Note:  The book is at the publishers and they are working on the final draft, (which I have to approve).  It should be printed and in my hands by next Monday.  Stay tuned...

Today I went to the Viera Wetlands.  It's an amazing place for nature photography.  Any bird or animal that lives near or uses water in some capacity in their lives can be see there.  I am never disappointed and have always come away with some awesome nature shots.  Today was no different.

The traffic there was heavy.  Clearly someone on some birding or photography blog mentioned that the Sandhill Cranes are nesting at the Viera Wetlands, because there were about forty or so photographers, (people with cameras) there, all in one area, blocking the road and talking REALLY loud!  The birds were at least forty yards away, nestled down in the cattails, barely showing anything, save a peek or two when they changed positions.  There were clearly no babies yet, perhaps there were eggs, but you couldn't tell from the road.  Regardless, the bottleneck was real and it took more time to get through it than it did to get around the rest of the wetlands.  You can see by the picture, even the birds were annoyed!

The star of the day was the Glossy Ibis.  They were everywhere; preening, flying, searching for food, etc..

Many alligators were present also.

All in all it was a great photography day.