Some of my recent Wood Stork work

[Canon_Bob]

Hey all,

Here are a few of many good captures so far of the Wood Storks. I have definitely found a good spot for them, and have been working it hard. Not a place for the meek, though. You have to don hip waders, and walk out into a swamp which could easily have gators (although I haven't seen any in there yet). This is necessary to get the right sun and wind angle for the Wood Storks that fly in during the evening to this place. It's awesome, as they fly in and circle down lower with each pass until they land. It has provided some outstanding flight shot opportunities....and no one knows about the place! I plan on keeping it a secret, as it would surely attract a lot of attention around this skittish endangered species. The technique is pretty simple really....I just meter off a Wood Stork on the ground, set up in manual, and then point down light and wait for the circling birds to pass in front of me. The hardest part is resisting the temptation to follow them out of the optimal light angle. I'm still working out there each evening, as you don't pass up opportunities like this when they come along. The Storks will be gone soon (once mating season is over). You will note some nice breeding plumage images here in the flight shots that show that peach-coloring on the underwing side. Enjoy.

[mn shutterbug]

Are you sure that's not a pterodactyl?

[Canon_Bob]

Are you sure that's not a pterodactyl?

LOL - Fossil evidence says they've been around for a LONG time. They are a peculiar species to say the least. Too bad they're in such trouble (especially in the US).

[AgingEyes]

Woodstork? I thought it was some concert ??

[paulnj]

Fantastic as always Bob!

[Loupey]

Incredible shots of such a distinctive looking bird that I've never seen before.

Must be an awesome feeling to see it through the viewfinder.

[Canon_Bob]

Thanks guys! Loupey, this is an incredible experience. You can't ask for more perfect conditions. Nice, evening light...low in the sky, and a brisk wind coming from the same direction as the sun angle.

The Wood Storks would come in 15 to 20 at a time, and just circle around until landing....sometimes crossing my shooting zone 2 or three times from multiple directions. There must have been 200-300 endangered Wood Storks there that evening. Definitely one of those times you'll never forget. Fortunately, it's still going on! There weren't nearly as many last night, but I'm going back again over the weekend. The sun and winds are favorable here. Lots going on this strange little swamp.

[scott-devon]

Fantastic shots Bob, and a rare bird too. Great work!

[Martin Brazil]

Wonderful shots as always Bob. I was lucky enough to spot a lone wood stork myself once and managed a few poor shots as it flew over and was gone in a second. Here is one of the better ones, hope I'm not embarrassing myself posting along side your work.

[Canon_Bob]

Not at all Martin. Most people would be lucky to ever see one, let alone get a picture!

[SARtech]

Wholycramoly Bob! These are spectacular. I can imagine the feeling now because of my close encounter of the bird kind (yuk yuk) with the Spring Migration of those Pelicans. I am just blown away by these. The Stork is just unreal! And I still envy even your blue skies devoid of noise.
If I ever get down your way, you'll have to give me a lesson.

I hope you carry a big knife on you just incase a gator decides he wants you for breakfast.

[Martin Brazil]

SARtech, you can't stab an alligator man ! They are not particularly dangerous or aggressive and you can hypnotize them by scratching under their neck and belly. I have done it myself with a few up to about 4 foot and I have seen it done (on TV) with bloody great salt water crocs.
We have lots of Alligators here and for the most part they swim away frightened when ever you get close to them. The ones you have to watch out for are the Black Cayman, they are massive, I saw one about 20 foot, and aggressive and a full grown man would be just a snack to one. I would not recommend tickling one of those or trying to stab it either.

[Canon_Bob]

In truth, when I'm going into the swamps like this you do have to be careful. As Martin said, though, the gators are the least of my worries. While they can be aggressive, they are also pretty dumb. You can usually tell if there's any gator concerns by the obvious signs like prints in the mud, mud slides, and disturbed or discolored water. I find that my fine feathered friends are the best indicator, though. If you see an area of a pond or swamp where the birds aren't wading or feeding....There might be a good reason for that :-)

Snakes, on the other hand, are a very big concern. Water moccasins are very aggressive, and can bite under water. We now also have a healthy (and growing) population of invasive Pythons around here.

As standard equipment on my swamp ventures, I carry a large knife, a Woodsman tool (a machette like tool for clearing branches and such), and a .357 magnum revolver (yes, I have a permit). I've had a couple gator encounters already, but nothing significant. Certainly nothing that I would deem seriously "life threatening". It is, however, gator mating season....so you have to be wary.

[OldClicker]

Any criticism greatly appreciated. – TF

Blue petals on moss...

These are fantastic shots of a real find. The effort you obviously put in with all aspects of your work really shows.

"It is, however, gator mating season....so you have to be wary." This, however, may be too much info. :-)

TF

[paulnj]

Bob, don't fear pythons. seriously. A 16 foot reticulated, burmese or african rock python will bite you if you step on it, but you are far to large for them to want to eat you with all the prey items around. I bred giant snakes in my youth and know they aren't man hunters.

Gabboon viper..... watch out for those though! They can have fangs well over 2 inches and can actually put the fangs through their lower jaw and stick you. Keepers of that species(my friend is one) do not "neck" them like most other species of snakes for that very reason.

Bob, a glock 23 takes up less space ;-)

[Canon_Bob]

Bob, don't fear pythons. seriously. A 16 foot reticulated, burmese or african rock python will bite you if you step on it, but you are far to large for them to want to eat you with all the prey items around. I bred giant snakes in my youth and know they aren't man hunters.

Gabboon viper..... watch out for those though! They can have fangs well over 2 inches and can actually put the fangs through their lower jaw and stick you. Keepers of that species(my friend is one) do not "neck" them like most other species of snakes for that very reason.

Bob, a glock 23 takes up less space ;-)

LOL - Actually, I carry a S&W J frame scandium (with titanium cylinder) .357 magnum. Very light, takes up no space, and goes "bang" every time you pull the trigger. Swamp mud is hell on autos....even Glocks. I have quite the collection...including Glocks :-)

BTW - I'm definitely more worried about the water mocs than anything else out there. Gators are easy. I think we have mostly Burmese Pythons out there right now, but it's amazing that they've made it all the way up to Fort Myers now!

[lionman]

i have never seen a wood stork before so thank you this was a true treat for me i will have to look that species up and see if i cant snap a few photos of this critter

[Martin Brazil]

You are going to have to travel a bit if you want to photo wood storks Lionman, you might try the Paraná river wetlands in the south of Brazil.

[Canon_Bob]

Thanks for the FP guys!