What’s Up?

On Thursday, the storm fizzled with only a drizzle in the morning. I swam 48 lengths in the morning and walked 2.8 miles on the golf course in the afternoon. If you missed the B&H Event Space program — Photographing Bald Eagles at Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska, you can see it online here.

If you have a favorite image below, please leave a comment and let us know what you liked about it.

Today is Friday 11 November 2022. It is clear with a southwest breeze. I am planning to try Sebastian Inlet for Ospreys this afternoon. This blog post took three hours to prepare and makes two hundred twenty-nine days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard-to-get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a 1, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are — out of ignorance — using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

Some Days are Diamonds: Part I — Spanish Moss-scape

Tuesday at Circle Bar B was quite excellent. Wednesday? Not so much. Because it was dark and totally cloudy, I walked 3.5 miles with the 400mm f/2.8 on the monopod. Carrying the big lens as shown in the monopod video is actually easier than carrying the lighter 200-600 and the light tripod. In any case, there were very few birds on Wednesday. Some days are stone. I did, however, have one very good chance near the end of my 3.5-mile walk — a handsome adult Great Blue Heron posed with an armored catfish and eventually swallowed it.

This image was created on 8 November 2022 at Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland, FL. I used the no-longer available Induro GIT 204 tripod/Levered-clamp FlexShooter supported-Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 430mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation (EC) on the Thumb Dial. Multi-metering -.07 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 1600: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. AWB at 7:07:50am on a cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/6-stop short of perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Great Blue Heron holding dried-out catfish carcass

The Start of the Story

I was about to walk by the Great Blue Heron on the bank across the creek when it began stabbing at something on the ground. Curious, I stopped. The bird picked up a dried-out, long-dead Armored Catfish that was a stiff as a board and was covered with twigs and bits of that looked like dried-out Spanish Moss. I thought, “Is this bird planning on eating this fish?”

Why Shutter Priority Mode?

Again, I had been hoping to create some pleasing blurs of birds in flight against the white skies. Thus, I found it easier to dial in some negative EC until there were faint Zebras on the white than to make the many changes needed to get back to Manual mode.

This image was created on 8 November 2022 at Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland, FL. I used the no-longer available Induro GIT 204 tripod/Levered-clamp FlexShooter supported-Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 559mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1250: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:15:09am on a cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/6-stop short of perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Great Blue Heron bringing the dried-out catfish carcass down to the creek

The Plan

After dropping and picking up and holding and shaking the dried-out catfish for a while, the bird held the catfish carcass in its bill, walked down to the creek, and dunked it in the shallow tea-colored water to soften it up. The whole process was repeated several times. Another photographer joined me and quickly said, “That bird will never swallow that dried-up fish!” I disagreed.

This image was created on 8 November 2022 at Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland, FL. I used the no-longer available Induro GIT 204 tripod/Levered-clamp FlexShooter supported-Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 559mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1250: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:15:25am on a cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/6-stop short of perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Great Blue Heron holding the cleaned-up catfish carcass

Making Progress

More than ten minutes after it first began stabbing at the long dead catfish, the great blue had succeeded in cleaning and softening up the fish.

This image was created on 8 November 2022 at Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland, FL. I used the no-longer available Induro GIT 204 tripod/Levered-clamp FlexShooter supported-Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 362mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:18:49am on a cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/6-stop short of perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #4: Great Blue Heron beginning to swallow the catfish carcass

Almost

After this first attempt at swallowing the reconditioned catfish, the bird dropped the fish to the ground. Two minutes later the GBH picked the fish up again and began swallowing it.

This image was created on 8 November 2022 at Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland, FL. I used the no-longer available Induro GIT 204 tripod/Levered-clamp FlexShooter supported-Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 444mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:21:21am on a cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/6-stop short of perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #5: Great Blue Heron beginning to swallow the catfish carcass

Finally, with a Squirrel!

More than 16 minutes after the Great Blue Heron began messing with the stiff, dead catfish, it managed to get it down the hatch. When I saw the squirrel walking through the frame, I made a dozen or so images.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide

126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.

Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back-and-forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:

• Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
• Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
• The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
• Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
• Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
• Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
• West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
• Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.

Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.

You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.

Your Call

Which version of today’s featured image do you like best, Image #1, the full frame original, or Image #2, the tall, skinny crop? Leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

Click on the image to better see the green eye-AF boxes in action. Sony Alpha 1 Flight Photography AF Points!

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group: $150.00 (or Free)

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. The group is now up to up to an astounding 131 lucky and blessed folks, and more than a few folks own two or more a1 bodies! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that everyone in the group receives an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive six e-mails instead of the previous 28! You will receive new e-mails as they are published. Simply put, this e-mail guide is an incredible resource for anyone with an a1.

All who purchased their Alpha 1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link — B&H or Bedfords — will receive a free Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up Guide and free entry into the Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.). Others can purchase their guide here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.