A taster of Florida's Fabulous Birds
 

We had been looking forwards to Easter 2016 for a very long time - not only was this Easter a break from work and school, but it was our second family trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World in Florida!! Our first trip, in 2012, had been fantastic - and this time we were going with Rachel's sister and family, and including Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure as well. I have to admit I was as excited as the kids, if not more so (I am after all just a big kid at heart). But I had a second reason to be excited - Florida is a great place for bird photography! And of course, being along way from the UK, it provides great opportunities to photograph birds you cannot see at home at all, as well as the ability to get close to some species that would be very difficult to approach here.
 

I was not to be disappointed! Even though this was a family holiday, I ended up taking 1000s of photos, covering over 25 different species of birds, many of which will appear in posts over the coming days and weeks. This first post provides just a taster of the range of images to come.
 

From the birds of Gatorland Bird Rookery, like the magnificent Great Egret
 

Great Egret with chicks
 

its smaller relative the Cattle Egret
 

Cattle Egret with nesting materialGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

and the elegant Tri Colored Heron
 

Tri Colored HeronGatorland Rookery, Orlando, USA
 

to the birds of Clearwater Beach, like this Laughing Gull
 

Laughing GullClearwater Beach, Florida, USA
 

the Royal Terns
 

Royal Tern pairClearwater Beach, Florida, USA
 

and the Willet
 

WilletClearwater Beach, Florida, USA
 

Some birds were found in more general, often surprising locations. Like the Anhinga at the bottom of the garden.
 

AnhingaKissimmee, Florida, USA
 

the Northern Cardinals found around the Walt Disney Parks
 

Northern Cardinal
 

and the Grey Catbird in a car park.
 

Grey CatbirdGrand Floridian Hotel Car Park, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

The great thing was that the trip provided opportunity to get close to, and to photograph, some quite spectacular birds.
 

Like this Brown Pelican on Clearwater Pier  
 

Brown PelicanClearwater Pier, Florida, USA
 

this Black Vulture - just where do you get this close to Birds of Prey in the UK?
 

Black VultureGatorland, Florida, USA
 

and best of all, the Ospreys that were found nearly anywhere near water.
 

OspreyGatorland, Florida, USA
 

Our trip to Florida was before I bought my new camera and lens, so all these Florida bird images are taken with my trusty Canon EOS7D Mark I and 100-400 IS lens. They went practically everywhere with me, for what will become obvious reasons.   
 

We had an amazing family holiday. Walt Disney World was every bit as good as we remembered, whilst Universal Studios and Island of Adventures took things to new heights.
 

But the bird photography wasn't bad either. Goodness knows what images I could have taken if I wasn't just fitting them in around rollercoasters and rapids!!
 

I will intersperse my posts from Florida, with images taken in the UK at the end of last year and the beginning of this. I hope you enjoy them!