SW Florida Question

[dennis_stogsdill1]

I am heading to Florida for a week or so in late December. Staying

in Ft Lauderdale and Marco Island. Ive done some light research and

it seems the Everglades is not worth a trip. Will Ding Darling keep

me interested for multiple days? If not, where else should I hit?

 

By the way, I am bringing my 500mm.

[stemked]

Why isn't the Everglades 'worth the trip'? I saw plenty of wildlife while I was there.

 

As to Ding Darling, that all depends on you. The wildlife is generally rather approachable (sometimes TOO much so). I've seen quite a bit of variety there, esp. wading birds aligators, even an American Crocodile (at the northern limits of its range).

 

I think you and your 500mm lens will both be happy at both places. On Sanibel I'd recommend a macro too, the seashells offer a lot of great photo opportunities as well.

[ShunCheung]

The Everglades suffered very serious damage from hurricane Wilma in October.

[chris_nicholson3]

A few years ago I wrote about <a href="http://www.nicholsonprints.com/Locations/dingdarling.htm">photographing Ding Darling</a> on my site. This may or may not help you, but figured I'd let you decide.

<br><br>

Personally, I love working in the entire region -- Ding Darling, the Everglades, and Big Cypress.

<br><br>

Best of luck,<br>

<a href="http://www.NicholsonPrints.com">Chris Nicholson</a>

[greg s]

My favorite place in Florida (of what I've seen) is the Corkscrew Swamp, due east of Naples about 20 miles. Apparently there was hurricane damage in some areas of the park and less/none in others. Worth checking out on the web to see if it's your kind of place. -Greg-

[bill_proud]

Dennis,

 

Ding Darling is one of my favorite places. You should have some great opportunities with a 500mm. A 1.4x would also help.

 

As Chris mentioned in his well done write-up, early morning and sunsets are the best times but I've seen Red Shouldered Hawks at mid-morning.

 

Just past the cross dike walkway there is a culvert which brings in small seafood for the birds during tidal changes. You can get some great close-ups then. I'll post one of those.

 

good luck,<div></div>

[greg s]

"Will Ding Darling keep me interested for multiple days?"

 

It wouldn't/didn't keep me interested for multiple days. We drove our way into the area from the south along Sanibel Island (kinda busy for heading to an NWR) and arrived about mid-morning (a bit late, but not too bad). A lot more people showed up after us and it was really busy by noon. We took a few decent photos and drove through heavy traffic back to Naples. Both my wife and I had the same impression... nice place to see but once was fine. This was in early March.

 

I recommend getting there early, both for the light and less people. Sorry for the blunt assessment, but that's how we saw things. Perhaps if the area is absolutely teeming with birds then it has a bigger impact. We were able to see and photograph some birds like Roseatte Spoonbills which was very rewarding.

 

Bring a 1.4x TC for your 500mm if you have one. Cheers, -Greg-

[mike f]

I have a number of locations for SW Florida on my website. Look under "photo opps" at http://www.ordata.com/~lmforbes. Each location can be hot one year and cold the next. The Little Estero area could keep me busy for days - when it is good. The light house fishing pier is a great spot when at Sanibel. Your 500mm with tele-extender would be good at the Venice Rookery which I consider a MUST!

[dennis_stogsdill1]

Thanks for the good responses so far. The reason I excluded the Everglades from my possible locations is because of the reported hurricane damage.

 

Clarification: I will be in FT Laud for 3 days and Marco Island for 5 days. Between Marco, Ding Darling and Corkscrew the 5 days should be full. But how about the 3 days in Ft Laud? And is Corkscrew worth a drive over even with the damage? Or should I drive over to Shark Alley (is that close?)? I dont want to spend the whole week in the car though you know?

[greg s]

Here is a recent thread posted by someone who has visited Corkscrew after the hurricane.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EAsF

 

I think the main thing to find out is if the boardwalk trail is open. If you can walk the multi-mile loop through the park, then there may be some areas where some trees are down, but the birds won't care... they'll just be perched on a different limb, or wading a few yards from where they normally look for food. :) My guess is that the trails are open, but you could contact them to verify. -Greg-

[bill_proud]

Dennis,

 

As someone else mentioned, all of these areas can be hit and miss, depending on conditions. Ding Darling was a can't miss 10-12 years ago and now can be iffy.

 

Corkscrew is the same. My last trip there, two years ago was not very productive. You will see many small birds including Painted Bunting but I didn't get close enough to get a keeper. I was shooting a 500mm with 1.4x and 2x, and the small birds are banded.

 

You might try the Cape Coral Library up on Mohawk. There were Burrowing Owls nearby in late afternoon. It is reasonably close to Sannibel.

 

But the hot spot for me over the years has been the Venice rookery behind the police station. Lots of breeding birds, Snowys, Blue Herons, Great Whites, Anhingas, and Black Crowned Night Herons, many with chicks in varying stages of growth. You are shooting into the Mangroves so you have good backgrounds. The hardest part is isolating your subject without another bird in the background.

 

Also a lot of flight shots can be had. The birds are flying to the mainland collecting twigs for nests and flying back to the island.

 

cheers,

[ShunCheung]

I haven't been to Ding Darling for several years. What has changed over there?

 

Here is some information on the Venice Rookery, but it is a bit out of date: http://www.photo.net/nature/venice.html

[steve_thompson]

I've found Ding Darling to be wonderful and at times no action. I do believe it is very dependent of the tide. If you are there near sunrise or set and low tide it can be wonderful. In my opinion it is like so many other spots, varible. Over the long haul it is one place I keep going back to because it can be wonderful if you are patient.

