Back to the Biscayne Rookery

For the third year in a row, I have photographed a bird rookery on Biscayne Bay. During the previous two summers, I stayed close to one island watching the dozens of nesting cormorant and cattle egret families. I wrote a journal about it last summer that covers several visits from May to August. The journal is on my website at http://cmierphotoandfitness.net/birdrookery.

My first visit this year was early May when we attempted to launch from the People's Dock near Deering Estate. I planned to get to the rookery at the earliest light but as it turned out, the launch was problematic and by the time I arrived at the rookery, the morning sun was in full force. I arrived at the island that I studied intensively last year to find a disappointing number of birds. They seemed to only be located on the southwest end of the island, where they flourished in the shade. There were many flying to and fro, but scant activity from my perspective with the sun behind me. Hmmm. Where were the birds? Was I too early in the season? Last year, I did not arrive until mid-May, so maybe I was a couple weeks too early.

I knew that there were some islands on the other side of the jetty near the channel closer to the private docks along the bay shoreline. I never attempted to photograph those islands because of the deeper water and boat traffic. The island that I do photograph sits in shallower waters and is well isolated from the channel. With the little activity I saw on the island today, I decided to head over to the channel islands to see if they held more bird action. There are actually three small islands side by side. They are within a few hundred feet of a wall of mangroves that separates the water from the condominiums. I paddled over there, about 1/4 mile away to find each island feverishly active with nesting birds. As usual cormorants and cattle egrets ruled the island in their high numbers. I also spotted several tricolor herons, a few little blues and a couple anhingas amongst the crowd.

The nests were in full force. Nest building, feedings, testing young wings, etc were all happening. Clearly, these islands were going to get more of my attention this summer. I dropped my anchor and was pleasantly surprised to find that it actually caught bottom. I was able to stabilize my boat and luckily, there was no boat traffic on this side of the channel. This was good since the best lighting is on the side of the channel where I would most likely encounter boat wakes.

Since this first day, I've been back to the rookery a few times. the original island has demonstrated more activity and I've spent some quality time watching it. But the three islands near the channel have proven to be a gold mine of bird nesting activity. One day, I arrived with a total cloud cast. A nasty storm was forming in the east but it stayed far enough away that the winds did not pick up significantly and I didn't have to paddle for cover. A perfect day on the water as it turned out! It was a good day for flash and to learn how to use it on white birds. I spent the entire morning facing east despite the rising sun. With the diffuse lighting, I was able to move to any location around the islands and photograph the activity. There was a great amount of flying activity and I practiced shooting while using the flash. I captured some cormorants feeding in the nests and also in the water, which is an interesting sight to see.

The cattle egrets do a very good job of hiding their nests and thus far, I have had little luck capturing a parent feeding the young birds in the nest. One day, I came up on the island just in time to see a tricolor heron feeding its baby. As soon as I saw it, it was finished and flew off leaving the baby tricolor behind. The baby stood on a high branch in good light for the longest time seemingly waiting for mom to come back. I waited patiently for the parent to arrive again for another round of feeding, but I never saw it and missed that opportunity. In the meantime, birds were flying about and young cormorants were learning to swim. Several fledglings were learning to use their wings, never venturing too far from the nest.

I'll visit the rookery a few more times before the summer is over. This year has been more of a challenge to get on the water because of the storms and rain. But it's been a privilege as always to visit the rookery and observe the life of the birds.

Concerning photography, I've used my new telephoto zoom lens here at the rookery once so far. Compared to the prime lens (420mm with teleconverter attached), the 70-400mm lens has opened up more opportunities. I can capture entire wing spans on birds in the mangroves and flying over head. This advantage becomes most evident in flight shots where I often focus on an incoming bird getting closer by the millisecond. With the prime lens, I have a short window of opportunity before the bird gets too close and I miss the entire wing span. Obviously, I will need some practice with the zoom, but that's part of the fun of it.

I've been struggling with a chronic case of tendinitis in my left shoulder and arm. It appears to be brought on by holding my camera. To overcome this, I purchased a monopod and use it often in the boat and on land. It may or may not provide me more stability but it does take the pressure off my left shoulder. Using the monopod, however is limiting especially with flight shots. It does have a swivel head which helps, but it is still awkward when trying to move the camera about. It's especially difficult when I have the flash attached. In that case, I don't even bother with the monopod and simply try to use my knees as support for my arm.

