Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

The willow is too close to the house.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Consistently wrong since 2002

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

People are complicated. Love is not.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / Albatrossity / On the Road and In Your Backyard

On the Road and In Your Backyard

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

Good Morning All,

This weekday feature is for Juicers who are are on the road, traveling, or just want to share a little bit of their world via stories and pictures. So many of us rise each morning, eager for something beautiful, inspiring, amazing, subtle, of note, and our community delivers – a view into their world, whether they’re far away or close to home – pictures with a story, with context, with meaning, sometimes just beauty. By concentrating travel updates and tips here, it’s easier for all of us to keep up or find them later.

So please, speak up and share some of your adventures and travel news here, and submit your pictures using our speedy, secure form. You can submit up to 7 pictures at a time, with an overall description and one for each picture.

You can, of course, send an email with pictures if the form gives you trouble, or if you are trying to submit something special, like a zipped archive or a movie. If your pictures are already hosted online, then please email the links with your descriptions.

For each picture, it’s best to provide your commenter screenname, description, where it was taken, and date. It’s tough to keep everyone’s email address and screenname straight, so don’t assume that I remember it “from last time”. More and more, the first photo before the fold will be from a commenter, so making it easy to locate the screenname when I’ve found a compelling photo is crucial.

Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!

Let’s welcome Spring today with some (once again) amazing pictures from a certain bird magician….

Today, pictures from valued commenter Albatrossity.

I had an opportunity to visit Betty’s home state in March, when my sweetie was attending the AWP conference in Tampa. I attended a couple of events at the conference, but mostly spent the time birdwatching and photographing the avifauna of Florida. I think I should be glad that I don’t live there; it is way too easy to take way too many pictures of birds in that state. So here are a few, from jaunts to Ft. DeSoto State Park, Old Myakka Reserve, and my favorite birding place in Florida, Ding Darling Refuge on Sanibel Island (the first National Wildlife Refuge established in the USA)..

Osprey

Taken on 2018-03-08

Ft. DeSoto

He was torn between watching me and watching another Osprey who was eying the fish that this one was chowing down on.

One good tern deserves another

Taken on 2018-03-08

Ft. DeSoto

Well, at least the Forster’s Tern in the background likes my pun… Royal Terns in two stages of molting into summer plumage, and a Forster’s Tern on the beach

Swallow-tailed Kite

Taken on 2018-03-09

Old Myakka Reserve

As one of my friends commented, this is just about the most perfect bird

Anhinga

Taken on 2018-03-10

Ding Darling NWR

Almost in full breeding plumage, this striking bird was showing off and attracting a crowd. I got to point it out to visitors from Germany, the UK, Ontario, and the USA

Red-shouldered Hawk

Taken on 2018-03-09

Old Myakka Reserve

This species is found in many parts of North America, but the subspecies in Florida is uniquely pale-headed and very striking.

Little Blue Heron

Taken on 2018-03-10

Ding Darling NWR

Birds at Ding Darling see a lot of humans, and are very tame

Palm Warbler

Taken on 2018-03-09

Old Myakka Reserve

Most of our warblers winter south of the USA, but Palm Warblers stay in Florida and are a delight to see prior to the start of the migration that brings the rest of the warblers back for the summer.

 

Thank you so much Albatrossity, do send us more when you can.

 

Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.

 

One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email

Reader Interactions

27Comments

  3. 3.

    Schlemazel

    There are several redeeming qualities to living in that toilet with palm trees, one of the very best of them is the numbers and varieties of birds the make their home there during the year.

    Those are some fabulous pictures, thanks!

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I love warblers. And ospreys and terns and hawks and herons and I’d like to love kites and anhingas some day but I really love warblers.

  11. 11.

    cosima

    I get all swoony when I see ospreys & hawks & kites here, and I often see herons at the river, though the dog inevitably scares them off. Those are amazing photos — do you have a massive zoom lens?

  15. 15.

    Rob

    Excellent photos to see first thing in the morning! I especially love the Anhinga. Gracias, Albatrossity.

  22. 22.

    TomatoQueen

    Brings back many fond memories of Sanibel, where ex and I honeymooned many years ago. Ding Darling was our go-to refuge for peace and quiet on weekends.

  23. 23.

    StringOnAStick

    Beautiful photos! We went to Sanibel a few years ago and the bird life was amazing.

  24. 24.

    J R in WV

    I also am interested in what gear Albatrossity used to capture these images. Superior phptography, speaking as one who attempts to photo birds but doesn’t have nearly the mad skillz of Albatrossity, Jerffrey, etc.

    I do have some photos from last weeks adventure in Baja, like 2000+, which is what happens when your camera is set to bracket every exposure. Some are nice bird photos…

    Many of the other photogs on the trip had kilograms of glass, while I had my little super-zoom. I did OK.

    Thanks for sharing, Albatrossity!!

  26. 26.

    Albatrossity

    Thanks, all. I’m glad you enjoy the pictures; I certainly enjoy collecting them and sharing them!

    I do own the “kilograms of glass” that J R in WV describes, but I traveled light on this trip. Most of these were shot with a Micro 4/3 format rig. That would be an Olympus EM1 Mark II body and a Leica 100-400mm zoom lens. Total weight less than 5 lbs (2 kg), and very hand-holdable, although sometimes I use a monopod in low-light situations or when I am maximally zoomed out. Because of the crop-sensor format of the body, that 100-400 translates into a 200-800mm lens, and nobody can hand-hold a camera steady every time when shooting at 800mm.

    I’m just getting used to this rig, and still have a lot to learn. But since I am taking a long-anticipated trip to East Africa in May, and I didn’t want to lug those kilograms of glass through airports on three continents, I will have to keep shooting and learning before I head overseas with it. Should be fun, and I promise to share some pics from Tanzania if I don’t succumb to malaria, Cape Buffalo, or terminal leg cramps on those long flights.

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