Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Delray Beach Florida

I was hired this weekend for a photo shoot in Fort Lauderdale, which was totally awesome!  This shoot involved pictures of people and the occasional butterfly.  Though worthy subjects, my passion is avian in nature and the next day, though clouds and rain were in the forecast, my lovely wife and I went to Wakodahatchee Wetlands Preserve in Delray Beach on the way home.

What a great decision it was!  Touted as one of the best rookeries around and a virtual birding mecca, I was pretty excited to get to go there.  When we arrived it was lightly raining.  As any photographer knows, this isn't a good thing.  Cameras are pretty sensitive to water.  So, at the wife's suggestion, I grabbed a plastic bag for camera rain protection.  Note:  It will be proven shortly who the genius in the relationship is.

As we made the first turn into the preserve, the rains started coming harder, (this is where you should say to yourself, "What would he do without her"?), and so the plastic bag came out and quickly enveloped my camera.  Lucky for me though the wind was blowing quite briskly and within minutes the rain had stopped.

The light wasn't ideal, but it was bright enough I thought for some adequate pictures.  Many of the birds were well away from the raised walkway and not within suitable shooting distance.  However, some of the birds, trying to find a place to get out of the wind were hunkered down within range.  As the winds blew and the rain came in short spotty showers, I found that there were many birds hiding near and sometimes under the walkway.  They would come out to forage and then, when the weather again threatened, they would return to their safe haven.  The pictures seemed to come more quickly now that I figured out the pattern.

In the middle of the preserve is an island and there is a covered area within 25 yards which gives photographers a "birds-eye view" of the nests of several species of birds, (Anhingas, Great Blue Herons and Great Crested Cormorants).  Frankly it was a good thing that the weather wasn't great, because the wait to get to the best shooting spots was only about 20 minutes or so!

The rain seemed to let up for about 45 minutes which allowed us to walk the majority of the walkway rain free.  In one particular spot there was a Great Crested Cormorant sitting on the railing of the walkway and he was unphased by the people walking by.  I was able go get quite close and I got some good close-up shots.  I also watched the little bushes that dotted the areas just off the walkway for Warblers and such.  There were a few little guys flitting around and I was lucky enough to get some of them also.

All in all it was a great little excursion.  The next time we're going when it's not raining and the sun is out.  This will give me many more opportunities, (that is, if the birds are reading this)!!