Casper, our favorite Caspian tern, in search of a meal.
Ok let’s turn back the clock a bit. Time for our annual favorite photos of the past year photo story. We’ve had our head so far down trying to complete a rebuild of our website that we didn’t realize that we were still featuring our 2023 edition.
Most of the photos are of our feathered friends taken at Green Cay Nature Center in Boynton Beach for two main reasons: it's an excellent place to spot birds and it's only minutes from our house. We visit several times a week in the cool of winter and the slog of summer. Most were not published other than maybe on our Facebook page until we began our review for this project.
Another thing you'll notice is that a lot of the photos on this page are of birds flying. They are challenging shots to make but also fun and rewarding when they work. Without further ado, let’s get to 2024:
First up has to be Casper, our favorite Caspian tern. Which is our best shot of him? That’s up to you. We can’t make up our minds, so we’ll offer you several in a sequence showing how we saw him.
The back story: Casper was a bird of mystery when he first appeared over the waters of Green Cay Nature Center in January 2024. At first he was just a curiousity. We've been visiting Green Cay in western Boynton Beach literally for decades, and the only terns we'd had ever seen were least terns in late spring and early summer. Casper much, much bigger.
He became a regular sight at Green Cay, but unfortunately for us, he remained in a distant part of the preserve where it was difficult to get a decent look at him, but it was so unusual to see a tern there at this time of year that I’d mentally take note of his comings and goings.
At first, I thought he might be a royal tern, an oddity to see one so far inland, until we got a closer look at him. We began to realize Casper was something different. His size, feather pattern on his head and his dark-tipped bill gave him away. Casper was a Caspian tern, something we had only seen once before, at Biscayne National Park.
Then Casper began shifting his (or her) foraging pattern and started flying more over the central part of Green Cay where he (or she) was more photographically accessible and the light perfect, if not spectacular. He would hang around for 15 or 20 minutes, dive a few times, grab a meal then fly off for parts unknown.
Photographing him (or her) was some of the most fun we’ve had with a camera as we attempted to capture his soars, swoops and plunges. He was there almost every evening into late winter. Each evening, we’d search the skies hoping he’d return, through spring and even into summer, and again this past winter but he never showed.
We miss you Casper where ever you might be.
Casper would glide over the water perhaps 40 or 50 feet in the air, spot a target below, dive, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. When he failed, he would twist his body as he came out of the water, regain altitude and begin the process again. We don't know if Casper was hunting for himself (herself) or feeding offspring. We don't know where he (or she) came from or where he vanished to after the evening's hunt but we did appreciate the show he'd put on even though the fish he caught might not.
The Back Story: We've been going to Green Cay for more than 20 years, ever since it opened in 2004. Over that time, we've spotted seven species of ducks in Green Cay's waters, but this guy, the wood duck, tops them all in terms of beauty. In the last couple of years, they've become regular residents and likely to stay that way for a while. Wood ducks do move around but females tend to return year after year to nesting sites where they've had breeding success. And where the ladies of the species go, the gentlemen are sure to follow. And while the ladies are on the drab side, the gentlemen are spectacularly plumed as you can see in this photo.
The Back Story: Sometimes you wait hoping something will happen. Sometimes you wait knowing it will. This is a case of the latter. There was a pair of nesting red-shouldered hawks who had taken up residence in the cypress trees that surround the gator hole at Green Cay. Every day, the paparazzi — us camera-armed amateurs — would troop through the boardwalk hopping to get a shot of the pair and their offspring in the nest. Getting a photo of the hawks themselves was fairly straight forward as they'd come and go foraging for their kids and themselves. The kids not so much, as boughs from the cypress tree obscured their nest.
It usually doesn't pay to wait for something interesting to happen, because it usually doesn't. This one time, however, we could sense from the bird's movement that he was going to make a move. And he did, right at me. The only thing I had to do was make sure my camera settings were good, and then wait. When he took off right at me, I pushed the shutter and captured these photos. Cool photos, in our estimation.
