Photo of the Week #3

Here is a Male Downy Woodpecker at his nest entrance ready to feed the two young chicks inside. If you look closely you can see that he has Paper Wasp larva in his beak!
This nest was located on a busy boardwalk at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida. I witnessed many people walk right by this nest with no idea a woodpecker nest was a mere three feet from their heads!
This nest became very popular with the local photographers and the woodpeckers never seemed to be alarmed in the least they came & went hourly and provided weeks worth of images.
I thought this gem of a nest would go on for years but sadly hurricane Wilma destroyed it in October of 2005. Luckily the nest was empty as the two Downy Woodpeckers fledged safely!

Photo of the Week # 1

OK, So I don't forget about my blog I am going to start a

"Photo of the Week" series.
Maybe just the image, maybe a story behind the image.
Let's see how long I can keep it going.

This image was taken on May 2nd 2006. It was in Delray Beach, Florida at Wakodahatchee Wetlands. I was talking to a gentleman from England and I spotted this Purple Gallinule walking on the Fireflag stalk in attempt to get to the tender buds, a favorite food, at the end of the stalk. I quickly focused & fired off 6 shots and during that the Purple Gallinule opened it's wings to better balance itself.

The funny thing is that it all took place in about 2 seconds. The English man was still talking and never even turned to see what I shot. I too kept up the conversation for a few more minutes and forgot about the shot until I got home.

I am proud to say this is also my first published image.

Cool huh ?

Michael Wolf

Least Grebe Nest in South Florida

Least Grebe 0449, originally uploaded by floridanaturephotography.

This is the first documented Least Grebe nest in Florida !

Here a parent feeds its young a Dragonfly Larva.
This nest contains two chicks and they are approx
3 weeks old.

The Least Grebes moved their nest to the other side of the lake
just days after the chicks were born due to the threat of a alligator.

It seems that the building of the new nest sparked another set of eggs and while not confirmed 100% it looks possible as one adult is always on the nest while the other is feeding, and about once an hour or so the "nesting" adult will call out and the parent feeding the chicks will race over and swap out with the "nesting" Least Grebe.

Florida West Coast - Sanibel Island, FL - March 26 2008

What a day. Up at 4 AM & out the door at 5AM and I am heading to the West Coast of Florida
and my destination is Sanibel Island !
So I take 1-95 South from Pompano Beach to I-595 and I-595 West until it turns into I-75 and Alligator Alley and just head west.

It took me three hours to get to Ding Darling National Wildlife Reserve on Sanibel Island and WOW !!! The birds were just everywhere. White Pelicans galore feeding at your feet , Roseate Spoonbills flying in golden sunrise light, Snowy Egrets by the dozens dragging their feet across the water foraging for food , Brown Pelican doing their crazy drop dive and feeding on fish , Flocks of Common Mergansers diving down & popping up like a game in their pursuit of fish ....... I could go on about how great the day was !!

I shot from 745 AM until 11 AM and it was non stop fun. My best shooting on Sanibel Island EVER !
I could not leave the island without stopping by Schnappers Hots on the way out. I am not sure but it may be illeagle to do so ? Best Dogs you will ever have !

Time now to download my pictures ..... : )

A BLOG for Me ......I'm hip , I'm cool .....

March 25 2008

Well here in south Florida we had a late season cold snap today and since it was in the 40's outside this Florida boy stayed inside ! Of course as I look out the window & see clear blue skies after a week of grey skies I am screaming on the inside and OUTSIDE !

Here's one of my latest images from my hobby of photography.......



This is something you almost always see out in the Everglades, Wetlands or even large roadside ponds! These are American Coots and they are quite numerous and since their world seems to be overpopulated they are always chasing each other from their personal space , their territory.

It is fun to watch but only last a few seconds as it happens fast and it is hard to capture as by the time you hear it it is usually over.

Feel free to view my images at Florida Nature Photography.net