Spoons and Coons....

[Canon_Bob]

Here are a few from the past couple days. Been working the Roseate Spoonbills heavily. I got an unexpected assistant when this baby Raccoon decided to spend about 20 minutes "helping" me on Sunday morning. He had no fear at all, and was into everything. He was completely fascinated by my 600mm SuperTelephoto. I was lying at ground level with it, and he kept grabbing the end to see what was inside. He also kept trying to get into my bag, and climbed on me a couple times while I was on the ground. Too bad no one else was there with a camera. Would've been funny to capture.



C'mon guys...Wake up! Lets go flying!

[SARtech]

LOL... Racoons are so brazzen aren't they? Funny creatures in a psycho way.

You know, I always love your shots of these guys. I love the color of the water against them for one thing. Beautiful Bob

[AgingEyes]

All right. Somebody has to ask the question: Why spoons all the time?

I personally find the third shot more interesting, but traditionalists may prefer the first one.

[scott-devon]

That third shot is very cool. Great shots of the raccoon too!.

[Canon_Bob]

All right. Somebody has to ask the question: Why spoons all the time?

I personally find the third shot more interesting, but traditionalists may prefer the first one.

Aha!....A valid question! Simple answer: It's their season. Southwest Florida is one of the premier locations for Roseate Spoonbills. However, there are times that are better than others. July through September is "THE" time in my opinion. You will see me working them very heavily between now and the end of September (before the fall migrations of other species start). Once the other migratory birds come in, the flocks are too intermingled, and photography is a pain. Also, the sun patterns give us better light early in the day now. The negative: HEAT! It is VERY hot in southwest Florida this time of year. Most folks can't handle it. I shoot tons of species all the time, it's just that in most cases, they are in their rather dull summer plumage, and so they're not that interesting. Now obviously if I catch them doing something funny or cool, I post it. Hope that explains it. It's just their time :-)

[Loupey]

Another vote for the 3rd one. Looks like they're playing leapfrog.

Glad to hear that the baby coon didn't gnaw your ear off.