The Back Story: Sometimes you find yourself while getting lost. As we noted at the top, we spent much of the year amid a redesign of this website, and a part of that required us venturing out to places we haven't visited in years. Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park is one such place.
So we drove up to Stuart on a glorious January day when we came across an open field with several paths out in the general direction we needed to go. We picked a path and started hoofing. Not long, it became apparent that I had taken the wrong one, and with each step farther from my destination. I didn't care. This is why I didn't care. Just gorgeous pinelands perfectly maintained as nature would have done more than a century ago.
We could have sat there all day, and would have if I could. This photo transports me back to that place and thet moment every time I look at it. That's what a photograph is supposed to do.
The Back Story: We have seen exactly two eastern meadowlarks in our time. Both birds perched above the surrounding landscape as if on the lookout for potential predators. Meaowlarks are ground nesters, and we're guessing both had broods nearby. We photographed this bird as we were finishing up our explorations of Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area in northern Martin County. Eastern meadowlarks are fairly common birds but are uncommonly seen because of their ground-hugging habits, so it was a particular treat to see this guy in late March.
The Back Story: There is a small cypress-covered island in the northwestern corner of Green Cay Nature Center that, over the years, has become a major nesting site for a variety of water birds, double-crested cormorants among them. We noticed one nest in particular where the cormorant offspring seemed especially rambunctious. They would kind of go at each other a little more than usual than most, and mom of course, would try to keep the peace.
We saw them one day pretty close to fully grown out of the nest and in the water. They continued their sibling rivalry for one last time, with mom trying her best to ensure no harm, no fowl. This was the last time we saw them.
Most of the photos are of our feathered friends taken at Green Cay Nature Center in Boynton Beach for two main reasons: it's an excellent place to spot birds and it's only minutes from our house. We visit several times a week in the cool of winter and the slog of summer. Most were not published other than maybe on our Facebook page until we began our review for this project.
Another thing you'll notice is that a lot of the photos on this page are of birds flying. They are challenging shots to make but also fun and rewarding when they work. Without further ado, let’s get to 2024:
First up has to be Casper, our favorite Caspian tern. Which is our best shot of him? That’s up to you. We can’t make up our minds, so we’ll offer you several in a sequence showing how we saw him.
The back story: Casper was a bird of mystery when he first appeared over the waters of Green Cay Nature Center in January 2024. At first he was just a curiousity. We've been visiting Green Cay in western Boynton Beach literally for decades, and the only terns we'd had ever seen were least terns in late spring and early summer. Casper much, much bigger.
He became a regular sight at Green Cay, but unfortunately for us, he remained in a distant part of the preserve where it was difficult to get a decent look at him, but it was so unusual to see a tern there at this time of year that I’d mentally take note of his comings and goings.
At first, I thought he might be a royal tern, an oddity to see one so far inland, until we got a closer look at him. We began to realize Casper was something different. His size, feather pattern on his head and his dark-tipped bill gave him away. Casper was a Caspian tern, something we had only seen once before, at Biscayne National Park.
Then Casper began shifting his (or her) foraging pattern and started flying more over the central part of Green Cay where he (or she) was more photographically accessible and the light perfect, if not spectacular. He would hang around for 15 or 20 minutes, dive a few times, grab a meal then fly off for parts unknown.
Photographing him (or her) was some of the most fun we’ve had with a camera as we attempted to capture his soars, swoops and plunges. He was there almost every evening into late winter. Each evening, we’d search the skies hoping he’d return, through spring and even into summer, and again this past winter but he never showed.
We miss you Casper where ever you might be.
Casper would glide over the water perhaps 40 or 50 feet in the air, spot a target below, dive, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. When he failed, he would twist his body as he came out of the water, regain altitude and begin the process again. We don't know if Casper was hunting for himself (herself) or feeding offspring. We don't know where he (or she) came from or where he vanished to after the evening's hunt but we did appreciate the show he'd put on even though the fish he caught might not.
Duck Season!
