Florida Bird Photography – gary luhm photography

White Pelican. Headed for a roost after an early morning feed. Ding-Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida.

Roseate Spoonbills. Early morning light reflections in the still water of Ding-Darling NWR. Sanibel Island, FL.

Observed while on a kayak paddle from Cedar Key, American Oystercatchers assemble at an oyster bar. Cedar Key, Florida.

Drying it wings after feeding, a breeding plumage Anhinga. Shark Alley, Everglades National Park, FL.

Double-crested Cormorant. Cormorants are abundant in the rich shallow water of Ding-Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Sanibel Island, FL.

Limpkin. On one of my first paddles at Myakka, I was rewarded with my first of several sightings of a Limpkin. Myakka River State Park, FL.

Black Vultures. These black vultures surround a soft-shell turtle carcass on the shore of Upper Myakka Lake. Opportunities to view wildlife in action is one of the reasons Myakka SP was a personal favorite. Myakka River State Park, FL.

$Down the Myakka River, an alligator bellowed. I paused in mid-paddle stroke, and looked up to see a gaping, toothy mouth - directed at me. Fortunately, the river was wide, perhaps 25 -30 yards at that point. I passed by easily in my kayak along the opposite bank. Like the boat tour guide says, \'This ain\'t no Disney world, and that ain\'t no Mickey Mouse.\' Myakka River SP, FL.$

$Cedar Key Pelicans. The bearded man here identified himself as \'Pelican Man\'. He\'s fed Brown Pelicans his fish catch since the early \'80\'s, when they were endangered from DDT. Obviously, the Brown P\'s know the drill! Cedar Key, FL.$

A group of Brown Pelicans at Ding-Darling NWR repeatedly took off and then plunged into the shallow water in search of a meal. Ding-Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, FL.

Male Great Blue Heron delivers a nest-building stick to a receptive female. Venice Rookery, Venice, FL.

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Sea kayaker on Myakka River, Myakka River State Park, Florida. — Myakka River, FL.

I was in Florida in February, 2000, to photograph birds and to kayak. South Florida stops included Ding-Darling NWR, the Venice Rookery, Myakka State Park, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, and Everglades National Park. I kayaked at Ding, Myakka and the Everglades. I also visited Loxahatchee NWR, Merit NWR, Cedar Key NWR, Wakulla State Park, and St. Marks NWR, paddling on the rivers, lakes or bays. The winter dry season is almost mosquito-free. The sun shines daily. Florida winters are unbelievably comfortable.

The top place for Florida bird photography is Ding-Darling. Go there often, go early, and go late. A five-mile long auto road winds through the refuge, with lagoons on both sides. Feeding frenzies – a Ding-Darling trademark – erupt frequently. The frenzies can involve a dozen species, and hundreds of birds: egrets and herons, wood storks, spoonbills, white pelicans, white ibis, and cormorants. A couple of mornings the Spoonbills, cotton-candy pink under the bluest of skies, were close in and easy to photograph. Brown Pelicans sometimes plunge-dive right next to the shore. You can launch non-motorized boats north of the road. I launched my kayak, and got close views of Reddish Egrets and daytime-shy night herons. If you want to study feeding behaviors, or capture wading birds in flight, you won’t find a better, more accessible place than Ding-Darling.

That said, my favorite South Florida locale was Myakka River State Park. I loved Myakka for the opportunity to feel I was a part of nature, to be immersed in it. To paddle a river full of alligators, to listen to the bleat of the Sandhill Crane, to search for my first Limpkin. I identified 52 different birds here, 51 of them from my kayak. At Myakka, I was away from the beach crowds, the boardwalk trails, the line-up of photographers at hot-spots like Ding. Paddling the Myakka River and the lakes, I found solitude.

Click the thumbnails above for a glimpse, as they say, of the real Florida.