Bird Species Spotlight: Reddish Egret
by Jake Jacoby | October 30, 2021

© Jake JacobyThe Reddish Egret is a medium to large Heron that usually forages in shallow salt water. They are very active foragers, often seen running through shallows with long strides, staggering sideways, leaping in the air, raising one or both wings, and abruptly stabbing at fish. Some people consider t...

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Bird Species Spotlight: Montezuma Oropendola
by Jake Jacoby | April 11, 2021

© Jake Jacoby

In January 2020, I had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica in Central America. I departed from Tampa, changed planes in Miami and then arrived in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Colon is the country’s currency and was named after Christopher Columbus. The currency bi...

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Bird Species Spotlight: Crested Barbet
by Jake Jacoby | December 31, 2020

© Jake Jacoby

In 2017, my brother Mitch and I had the opportunity to stay in the Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa. As previously reported, this game reserve is the largest private Big Five game reserve in South Africa and comprises some 35,000 acres and also shares a 12-mile unfenced border with Krug...

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Bird Species Spotlight: Guira Cuckoo
by Jake Jacoby | November 28, 2020

© Jake JacobyI saw my first Guira Cuckoo on the ground in the grasslands of Brazil in 2018. These cuckoos are frequent visitors to drier habitats, such as second-growth scrub, scrub savannahs and woodlands, pampas, pastures, fields and coastal dunes. They are very social birds and live in groups of 6 to 8 in...

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Bird Species Spotlight: Black Skimmer
by Jake Jacoby | September 26, 2020

© Jake JacobyThe black skimmer is an instantly recognized bird that is best known for its remarkable beak, and its black and white underpants. These skimmers have long, deep, and flattened blade-like mandibles. The upper mandible is shorter than the lower mandible and all skimmers have short legs with webbed...

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Bird Species Spotlight: King Vulture
by Jake Jacoby | March 22, 2020

© Jake JacobyOn a recent trip to Costa Rica, I was introduced to an entirely new bird species for me, namely, the “king vulture.” This photographic workshop that I attended in Costa Rica was organized and hosted by Naturescapes.net, a specialized travel agency for photographers, and an invaluable resourc...

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Bird Species Spotlight: Great Gray Owl
by Jake Jacoby | January 25, 2020

© Jake Jacoby

It seems like the great grey owl has been on my bucket list forever. However, I knew that they were never coming to Florida to visit me as their nomadic travels only take them as far south as Minnesota. Most of the year is spent in the far northern regions of Quebec, Canada, west to Alaska, a...

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Anchoring Bird in Flight Shots
by Steven Blandin | November 28, 2018

Pursuit in the skyFlying bird photographs are sought-after creations for most bird photographers. Besides the difficulty of properly synchronizing one’s hands motion and sight to properly frame the bird, there are other composing considerations to consider. It is very pleasing to create a photograph of a beauti...

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Bird Species Spotlight: Tricolored Heron
by Jake Jacoby | September 6, 2018

Tricolored heron by Jake JacobyThe tricolored heron, formerly known as the “Louisiana heron” in North America, is a small to medium-sized heron and is found in quiet, shallow waters. It is strikingly slender, with a long bill, neck, and legs and is often found wading belly-deep in coastal lagoons and freshwater ponds, lak...

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Remote, Yet Rewarding: St. Paul Island
by Tina Hay | September 29, 2017

Parakeet auklet © Tina HaySt. Paul Island is heaven for bird photography—if you can get there.

A tiny dot in the Bering Sea, part of Alaska’s Pribilof Islands, St. Paul is remote and isolated. Only one small airline serves it, with just three flights from Anchorage per week. And because of the fog that often envelo...

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The 4 Angles of Success
by Steven Blandin | June 22, 2015

When teaching photography workshops, I often get asked to discuss the most impactful techniques needed to create excellent wildlife photography. I often tell them about the four angles of success: a triangulation of the sun angle, height angle, head angle and background angle.

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