The Back Story: We've been going to Green Cay for more than 20 years, ever since it opened in 2004. Over that time, we've spotted seven species of ducks in Green Cay's waters, but this guy, the wood duck, tops them all in terms of beauty. In the last couple of years, they've become regular residents and likely to stay that way for a while. Wood ducks do move around but females tend to return year after year to nesting sites where they've had breeding success. And where the ladies of the species go, the gentlemen are sure to follow. And while the ladies are on the drab side, the gentlemen are spectacularly plumed as you can see in this photo.
Coming at You!
The Back Story: Sometimes you wait hoping something will happen. Sometimes you wait knowing it will. This is a case of the latter. There was a pair of nesting red-shouldered hawks who had taken up residence in the cypress trees that surround the gator hole at Green Cay. Every day, the paparazzi — us camera-armed amateurs — would troop through the boardwalk hopping to get a shot of the pair and their offspring in the nest. Getting a photo of the hawks themselves was fairly straight forward as they'd come and go foraging for their kids and themselves. The kids not so much, as boughs from the cypress tree obscured their nest.It usually doesn't pay to wait for something interesting to happen, because it usually doesn't. This one time, however, we could sense from the bird's movement that he was going to make a move. And he did, right at me. The only thing I had to do was make sure my camera settings were good, and then wait. When he took off right at me, I pushed the shutter and captured these photos. Cool photos, in our estimation.
Lost and Found
The Back Story: Sometimes you find yourself while getting lost. As we noted at the top, we spent much of the year amid a redesign of this website, and a part of that required us venturing out to places we haven't visited in years. Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park is one such place.So we drove up to Stuart on a glorious January day when we came across an open field with several paths out in the general direction we needed to go. We picked a path and started hoofing. Not long, it became apparent that I had taken the wrong one, and with each step farther from my destination. I didn't care. This is why I didn't care. Just gorgeous pinelands perfectly maintained as nature would have done more than a century ago.
We could have sat there all day, and would have if I could. This photo transports me back to that place and thet moment every time I look at it. That's what a photograph is supposed to do.
On Guard
The Back Story: We have seen exactly two eastern meadowlarks in our time. Both birds perched above the surrounding landscape as if on the lookout for potential predators. Meaowlarks are ground nesters, and we're guessing both had broods nearby. We photographed this bird as we were finishing up our explorations of Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area in northern Martin County. Eastern meadowlarks are fairly common birds but are uncommonly seen because of their ground-hugging habits, so it was a particular treat to see this guy in late March. Playtime for the Cormorant Kids
The Back Story: There is a small cypress-covered island in the northwestern corner of Green Cay Nature Center that, over the years, has become a major nesting site for a variety of water birds, double-crested cormorants among them. We noticed one nest in particular where the cormorant offspring seemed especially rambunctious. They would kind of go at each other a little more than usual than most, and mom of course, would try to keep the peace.
We saw them one day pretty close to fully grown out of the nest and in the water. They continued their sibling rivalry for one last time, with mom trying her best to ensure no harm, no fowl. This was the last time we saw them.Honorable Mentions: Click on photo to enlarge
Photo 1. An eastern black swallowtail butterfly "spotted" while exploring Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area in Palm Beach County. We were looking for some wildflowers but this was our reward for going out in the heat and humidity of a late summer afternoon.
Photo 2. Day is done. A black-bellied whistling duck silhouetted against the setting sun at Green Cay Nature Center.
Photo 3. A southern leopard frog found along a trail in Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area. It's not a great photo, but capturing him at all was the result of patience, persistence and a sharp eye.
Photo 2. Day is done. A black-bellied whistling duck silhouetted against the setting sun at Green Cay Nature Center.
Photo 3. A southern leopard frog found along a trail in Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area. It's not a great photo, but capturing him at all was the result of patience, persistence and a sharp eye.
Published by Wild South Florida, PO Box 7241, Delray Beach, FL 33482.
Photographs by David Sedore. Photographs are property of the publishers and may not be used without permission.