|
|
|
ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY MAY 2007
When I first started coming here, it was
kind of a secret, there was very little parking and few photographers. But as
its reputation grew as a great place to photograph nesting herons, the road was
paved, a shelter was put up, and a parking lot was created. I am sure they will
figure out a way to charge people and was surprised it was still free when I
visited. The great draw to this rookery is the fact that the herons nest on an
island in the middle of a pond and with the water acting as a moat from
predators like raccoons, the birds are fine with being so close to shore. As a
result, the birds are basically about eye level whereas in most rookeries the
birds are forty to eighty feet off the ground. So great photography can be had
with a lens of 400mm or more.
The season starts with the great blue herons courting and building their nests. It is fascinating behavior to watch as the large birds do everything in slow motion. I once watched and photographed a pair starting to build their nest by placing the first stick across a fork in a shrub, and every time they placed it, it would fall through to the water below. Not to be discouraged the birds continued until near the end of the day they had the first couple of sticks precariously balanced. When I returned a week later the nest had been completed and the birds were starting to lay eggs. One year, I photographed a pair of birds at the nest switching places as one bird left and the other took over the incubation duties. This photograph and another one when one of the birds flew over to where I was standing to pick up a stick and add to the nest (the bird was about ten feet away, so it is just the head and shoulders of the heron I got) are two of my most all time popular photos and I have done well with them over the years at art shows.
The Venice rookery is also a good place to try out new equipment. There are so many photographers there that any new equipment you may be interested in is probably there. All the photographers are very friendly, and would gladly let you put your same brand camera on their lens and shoot a few frames to try it out before you buy later at your camera store. They will offer you an honest critique of the equipment, something you can never get from a company brochure or camera magazine. You will run into people with the most beginning interest in photography to working professionals. I have run into my old friend Arthur Morris many times there, and once saw my old mentor John Shaw with who I switched telephotos for awhile.
Another stop of my old stomping grounds is the Ding Darling refuge on Sanibel Island. Since I always do the art show on the Island, I visit the refuge following the show. Every year it seems more disappointing, as at one time it was the best place for bird photography in Florida. But things change, mainly through the growth of the mangroves making clear shots impossible now and the building of diked water paths that have changed the dynamics of the place. There are still great photos to be made, but I find myself passing by shots that others are clamoring for simply because I have better shots in my files from better years in the past. Still, I found some nice spoonbills again this year and got a decent osprey shot. Florida continues to be a great photography place in the winter and I look forward to returning there every year. I have been going there so long now that I expect things to always be as they were. But my standards have improved and it takes much more to really get me excited. Next month let me tell you about my snail kite. Return to PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNAL main page. Date this page was edited: May 10, 2007. |
This year in Florida, I did an art show in
Venice, which was OK, just not great. But while there I decided to run to the
famous Venice Rookery a place I've been coming to for many years. In fact, the
art show was the first time I had ever been to the town of Venice, yet I had
been to the rookery countless times. It is located about five miles from town
just off US-41 and anyone in the area can give you great directions. 
After the herons have nearly finished
nesting, the great egrets start. These birds put on magnificent displays with
their breeding plumage splayed around and their strutting about. Also nesting are anhingas which must keep their distance from the herons or risk getting pecked
at. Other birds fly in and out of the island such as black-crowned night-herons,
catbirds, palm warblers, and mockingbirds. Flying over to land on the island are
the herons and egrets, and many of the nationally published photos of these
birds in flight have been taken here. Above the island are other flying birds to
photograph such as soaring pelicans, hawks and vultures. One year a group of
sandhill cranes landed nearby and a bunch of us photographers went over and got
some good shots of the foraging birds. 
A must stop for the nature photographer in
Florida is the Venice rookery.