Using the flash has been challenging and I'm still working out the bugs so to speak. Shooting white birds in daylight with the flash seems counter-intuitive but when shadows start taking over (i.e, under the wings), the fill flash is very pleasing if used properly. I typically stop down the flash to about -2 and adjust exposure compensation accordingly. It's a learning process and all I can do at this point is continue reading what the experts are saying and looking at their results.

The Chokoloskee Roseates

For the past few years, I've photographed a flock of roseate spoonbills that reside on Chokoloskee Bay during mid-summer. Mostly, I find them roosting in the mangrove canopies well above eye level. But on occasion, I am lucky to find them on the bay when the tide is low enough for the oyster bars to be revealed. They favor the oyster bar near the busy Chokoloskee Pass channel, so boat wakes can be an issue for both bird and photographer.

I was on the water before 7:30 am. My paddling buddies were off to catch a snook or redfish while I paddled the 1-mile crossing to the roseates. The sky was mostly cloudless, something we hadn't seen in many days. Much rain has fallen these past few weeks and the bay has been generously fed with backcountry fresh water leaving it a murky color and with higher than normal levels. Low tide was approximately 7:30 this morning, yet very few oyster bars were revealed. What is typically an oyster-ridden route to the roseates was deep enough to paddle without any concern for boat-oyster shell encounters.

The bright pink flock was well seen a mile away and once I was a couple hundred yards from them. I pulled out the camera, defogged the lens and metered the exposure before getting closer to the wary birds. I had a new lens, a recently purchased 70-400mm Sony telephoto. I've been wanting that telephoto range in a lens forever and finally Sony built its f4/5.6 telephoto with 400mm capacity. Perfect! Now I could capture the entire flock or single out a few at a time.

I paddled closer on a course that would keep the sun to my back as I photographed the festive-colored birds. I came into shallower water and could clearly see the oyster shells laying below. I slowly and carefully paddled closer to the birds and set up anchor about 150 feet away. They were mostly preening or sleeping; not an excitable group either. This would be challenging to find something remarkable to photograph. Good thing these birds are colorful. Here's a shot of the entire flock and a great blue heron hijacking the photo. A couple other photos below show some of the flock members.

I stayed with the birds as several powerboats motored by, bringing on the waves. Within 30-45 minutes, the oyster bar became more covered with the incoming tide and the birds huddled closer to each other to avoid the water. Eventually, the great blue heron lost its space and fled. the roseates didn't seem to mind me much as I continued to move closer, setting up anchor at each spot. At last, a rather large power boat came through the nearby channel and the waves were too much for the birds as their oyster bar became more and more crowded. One by one they flew away, which can be a glorious photo opportunity. The only problem is that they are typically flying away from the camera. Two remained for several minutes more, than one more flew off and at last, the final bird was history.

The birds flew toward the mangroves that line the waters between Rabbit and Chokoloskee passes. I headed over to an area where several of the birds roosted below the high canopy thinking I might have a better vantage point for them. I paddled beneath the tree ornaments as some became a wary of me and moved to higher branches. The others were mostly sleeping and were not revealing their spoons or showing much interest of anything at all.

After some photos of single roseates who obliged me with nice poses, the sun was high in the sky and I put my camera away. I left the birds and paddle on to explore the area.

On another note, I've been shooting almost entirely with a prime telephoto lens up until recently, since purchasing Sony's first telephoto zoom lens, the 70-400mm (f4/5.6). Thus far, I am very pleased with the sharpness coming out of this lens and most of the shots have been taken at 400mm. I wasn't sure if any zoom lens could be as sharp as the Minolta prime that I've been using. I've been shooting entirely with the 1.4 teleconverter attached to my 300mm Minolta lens, making it a 420mm, f5.6. Compared to the Minolta with teleconverter, I would say that shooting at 400 mm (f5.6) with this new lens is even sharper than the Minolta. However, the zoom lens at 300mm may not match up to the Minolta without the teleconverter attached. I may test that some day to help me decide whether or not to sell the Minolta. For now, the 70-400mm Sony lens is perfect for me and will really show its true colors with enough zoom practice behind me.

