mirrorless so you can play with it see if you like it and make sure it fits your needs comfortably - and where any lenses you purchase will work with the newer or different model)

I am weighing the same type of purchase - its not a need as much as a want so its harder to justify spending the $$$ so I am always keeping my eye open for a sweet deal on a used Nikon 850 to upgrade from my 750.

Finding Spoonbills can be tough when travelling a distance. sometimes they visit a body of water (or more likely a handful in an area) for a few days and then move on. If you can find areas that have rookeries then you are far more likely to find great shots. Now in the inside side of Tampa Bay I keep hearing about a Rookery that has a good number of Spoonbills at the Mouth of the Alafia River - or the Alafia Bank Bird sanctuary - It may require a kayak as many rookeries are on smaller islands just off the coast - (limits the amount of predators getting to the nests)
But research it first and any location - some have rules... beyond common sense ones about getting too close to the point you disturb the nesting pairs etc.

I have not made it out to that one yet but it is on my list...

Couple of these folks you can tell are already committed to being future residents of someplace like Florida...
excellent set of course... reminds me of why I have lived in Arizona and Florida for the last 18 years after 40 years in New England...

Ill try to do a nice assortment - one downside to this location is that you come home with many hundred of shots - I think on this day I hit around 1800. which still left me with a huge file full of decent shots after culling all but the best. Enjoy and let me know what you think.... And I am always looking for great locations in Central Florida (the closer to St Petersburg the better of course... Enjoy!

a lot of fishing going on that morning...

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This was as close as I got to her.... on this day at least.

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I got a fair number as this Great Blue Heron worked out the best angle to get this decent sized Pleco down.

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This big girl was on the side of the trail with a suitor on the other side... definitely a no pass zone

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unfortunately this Glossy Ibis did not get into the right position or light just right to get all of the iridescence on their body feathers

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Normally a fair number of Black headed Vultures, this morning a number of Turkey Vultures pearched overlooking on of the trails so got a few very nice shots.

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always a sucker for nice Wood Stork Photos - they have so much character

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There were a few Purple Galinules around that morning but rarely giving me good angles close enough to do any good

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Granted Ospreys are not hard to find almost anywhere (especially Florida) but occasionally you get a shot you dig, as nice a pose as this is its the rear talons I found expressive

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Its been a fair amount of time since I last posted shots - All these shots were taken at the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland Florida - One of my favorite spots and highly recommended for its almost always amazing amount of various subjects that you can find on any given day. This Barred Owl Couple did everything except get together for some couples shots... which might have a occurred, but I had more miles and many more subjects to find that day.

was very into the symmetry of this Anhinngas back while preening

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This Anhinga perched right over the trail so was easy & very accommodating for anyone to get some very close shots of her

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Breeding Colors for the male Anhingas are starting to come in nicely!

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Barred Owl Female - just off the trail a bit

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Same female after she heard my shutter clicking

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The male on the other hand initially played hard to get, but I found a couple good angles trying to catch his face in the morning light

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He flew into a spot above me as I was circling around at what I thought was a good distance to not be disturbing even with my 200-500mm

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Then he climbed up to a higher vantage point - just above a few branches so I got a decent view

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the last of this posting - I have more of the owls and of many other subjects as well.

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My area as well... definitely the Kingfisher - great clarity and detail and a hard shot to grab as they do not often sit still - especially anywhere near people. so unless they land close to you and you don't swing the lens around too quickly....

Busy busy, so have not been out shooting in a while- and went to one of my favorite spots - Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland Florida. But sadly most of my favorite trails were closed (some close during Alligator mating season for obvious reasons) or when some become impassable due to flooding from major rains from time to time. Maybe they need so TLC maintenance

- But I needed the miles of exercise in any event so walked the "boring trails" and tried to shoot what ever I could find along the way. started just after sunrise, I just wish I had brought a macro...

Kestrel waking up with the sun...

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This youngish Tricolor Heron (one of many this year) feeding at a small babbling Brook

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This Great Blue Heron did not do anything interesting but tried to get a nice composition

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This Great White Egret was posing nicely and it was still the Golden hour so it showed some minor coloration.

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This big guy thought he was being sneaky

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This guy has the same look on his face that my Dog makes when it hears the Fed Ex Truck pull up...

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On the way back to my car I came across this monster Snapper just waiting to take a bite out of me...

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Apparently he was in the mood for some other meal that morning

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I may have... exaggerated his monstrous status, He was barely larger than a quarter, a day or 3 old my guess

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Lots of fun, will have to try this sometime - Bats are a favorite, but yes flying around like they do every gram counts so the pee and defecate pretty much all the time but especially just as they launch.