Bird Photography at the Black Point Wildlife Drive

In closing out 2018, I spent the last two days of the year photographing birds at the Black Point Wildlife Drive. Located on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near Cape Canaveral, Florida, this 7-mile one-way scenic drive is one of the top spots in Florida for photographing all kinds of birds. Of the 503 species of birds identified in Florida, to date, 358 species have been identified at the refuge. Along the drive I spotted wading birds such as little blue heron, tricolor heron, great blue heron, ibis, roseate spoonbill, reddish egrets, snowy egrets and more. Small-fast-moving wood warblers, sparrows, chickadees and finches darted throughout the vegetation. There were osprey galore, (look on the tops of the telephone poles), and lots of ducks, geese and other diving birds. Look for the birding checklist at the kiosk that gives a more complete accounting of the birds there.

Other areas on the refuge such as cabbage palm and hardwood hammocks,  oak scrub, pine uplands and more add to the diversity of habitats for the many bird species. Away from the wildlife drive, I was even fortunate to spot a kestrel and an eagle. 

Reddish Egret

These last days of December were quite warm and dense fog in the mornings lasted until 10 am. This meant that my normal routine of photographing early in the morning had to be adjusted. Still, there were so many birds that posed for my Nikon D850 that I have resolved to return.

Here are a couple of my tips for getting better bird photos: 

Upon spotting a bird I would often set up my tripod and camera with the 500 mm lens and 1.4x teleconverter. At times I did not even leave the vehicle, using it as a blind and the window frame for support.   A couple of recent changes in my techniques that have helped me to improve my bird photography are the use of a smaller aperture and a higher ISO.  By using apertures from f/8 to f/11 I am using the sharpest apertures on my lens and adding the needed depth-of-field for the larger wading birds. There was plenty of light, but by using the higher ISO I was able to use faster shutter speeds to compensate for any camera movement or movement in my subjects.

Roseate Spoonbill

 

Kestrel 

I feel like in the time allowed by my travel budget that I got some really great photos and I would highly recommend the Black Point Wildlife Drive for any photographers wanting to add to their bird portfolios. In fact, the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) is hosting a regional birding workshop there from January 27-30, 2019. 

More of my bird photography, as well as my other photography, can be viewed on my website at tomhaxby photos.