The Flamingos of the Everglades

There is a large flock of flamingos currently living in the backcountry of the Everglades. You can't get to them except by paddle boat. I found out about this flock through an acquaintance paddler, Bob Quirk. Bob is one of the volunteers working to clear the Bear Lake Trail. In fact, the Sun Sentinel ran a story about these guys: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-everglades-canoe-b062609,0,4874018.story. Check it out for a very interesting story.

A few weeks ago Bob posted some photos he shot of the birds on a website devoted to the work being done by the volunteers. He also invited me to go back in with him so that I could photograph these magnificent birds. Of course I took him up on his offer. We planned to meet at the Flamingo marina and then drive to the launch site on Buttonwood canal (off the Bear Lake Rd). From there, we would paddle approximately 3 miles to get to the area where the flamingos were last sited. The drive from the marina was about 1 1/2 miles of dirt road speckled quite generously with water-filled pot holes deep enough for a good size gator to cool off during the day. We arrived at the launch site at dusk and the mosquitos were there en masse to greet us. Here it is the middle of June and I was completely covered head to toe. In addition to a bug jacket and hood, I wore the following: heavy nylon pants with elastic bands around ankles, sneakers, wool socks, long sleeve cotton shirt, heavy knit gloves and a wide brimmed hat. I froze my camelback bladder the night before and placed it inside a backpack holder which I put on before donning the mosquito jacket. Not only did this allow me to access the drinking port at any time without undoing the hood, but it also helped keep me cool.

We arrived at the area where Bob spotted the flamingos earlier and they were not there. Nor were they in another spot he had seen them. My heart sunk thinking I had missed the flamingos. We continued paddling as the morning sun continued to rise but still early enough to be perfect for photographing. About 20 minutes later I looked to the right on the other side of land point and noticed several very large colorful birds in the distant. There they were, about 16 of them along a grassy mud bank lining the water. I slowly and quietly paddled closer and eventually got within a hundred feet or so of them.

Fantastic! I had never seen flamingos in the wild and never realized how large they are. Standing upright, I'm guessing the largest of the group stood over 5 feet tall easily. There were 2 deep orange colored flamingos that were larger than the rest of the members of the group. They seemed to invite interactions with the others on occasion. The interaction would begin usually with one bird coming up to the larger bird with what looked like a kiss. Upon closer inspection of the photographs, it appears to be biting and not kissing. They would interact, beak to beak for a short period and then move on. More than a few times I watched 3 or 4 get into a similar interaction. One of the group was always a larger bird who would receive pecks from 1 or 2 others, sometimes on the beak, sometimes on its torso.

It might possibly be breeding season for these birds. I referred to the Sibley's book and learned that they mostly feed at night except during breeding season. And they breed only in years when the environmental conditions are right for raising their young. For months they go through their breeding stage with lots of groups displays of breeding behaviors, which is what I believe I witnessed. They are a gregarious bird, displaying and nesting in groups. Nests are built close together on mudflats.

Flamingos take on features of several other types of birds. They are tall like herons, have webbed feet like ducks and, here's a new one for me, they secrete a milk-like substance to feed their young, like pigeons. They are omnivorous and feed on insects, crustaceans, and algae among other things. They filter their prey from shallow water but can also capture larger animals with their beaks. In the dry season, they can consume mud and extract the nutrients from it. For feeding they primarily submerge their heads upside down and facing backward.

They are a very loud bird. They make a sound similar to the great egret or heron, but only louder and hardier. They were quite noisy at times and other times only an occasional squack could be heard. They were busily feeding when I found them and it appeared that at any given time half of the group would have heads submerged while the other half would be looking about. Once, something got the group's attention and they simultaneously stood upright and faced the same direction. During feeding I watched one bird move its legs back and forth quickly in the water, similar to what a snowy egret might do when foraging.

Bob and I hung out with the group for a couple hours, watching these fascinating birds. What a privilege to see them and amazing that they allowed me a close look at their community. The Everglades always presents something new.

It is my understanding that this area will become more easily accessible to the casual tourist soon. If this is the case, I only hope that these birds are nesting in a safe area and that they, along with all the other animals I spotted this day will not be encroached upon to the point they have no choice but to move on.

Summers on Biscayne Bay - Matheson Hammock

Matheson Hammock area of the bay is my favorite for capturing wading birds. They usually congregate near the mouth of the creek located a 1/2 mile south of the canoe launch. There are several lone mangroves off the main shoreline on both the north and south sides of the creek entrance and among these you can find birds roosting or feeding in and around the trees.

