Bobby, the kitten in the Cypress

Posted by Jon-Mark on March 26, 2013

Last weekend Jo, my wife and I visited one of our favorite wildlife wetland areas in South Florida called Green Cay. It’s part of the Palm Beach County water and utility commission system for reclaiming water and is a beautiful place to visit. Over the past three or four years we have seen and heard about the Bobcats at the Cay. We have seen cat shadows as we head to the parking lot at night after a long day of photography but we haven’t really seen the cats in daylight where I could get a couple of shots.

Saturday we decided to enjoy an extended time in the wetland so we casually walked the mile and a half boardwalk watching and photographing many birds including some neat shots of an American Bittern hunting near the East pool and saw a Harrier Hawk diving for food.

At dusk I like to position myself in a particular place ready to capture what are usually fantastic sunsets in front of a favorite tree snag usually a resting spot to large perching birds, I’ll add that picture to the on-line blog after this is published so come check it out later. Some evenings I capture Spoonbills or Egrets, tonight is was a Woody (Wood Stork). I was able to capture some very nice sunset shots as the sun slid itself behind the palm trees across the pond.

From the snag there is still about a half mile left in the trail so I normally keep my long lens available for when something pops up that can be photographed even in low light.

This day we were greeted in a dark tunnel like area of the Cyprus Wood by a group of excited onlookers. To our amazement one of the Bobcat kittens was hunched at the foot of a tree waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting Coot, Heron or screaming bystander.

The sun was down and it was actually getting very dark as we peered into the floor of the Cyprus Wood to see this face looking back at us.

First this red-nosed feline stared at Jo, my wife. Then he turned to me.

It was so dark I didn’t know if the pictures would come out, and some were way to blurry to show but these two shots are breathtaking. I was shooting with my 500mm lens but it was not cranked to the end, in fact we were almost too close to get a focus. I was actually laying on the wooden deck to get as face-on a shot as possible. After a couple clicks of my camera, Canon 5D MIII, in low light mode and after a couple screams from a lady petrified that this cat was going to bound over the boardwalk rails to eat her, Bobby, as I’ve nicknamed him, pulled his paw back and took off around the tree.

Many years ago I had the pleasure of having a couple of half bobcat, half domestic cats as pets so I certainly understood the power of those back legs as they took the cat in an opposite direction. I’ve seen a bobcat jump 10 feet straight up to land on a roof and I’ve felt the sharp claws of the cats we had, I know what scars they can leave. But it was great to finally get close enough to a fine Bobcat in the Cay to be able to capture a couple very neat shots like these.

I hope you enjoy the shots too.

Wild Quaker Parrots and Palm Berries

Posted by Jon-Mark on November 14, 2012

My favorite wildlife subjects are the wild and in-home Quaker Parrots of South Florida. As far as I can tell I’ve taken in excess of 15,000 photos of Quaker Parrots over 2 decades.
This is a series of photos I recently captured one afternoon as I was passing a small office complex where I heard a flock of wild Quaker Parrots enjoying their afternoon snack. I love to watch Quaker Parrots, they have wonderful personalities and make the best faces as they work out the pecking order of the flock.

The birds in this flock are still fairly young, you can still see a bulge in their upper beaks. As they grow the bulge will gradually disappear leaving a sleek beak line.

Quakers are known for searching the tree to find just the right fruit for the morning. The Palm Tree seeds turn a bright orange when ready to eat.

Quaker Parrots are real characters. I truly believe that they are as curious about us as we are about them. I know from having indoor parrots for the better part of 20 years that they are inquisitive birds. They are curious and they enjoy the company of people. In North America most Quaker Parrot flocks are close to higher populations of people, they are escapees from homes, zoos, open crates at the airport and other routes.

Quakers will really dive into a Palm Tree with berries just to find the perfect batch of berries.

Once the Quaker Parrot finds the perfect juicy palm fruit he will spend a moment checking out the surroundings readying for the takeoff.

This Quaker, also known as the Monk Parrot, can capture a Palm seed and escape the tree almost without notice.

Once the parrot is free of the Palm Tree he will fly to an overhead power wire and relax to enjoy the eating of this wonderful fruit.

Eating is truly a social event, one where few or many birds get together to feed. They will end up on the same tree, or wire, just to be social with each other. Very seldom do I find a single Quaker Parrot eating alone. Parrot banquets are truly the daily social event.

Most of the time, if you see or hear only one parrot, it’s for a single fly through or very temporary.

I love the Quaker Parrot, Monk Parakeet, they are characters, they are fun to watch and thoroughly brighten my day when I see them.

How could anyone hurt these cute little green parrots?

Copyright Jon-Mark Davey, QuakerVille.com

Buterfly World Experience

Posted by Jon-Mark on October 15, 2012

I love to take pictures of birds and I love to relax at one of the local area wildlife attractions, Butterfly World, in Coral Springs, Florida, about 2 miles from home.

