It is finally starting to feel like fall now. Time to bid adieu to the long hot summer and say hello there pumpkin pie! Nothing says fall like a hot homemade pumpkin pie or a steamy bowl of chili. Now that I have your mouth watering, it is time to look skyward. The show is about to begin. The fall migrations are in full swing and the sky dancers are everywhere.

I love to watch birds in flight. Profile shots are great and I get plenty of them on the Broward as they hunt for food. However, it is the "birds in flight" shots that make my day. I look upriver, the morning sun at my back and see those huge brown wings going up and down in rhythmic motion. The symbol of our nation, the majestic Bald Eagle is coming right at me. I raise the camera, my finger on the doohickey and begin to focus. As the eagle gets closer and moves into “the zone” I begin to press the doohickey, carefully keeping the bird in focus and in the viewfinder. I press twice to get the upbeat and downbeat of the wings. The closer it gets the faster I press it. If I have my exposure settings correct I get a reward, if not, then it is a missed opportunity. An Osprey circles the channel and spots a fish..no…no..that is some guy with a doohickey! Caught you looking though Mr Osprey.

Another of my favorite places to capture birds in flight is at the St Augustine Alligator Farm. I know where they roost and just sit below the tree and watch them come and go. Their sky dancing enchants me as they gracefully spread their wings to approach and go into their varied and beautiful motions as they land or take off. No matter how hard we humans try to duplicate it, we just can’t capture the beauty of a bird in flight as it folds its wings every so quickly and graceful and perches on a limb without a hint of motion in the branch as is softly lands. Even the gawky looking wood storks can sit down so gently you would never feel its touch if you were the tree. Thanks for the dance.

I hope you enjoy these sky dancers as much as I do. Birds in flight are a miracle of creation that began on the Fifth Day. They were here a day (however long it was) before we humans were even created. I wonder if Adam and Eve had the same awe and wonder that I feel as I watch them in motion. It was a perfect time then for a while. Can’t wait to see what they look like in a perfect place again. How bout you? Be blessed. Harry

Reflections on Broward is now "Mountain Musings"

Sky Dancers