At the earliest of light, this is one of the best places for photographing in the direction of the mangroves. the golden light is spectacular and the reflections offer some beautiful contrasts to the wading birds. At low tide, it is not unusual to find several ibises and little blue herons feeding vigorously in the flats. This is the only area of Biscayne Bay where I've seen so many little blue herons in one place. Great white egrets and a lone great blue heron can be spotted here also. Tricolor herons are present, although they tend to stay closer to the shoreline. In winter months, I've spotted wood storks herel. And those winter southeasterly winds tend to blow the portuguese man-a-wars into the shallow areas. I've captured some interesting photos of those creatures.

This summer, I found a couple black-necked stilts in the shallows. Not only was it the first time I've seen them here, it was the first time I've photographed these birds.

Another aspect of Matheson that I like is the creek that runs from the bay back into the canal. Here, I have photographed large mangrove crabs that seem to be more obvious in late summer months. Once, I captured several of them and two that seemed to be mating. These shy crabs are very difficult to photograph, with so much opportunity for hiding among the mangrove mud and roots. A flash is useful and this year, I will have a 180mm macro to take in there making the photographing easier. With my 420mm lens/teleconverter, I have a hard time getting to the right distance away from the crabs. It's easier to get close ups, thus a macro lens will serve that purpose well.

Another creature I find in the creeks is the large female golden silk spider that spins her web above the creek. This is a beautiful spider that photographs well with a clear sky background if you can situate your boat for such a scene. It's worth the maneuvering to get a shot of this large spider, but it takes lots of patience.

As for the birds, this is a great place for photographing, but only at low tides. I find the best time to come here is when low tide is between 7-9 am. The park opens very early and it will cost $5-6 to get in.

Summers on Biscayne Bay - Deering Estate

Deering Estate area of the bay has proven to be an interesting spot for photographing in the summer. It is quite beautiful for sunrise shots from the launch area. Here, you will find very large limestone rocks sticking out of the low tide water, providing a nice foreground display with chicken Key off in the distance near the rising sun. At low tide, I've spotted several great white egrets wading near by and once, I hung out with a very busy snowy egret next to the People's Dock. The bird didn't mind me being only 10-15 ft away in the very shallow water. I stayed on with the bird for over an hour while it displayed several dances and wing fanning behaviors as it fished for crustaceans, worms and other marine edibles. Early in the morning with an incoming or outgoing tide, this area is often busy with sharks and you'll spot the telltale dorsal fin moving swiftly in the shallow waters. Cormorants are almost always in the area feeding, resting in trees, or flying by.

For the past two years in August, I have come across a very large flock of cormorants swimming in the water near Chicken Key. Not sure what the behavior is, but none seemed to be feeding, they were simply swimming and staring in unison with their heads tilted upward. Even more interesting is that the herring gulls took a keen interest in the flock and on several occasions would swoop down toward the cormorants. The gulls seem to be after something in the water, but why they were doing this near the cormorants is a mystery to me. I suppose birds hang out where there is a food source or for protection.


There are a couple islands near the estate house and often you can find many birds roosting. Two years ago I found several fledgling green herons among a few adults living among the mangroves. Cormorants roost in relatively large number and I'll spot some brown pelicans doing the same sometimes. Ibises are relatively common here with an occasional tricolor heron or great white egret. At low tide, ibises, yellowcrown nightherons and others wade near the shoreline just north of the Deering Estate house. Chicken Key is not too far, about 1/2 mile from shore. At lowest of tides there is a large flat on the southeast side of the island where several wading birds feed.


Overall, this is a fair spot to photograph, but for me, it is mostly the area I paddle across before reaching the bird rookery. On a good day, I may be delayed getting to the rookery because of various opportunities that pop up along the way, especially at low tide. For photographing birds, it's livelier than Blackpoint, but not as lively as Matheson Hammock or the rookery.