This past weekend, as with many other weekends, I visited Butterfly World to relax and enjoy a beautiful afternoon in the cooling Florida weather. I came away with some pretty amazing bird shots. Even though I have spent a lot of time at this attraction and have taken thousands of pictures over the years I believe that this particular 2 hour visit gave me the most spectacular shots I’ve come away with in one day.

I figured I would share a few on the blog so here goes….

This first shot is of a Zanzibar Bishop Weaver, a beautiful bird that is usually reclusive and hidden deep in the thickets of the avian encounter area. This week he was showing off big time for me. It must be his breeding season, along with other species, because I found him right our in front, all puffed up and strutting his stuff. His bright orange head and back was spectacular. His black belly was even more outstanding. His feathers were so wide-spread that you could see his skin. And he was singing as loud as he could. He is a master of color and sound.

Below is a shot of the Bishop Weaver as he gathers twigs for his nest. I never saw where he deposited them, nor did I see a female Bishop Weaver.

These next two shots are simply beautiful. I don’t know the name of this bird yet but I’ll find it eventually. His colors are so striking, especially against the backdrop of the berries and leaves.

The second shot offers a different view into his personality.

Next is a Shaftail Finch as he sits in the tree watching visitors to his home. These finches are friendly and will unexpectedly fly right past your ear at full speed. Sometimes a pair will jet past you, one on the left and another on the right. it’s startling to some visitors. I believe they do it for fun.

You can really tell it’s just about mating season, some of the birds are in full swing gathering material for the annual nest-building season.

The color of the Red Legged Honeycreeper is so majestically deep, almost indigo yet still blue. This guy seems part hummingbird part Finch.

This is one of my favorite Hummingbirds. He’s so small, like an overgrown mosquito with the personality of a big bird. This Rufous “Hummer” has so much personality. I could sit and watch him for hours. Oh, I have watched him for hours!

The Purple Grenadier below is a wild combination of colors and textures. His belly is bright blue and brown, his face is brown with blue eye patches. His orange beak is no less than the stunning highlight of his face. The reddish eyes with the bright red rings really makes this bird’s face a colorful work of art.

Next is the Madagascar Red Fodie. Like so many birds around the world this beautiful creature is regarded as a pest to agriculture in their native habitat. I promised I would not “go off” on things like that in my blog but I certainly could offer an ear full about now on that subject. I’ll leave it to the beauty of these birds for now since I don’t live in Madagascar.

Finally I’m going to finish with several pictures of the Forbes Parrot Finch a beautiful small bird with almost glowing feathers of blue, green and red. These little birds are plentiful in the aviary and it’s a real treat to be able to watch and photograph them.

These little birds have so much personality, you can see it in their eyes. You can almost see them thinking as they live a really good life in Butterfly World.

If I take the time and sit near their play area in their aviary it does not take long for one to fly up to a high location to watch me. I don’t know if it’s the camera’s noise, the flash, or just someone being patient enough for them to feel comfortable with but they like to come pretty close and watch me when I’m the only one in the aviary and all is quiet. Being patient and quiet is often rewarded with a flyby or a great vantage for pictures like these.

And finally the Macaw. Over the years they have exhibited several different Macaws in the Macaw area and I’ve been able to take some fantastic pictures but this Blue and Gold Macaw seemed like he was posing just for me so I had to take a couple more shots.

Over the years Parrots have been my most photographed bird until the past three years. In January of 2010 my Quaker Parrot companion of 16 years died leaving me without a primary photo subject so I had to turn my avian photographic habit outward to new species and locations. Since my home area of South Florida is absolutely full of wonderful birds to photograph and great places to explore my wife, Jo, and I explore almost every weekend. This blog is one way to share all the pictures I take. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy capturing them.

If you like the blog please share it with others. Also please comment. I appreciate hearing from you either about the photography or even content.

Cattle Egrets in the rain

Posted by Jon-Mark on August 16, 2012

This time of the year the Cattle Egret, a member of the Heron family, propagation is well underway. As Jo, my wife, and I explore the wilds of Florida we are noticing what appears to be an up swing in the Cattle Egret population in may areas we visit. These Ibis like birds, without the long curve bills, are called Cattle Egrets because they have in interesting relationship with, well, cattle.

When you see these Egrets in the field with cows you correctly think they are enjoying the bugs and insects the transportation on which they are mounted kicks up. But they go one step further and not only help keep insects away from their symbiotic partner by feeding on the insects but they also pluck tics and other parasites from the skin of their bovine chauffeur. In may other countries these Egrets can be photographed hitching rides on Elephants, Hippos, Water Buffalo, Oxen, and other large mammals, including sleeping Mexicans at siesta time.

This photo sequence was captured during a hard rainstorm in the rookery at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County, FL. This illustrates how hearty these birds can be. The first shot is a mother Egret preparing to feed her chicks. If you click the pictures they will open in Flickr where you can explore the larger versions.

Sometimes the mom Egret will rise, shuffle the food in her crop, and continue the feeding ballet, although some call it sword fight.