Friday, February 12, 2010

Goodbye Florida

The Naples Fishing Pier is a popular spot for fishing and for watching the sunset. It was originally built in 1888 as a freight and passenger dock. In 1912 it was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt. Now over a hundred years old, it stands under protection as a landmark.

While we waited for the sun to set, I took some pictures of the birds:

Here is a  juvenile Brown Penguin with a fishing line hanging from its beak. A weight appears to be attached ta the end of the line and is resting on its chest. It's a sad fact that many seabirds get entangled in fishing gear and often lose their lives to it.


A Snowy Egret walking along the beach

The brownish color gives this Laughing Gull away as a juvenile

There were many Laughing Gulls hanging our on the railing and flying about a wooden platform where a fisherman was filleting his fish, hoping that something to drop their way.

First cycle LG


People started arriving and crowding on the pier preparing to take pictures of the
setting sun to take place a few minutes after 6 PM

For the photos of the sun, the water and the people  further down on the pier I experimented with some filters since, if left  unaltered, all you could see were dark outlines against a bright sky.




Goodbye Florida. It was a pleasure to photograph your birds. They were so tame and unruffled by my presence. Probably owing to the absence of hunters and domestic predators, I could often walk right up to them, no need to stalk or use a bird hide for camouflage. We were  also very lucky with the weather, with temperatures mostly in the mid 70's and sunny with a slight breeze. And no snow storms to impede our travel back to Vermont. Our dogs greeted us with excited jumps, yelps and howls. It was good to be home,

... My last post in this series and now no more excuses to tackle my taxes!

8 comments:

  1. I like the effect you got with your filters; the photos look a bit like watercolors. Glad you enjoyed your trip down here!

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  2. The brown Penguin photo is a powerful one -- I hope he is OK and somehow got rid of the fishing line. Such a sad thing to think about them losing their lives.

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  3. ...amazing shots of the sunshine and the ocean birds. Boy......I wish I were there! It must be quite a shock to return to snow and cold. I'm ready for a trip south...

    I loved all the Everglade photos...and your narration about it.

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  4. @Felicis, Erica and Kelly: thanks for stopping by and for your nice comments. Reading them makes me feel good.

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  5. I can't believe all the company you had on the pier. pretty good sunset you all had and I love your treatments of them.

    Well done, Harold

    http://www.ontfin.com/Word

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