Welcome to. . .: Palm Beach County in January

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck - Wakodahatchee

The last week in January I was able to take another trip down to Jupiter Florida, in Palm Beach County to visit with my wife's parents and to get away from the miserably cold and bitter Long Island winter (even if it was just for a few days). I had two goals for this trip - I wanted to go to Wakodahatchee Wetlands and Green Cay Wetlands (both located in Delray Beach) and I wanted to take some sunrise images utilizing a slow shutter speed at the beach. I knew of two locations that feature rocks along the shoreline that hopefully would create an interesting focal point and certainly would be a unique shot as it's very "un-florida".

My wife and I picked monday morning to go to Wakodahatchee and Green Cay because there would be less people than on the weekend. While we didn't get there exactly at sunrise (I hit the snooze a few times!) it was close enough and we were treated with nice soft light and a few clouds that offered the occasional diffused light shot. From our previous trip to these wetlands, I knew I wanted to go to Wako first because it's significantly smaller and the birds are significantly closer - and there are active rookeries. Green Cay, in my opinion is nicer and more scenic, but you have to work a little harder for the shots and there's a little more luck involved. I figured I could get through Wako quickly, getting the shots I wanted then head over to the Cay (just a few blocks away) and still utilize the early morning light. I was hoping to add a couple new species to my ever-growing "photographed-species" list (I don't count birds that I simply see), namely the Wood Stork and the Roseate Spoonbill.

These birds have both been seen (fairly regularly) at these locations and in Palm Beach County in general, but every time I go down there I somehow manage to miss them. Wako quickly produced a Wood Stork (which my wife initially spotted) and Green Cay gave me several more - but no Roseate's and no other new species either. In fact, I missed out on some good birds I'd seen the last time at these locations, including the least bittern (last visit yielded 3) and I only had quick glances at 2 Purple Gallinules (last visit they were quite prevalent) and I missed out on the Egyptian Goose which I had photographed flying by last time. But, for all those birds that I "missed" I made up for with quality images, including of the Pied-billed Grebe, one of my favorite species. This diminutive Grebe is very difficult to get near in New York - if you can even find it (I only see a handful each year), but down in Florida they seem to be everywhere and gave me some really nice poses. I would have liked one with a nice big fish in its tiny bill - but that will have to wait. So, enough rambling. Enjoy the photos.