Slow Photography #35 Mom, are there birds in the Bahamas?

1. Flamingos on Crooked Island
2. Immature Black Crowned Night heron with a turban snail. 

 It's a good question. Are there birds in the Bahamas? Yes, there are! 

 When you are patient and move slowly, you can get closer to the many species of birds that visit and live in the Bahamas. For photos #1 and #2 above, I approached a flamingo flock, and a black-crowned night heron. To photograph them, slow photography skills are helpful. If you approach very slowly, stay low, and stop often, you'll learn that each species has its own comfort distance before it flies away. This leads to better photographs. 

     

 3. Cattle egrets strutting at West End, Grand Bahama. 

     4. Mid- air mockingbird battle on Grand Bahama. 

 

     5. A royal tern joins an American oystercatcher on ironshore in

     the Berry Islands. 

     6. Red-billed tropic birds flying away, off of Little San Salvador.

     7. Wild flamingos coming in to land on Long Cay, Crooked Island. 

     8. A large flock of West Indian whistling ducks on Long Island.

Photos #8, and #5 were taken from a small boat. Approaching birds by rowboat or kayak is effective, as there is no engine noise to make them nervous.

To see Bahamas birds, you can get in touch with the Bahamas National Trust. In their ornithology group, the have seasonal monthly field trips on New Providence. The Bahamas National trust is also involved in scientific studies of wintering migrants.

You can also see birds on other Bahamian islands in Spring and Fall. Members also participate in Christmas Bird Counts each year on New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco and Andros.

Bahamas birds, from whistling ducks to flamingos in flight, are always a delight to see.

Thanks for visiting. Jim. 

    JIM AUSTIN JIMAGES