Friday, December 20, 2024

Family Thanksgiving in Slidell, Louisiana Part 4


One day Mike, Marguerite and I went to a local spot to see what we would find. These next few are Brown Pelicans.


When they spot a fish they go all in.


They don't actually disappear completely, usually.


I thought the silhouette was kind of cool. By the way, I wasn't even close on getting the spelling correct on silhouette. Had to look it up.


Again, a completely committed to getting that fish.


Marguerite found some pretty flowers to pick.


Mike took this picture of this Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron as we drove down the road.


Latter in the day we drove into New Orleans and visited the Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium.


They had some birds there, also.


This is the infamous Lionfish, It is an invasive species in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and along the southeast coast of the U.S. The are voracious eaters and are harming coral reefs.


They had all sorts of insects in the insectarium but the butterflies were the prettiest and easiest to photograph.


 Earlier postings



Friday, December 6, 2024

Family Thanksgiving in Slidell, Louisiana Part 3


There were several good places to look for birds near where we stayed. This was in lagoons behind The Harbor Center.


This is a Palm Warbler. This was a new-to-me bird.




The rest of these were along Carr Drive in the opposite direction from Eden Isles.

Great Blue Heron








This Osprey was having sushi for breakfast.







Little Blue Heron


Click any picture to enlarge.


 Great Egret







Actually, this one was at The Harbor Center.

Ring-necked Duck







Double-crested Cormorant








Anhinga


Previous posts in this series.

Part 1

Part 2


Family Thanksgiving in Slidell, Louisiana Part 2

 


We went on a Swamp Tour one afternoon. Here is a picture of the tour boat going under the  U.S. 90 bridge.

We went with Cajun Encounters. They are just a few miles from Lauren's house.





It was pretty cool outside so many of the larger alligators weren't active. We did see a couple. I think this guy is resting on a decayed tree stump.

For reference, the boat captain said the best time to visit is from about mid-March for the next 3 or 4 weeks to maximize wildlife viewing.





These turtles were looking for some warmth.







These raccoons were definitely on the payroll. They showed up at the sound of the boat and were looking for a handout. Our boat captain had come prepared.



Another shot.








This is part of the Indian Village community. You can only reach the places via boat. Link below.


Indian Village location



The U.S. 90 bridge is currently closed. It is scheduled to be rebuilt in a few years along with some sister bridges toward Mississippi.

Family Thanksgiving in Slidell, Louisiana Part 1



We enjoyed Thanksgiving in the relative warmth of southern Louisiana. From left to right: Margot, Tom, Ben Bloss, Ed Elliott, Olivia Gross, Jackson Gross, Jeremy Gross,  Allison Elliott (back), Emily Bloss, Marguerite Savage (front), Lauren Savage Gross, Gianna Gross, Mike Savage, Isaac Elliott, Amy Elliott, Ed Elliott, Tom Savage.




We were pretty busy. We went to the zoo one day.


You are greeted by flamingos as you walk in.





This is some flavor of Orangutan.










This is Marguerite scaring her aunt and grandmother. The live oaks were a lot of fun to climb on. Dad's on the other side.










Marguerite in a tamer moment.









I snuck out a few times to take some pictures. This is at Northshore Beach on Debbie Drive southwest of  Slidell near where we stayed in Eden Isles.

Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls.






I didn't have to go far for this one. It was swimming in the canal behind our house. It is a feral Muscovy Duck.








I didn't know ducks had "teeth". Click to enlarge for a better view.








The are a male and female Mallard - also in the canal.









Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Unusual Birds of Costa Rica

 


Here are some of the more unusual birds that I was able to photograph during our trip to Costa Rica back in August.

This is a Boat-billed Heron.

Nikon Z8, 800mm PF

1/1250, F6.3 ISO 5000







Boat-billed Heron

Nikon Z8, 800mm PF

1/1250, F6.3 ISO 4000











This Gray-headed Chachalaca is a fairly large bird - amount 17 to 23 inches.

Nikon Z8, 800mm PF
1/400, F6.3, ISO 12,800






This is a female Slaty-tailed Trogon.


Nikon Z8, 500mm PF
1/1250, F5.6, ISO 11400

Another shot of the same Slaty-tailed Trogon.

Nikon Z8, 500mm PF
1/400, F5.6, ISO 3600












This is the Common Potoo. I'm not sure why but the Common Potoo has slits in its eyelids so they can see when their eyes are closed. Maybe because they have very large eyes to see at night. Their eyes are bright yellow and might give their location away.

Nikon Z8, 500mm PF
1/400, F5.6, ISO 500


TheCommon Potoo's survival strategy is to look like part of a tree. It is a nocturnal bird and is sort of a mix of owl and nightjar. It hunts insects at night. They don't build a nest - they lay a single egg in a depression in a limb and take turns incubating them.

They are hard to spot.

Nikon Z8, 500mm PF
1/3200, F5.6, ISO 2200











The Northern Jacana generally lives on floating vegetation in swamps and ponds. The yellow bony spurs on the leading edge of the wings can be used to defend itself and its young.

Nikon Z8, 500mm PF
1/3200, F5.6, ISO 900









Cocoa Woodcreeper

Click to enlarge.

Nikon Z8, 800mm PF
1/400, F6.3, ISO 12,800















This the female Great Curassow. It seems to me to be flashier than the male which is unusual in the world of birds. This is the rufous morph.

Nikon Z8, 800mm PF
1/500, F6.3, ISO 7200

A male Great Curassow. These are roughly pheasant sized.

Nikon Z8, 800mm PF
1/800, F6.3, ISO 12,800

Here some links to earlier postings.










Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Pretty, small birds of Costa Rica


Red-lored Amazon. This is a fairly large parrot so it isn't that small. It is the largest of this group.

Click to enlarge.

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 Yellow-crowned Euphonia

This probably an immature male.






Male Scarlet-rumped Tanager

Hard to believe that the following bird is the same species.





Female Scarlet-rumped Tanager










Blue-gray Tanager.











This is Bananaquit on some sort of Heliconia.











This is a Red-legged Honeycreeper. The male in breeding plumage looks nothing like this. It is a striking blue with a turquoise cap. This is most likely a female.











This is a Golden-hooded Tanager













This is the Blue Dacnis. It is a type of  tanager. There a about 10 types of Dacnis but none of them are found in the U.S. The Blue Dacnis is native to Central and northern South America.


Here is a link to pictures of some Costa Rica Raptors if you missed that blog post.

Costa Rica Raptors



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