Rich accompanied me to Orlando Wetlands one afternoon over his spring break. We walked a lot and then enjoyed the golden hour on the boardwalk. But Rich’s favorite image of the day wasn’t pink. It wasn’t even a bird.

Yep, we saw a turtle! I am under strict orders to feature this image on the blog, even though it’s kind of hard to see the turtle. According to my turtle fanatic husband, this is the best image I’ve made in years.

It was fun to share the wetlands with Rich. He got to see the coots walking on water, the Roseate Spoonbills flying around, and all the begging babies near the boardwalk. Activity was a bit down, but the wind direction wasn’t ideal for flight photography. Still, we did pretty well.

This Snowy Egret made a pretty picture flying toward the boardwalk. It made me realize that I haven’t seen many Snowies in breeding plumage at the wetlands this year. All the other wading birds have shown off their fancy colors!

I love trying to catch the Little Blue Herons as they dart in and out of the nesting trees. I caught a fun pose with this next one.

The Roseate Spoonbills were still busy bringing in nesting material. I saw some good sticks coming across the marsh, but not of them were going to win the Big Stick Competition.

As the sun started to set, the birds got more active. Tricolored Herons emerged from the nesting area and flew towards the boardwalk. You don’t realize how many birds are sitting on their nests until they all emerge together! At times I thought an air traffic controller might be useful. Maybe that’s what the vultures are for.

Everybody’s favorite Great Egret nest became very active with the last rays of the sun. Both chicks woke up and started to dance for food. Mom regurgitated their supper and fed it straight into their mouths. Baby #1 watched carefully as Baby #2 swallowed his meal.

Sunset always comes too quickly. I put on my landscape lens and played hide-and-seek with the sun as we walked back to the car. I asked Rich if he now understands my addition to Orlando Wetlands. I think he does!