[sergey_oboguev]

I do not know about current status of Venice rookery after the hurricane (I did not check specifically as I won't be visiting FL this winter since I committed my resources to trips elsewhere, but I have an email address of Venice Audubon chairman in case anyone is intersted), however normally Christmas/New Year time is a good time for photography of nesting Great Blue Herons there. Great Egrets are not nesting yet, there is a variety of species that roost in the rookery (including Great Egrets, glossy ibises etc.) but they all fly out ~ 10 minutes before sunrise and you do not see them much through the day. The advantage however is that there is much less clutter and for GBH photography this is very good time. There may be few chicks as well, in case they did not perish of frost and other dangers.

 

As for Ding Darling, I'd advise visiting it for a day and seeing if you want to come more as it may vary greatly from time to time and from year to year. If I were to go to Ft. Myers area this December, I'd spent mornings at Venice rookery and then drive for sunset to Ding Darling (watch for pelicans and spoonbills, and red-shoulder hawk in the trees on the right past observation tower). I would also probably allocate some mornings to Little Estero lagoon for Reddish Egret. Corkscrew is a photographer's refuge for overcast days when light conditions are suboptimal in other places; but in Corkscrew overcast days are actually the best. So general approach is on sunny days to go to Venice/Ding Darling, on overcast days head for Corkscerew.

 

When around Sanibel, don't miss islands at the toll bridge, especially second island. This is a good place for diving pelicans, ospreys carrying fish or sitting in the tree, shorebirds etc. One possible strategy is to spend early PM there and then drive to Ding Darling shortly before sunset.

 

When visiting Ding Darling in the morning, be sure to look for fishing Reddish Egrets and also funny Little Blue Herons who picked up fishing techniques from those Egrets. (While Reddish Egrets can also be seen in PM time, they are less often present on the right side of the road.)

 

Remember also to check beaches at the Blind Pass between Sanibel and Captiva in the AM for herons, pelicans & co.

 

Lakes Park at Ft. Myers downtown used to have unique opportunities for Great Horned Owls, but unfortunately their nesting area was destroyed by the hurricane (and owls would be just starting to nest at Christmas time), however ibises and common moorhens are still there.

 

Carl Johnson park and area opposite it across the highway is a place for ospreys. YLMV, but it is worth checking out in any event.

 

I do not know about current state of Everglades. While December may be not the absolute peak time for Everglades, it still should be productive normally -- the question is if recovery from the hurricane had mostly happened already (it happens quickly) or not yet. I'd call interpretation and ask and/or inquire local Audubon.

 

When around Sanibel, do not miss Wild Bird Center in Tavernier (be sure to check their bird feeding time; it happens twice a day, AM and PM).

 

Cape Coral is a capital or Burrowing Owls in the US, but they won't be nesting yet. However there are parakeets and Bald Eagle's nest (but you are not allowed as close as you may want and I am unsure if Eagles will be already nesting at Christmas time).

 

While at Ft. Lauderdale, check Wakodohatchee and Loxahatchee. I have heard that there is also new swamp park set up just nearby Wakodohatchee, I assume they would have information on their web site. Florida Atlantic University campus has spectacular opportunities for iguanas, as I figured out by surprise, though it would be hard to explain the way to the right spot, but if you happen to get nearby you can ask people around. If you shoot in aviaries at all, check Butterfly World in the vicinity of Ft. Lauderdale, they have tame tropical birds that you may shoot all you want.

[bill_proud]

Shun,

 

I'm not sure what has changed at Ding over the years. I believe they went through a couple of dry years and then a few hurricanes which knocked out a lot of the Mangroves used for nesting. The road is now all paved.

 

My last time, in March, 2003, there was one good day and then pretty sparse pickings the rest of the week. Perhaps others had better luck?

 

cheers,

[dennis_stogsdill1]

Anyone have any ideas for Marco Island? I am staying at the Marriott there...maybe something in the near vicinity?

[laurie_m]

Most places will still show some hurricane damage but should be accessible. The wildlife doesn't seem to mind a few toppled trees. For Ding Darling, Corkscrew, or anywhere else, the presence of wildlife can never be guaranteed. However, I have never been disappointed spending time in Big Cypress. The loop drive to the south of Tamiami Trail has always yeilded multiple opportunities to shoot birds, alligators, turtles, snakes, landscapes, macros etc.

 

Also, a little sidetrip could be the Fakahatchee Strand Boardwalk. It's not that long and is well worth the short hike.

[redskeeter]

http://www.grandetours.com/

 

Something no one has recommended is this outfitter in Placida, Florida. They can take you out to the Intercoastal islands where birds roost. They know and like photographers, hosting such notables as NGS photogs and pro's like Art Morris. You have several choices as to boats or kyaks and offer accomodations as well as fishing trips.

 

I went out one evening and it was absolutely terrific. Birds by the zillions flying in to roost with sweet light. I really recommend it. They have a lot of photos on their site. Go, you won't regret it.

 

Oh yes, wait 'til you see the NGS photographers "White Pelican" blind, it's a scream.

 

Good shooting to all.

[dale_keith]

If you have a couple of hours, go to Butterfly World. It is a great

place to spend a few hours surrounded by butterflies and

hummingbirds. It is west of the turnpike on Sample road.