bird island

Photo by: Craig ONeal

Florida's Green Heron (Butorides verescens) is one of the smallest birds (19") in the Heron family.  This is a very shy bird and frequents the cattails for cover while catching small fish and tadpoles. Photographing the Green Heron required a lot of patience.

Photos by: Craig ONeal

Bird Island in Ponte Vedra is an incredible place to photograph and view local wildlife. After reading a recent article in the Shorelines by Maggie Fitzroy about this little treasure located behind the PV library and fire station, I decided to grab the cameras and see what wildlife it had to offer. This freshwater habitat is almost completely surrounded by cattail reeds giving cover to egrets, herons, and other local birds, while the rookery (a little island) is the current home to baby water turkeys (Anhinga) and a family of playful otters.I would highly recommend Bird Island to anyone wanting to try their skills at nature photography. To view the entire Bird Island gallery follow this link to jacksonville.com http://photos.jacksonville.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=554028