Summers on Biscayne Bay - Blackpoint

Summer is when I have the most time to photograph on Biscayne Bay. I find summer full of bird photo opportunities, especially from the water. Of all the places I launch from on Biscayne Bay, Blackpoint is the least consistent for birds. At low tide, you might find tricolors or green herons along the jetty edge. I've spotted an eagle in the area, and almost always an osprey or two and a few brown pelicans. Ibises congregate sometimes in the trees and you can capture them feeding occasionally near the jetty at low tide. Once, I spotted a large flock of snowy egrets in the trees. During late summer months, gulls and terns (royal terns, herring gulls mostly) congregate around the jetty. Once while sitting near the jetty with the gulls I spotted an extremely large flock of white birds about 500 feet or so from the other side of the channel near the mangrove shoreline. With my telephoto I was able to see hundreds of gulls flying. They had been swimming on the water and all of a sudden lifted off into the sky en masse.

I first became acquainted with Biscayne Bay at Blackpoint. During 2005 and 2006, I took several photos from this area while friends fished from kayaks and canoes. But since discovering some other areas on the bay, I spend less time here.

Where and when to launch your boat on Biscayne Bay

I spend my summers on Biscayne Bay, foregoing the Everglades camping until November. Because of my work demands, early May is about the time I begin to visit the bay frequently and continue this through August. In the summer, timing is everything in order to make these day trips worthwhile for photography. I get on the water as close to sunrise as possible and get off the water typically before noon. Early morning is the time to be out here, for several reasons:

1. The mangrove shoreline (where the wading birds are located) receives the morning light. From a boat, you have access to the golden front light.
2. Afternoon summer storms. You can count on them like clockwork. Mostly, these storms come in from the west-southwest and you must be very observant of cloud formations.
3. Prevailing east-southeast winds, which typically increase as the day progresses. Calm waters are the norm during early morning hours.
4. Heat and humidity. I am always puzzled when coming off the water and watching people getting on the water around 11 am or noon. By 9-10 am, the sun is intense, the humidity is oppressing.
5. Catching the sunrise over the bay as you load your boat and prepare to launch. I often bring my tripod and wide angle lens to capture some of these sunrise scenes.
6. Fewer people around.

There are 3 launch sites that I choose from. The most southern site is Blackpoint marina. Paddle craft have their own launch site, on the west side of the jetty. Continue driving past the entrance to the marina and eventually the road dead ends. Before the dead end is a small opening in the mangroves where you can launch. You access the bay from a small creek that runs parallel with the jetty before opening up into the Blackpoint lagoon area. Large powerboats can be seen through the mangroves on the other side of the jetty as they head out through the channel into the bay. Paddlers never have to contend with these boats. There is a gate that closes after sunset and before sunrise.


Deering Estate is another launch site, quite popular for paddlers. Maybe it is the convenient location of this site that makes it so popular, but whoever designed it was not thinking about paddlers. This launch site is gated and opens at sunrise, closes at sunset. It is a popular spot for families and fishermen to hang out on the water's edge on the weekends. There is a launch area made with large bags of sand on the canal side, but you can also bypass the canal and launch from the grassy area on the east side. There are a couple open areas along the canal that can also be accessed if you don't mind stepping up and down some steep drop offs while carrying your boat to and from the water. This is the closest launch site to several bird rookeries and Chicken Key and it offers one of the best sunrise views

The most northern access site is Matheson Hammock. There are two separate launching areas for paddlers. While Blackpoint and Deering launch sites are free, this one costs $6 ($5 on weekdays), but still a good deal. Once past the gate drive to the right and continue on to the bridge. Just before the bridge is a driveway on the right leading to a canal. Here you find one of the launch sites. For those very windy days, this is a good place to launch because you can take the canal to a creek that eventually leads out to the bay. The other launch site is on the bay. To get to it, continue over the bridge and go to the end where there is a large circular drive. At the highest of tides, especially with a strong east wind, water can get up onto the road and the grassy area where you park can get muddy. But other than that, this is a very convenient access site. there are a couple picnic tables in the area, so often you will see people having picnics and enjoying the bay.

Disclaimer: I sometimes get out on the bay alone, but often I am with at least one other person. I am very comfortable launching alone in the pre-sunrise darkness from Deering, somewhat less comfortable from Matheson (because it is more remote) and have never launched alone from Blackpoint (very remote and near the jetty that is frequented by fishermen on foot or bicycle). Most often, I am the only person present (especially on a weekday before 7 am). This is an urban area and any of these launch sites are easily accessed by car or foot. So be mindful of your environment if you do come to one of these sites by yourself.