Orlando Wetlands
It’s that time of year when here in Florida there’s a great deal of courting, nest building and baby rearing. Orlando Wetlands is one of the premier locations to see the birds in action as the habitat here is ideal for many species to continue their lineage. On Friday and Saturday, volunteers provide guided tours of the facility with trams and provide great opportunities for people of all abilities to get out and enjoy the natural world.
Great blue heron on the nest with a pair of newborns - Orlando Wetlands - 2/20/26
Early on the route through the wetlands, we came upon a distant Great blue heron on her nest tending to two baby herons. It appears that the family is waiting for Dad to come home with lunch. Although pretty far out, the lighting was pretty decent and the tram driver was considerate enough to pause long enough for those of us who wanted to take a couple of shots the opportunity. I anticipated a number of distant shots today and so equipped my Nikon Z8 with a 100-400 lens and a Z 1.4 X telextender. With 560mm of reach, the camera did a nice job is capturing this trio.
Nature can be tough and today was not all about bringing new new life into the world. The critters in the wetlands don’t have access to McDonarld’s or JB’s Fish Camp, so they grab what they can as it floats or swims by. Such was the case as seen in the next photo where a hungry gator made quick work of a snake that happened by.
Gator with snake - Orlando Wetlands - 2/20/26
Just prior to the gator posing for this image, a Wood stork flew in and made for an interesting landing shot. He was quick enough that I shifted over to full screen focus to make sure that I was able to stay on him as he glided in. Being able to change focus modes quickly helps to ensure that I can get decent focus in a variety of different settings. I love to capture birds as they come in for a landing as they show off all the plumage of their wings.
Wood stork landing - Orlando Wetlands - 2/20/26 1/12000 sec, f/8, ISO 400 Z 100-400 with Z 1..4X
Another fly-in was provided by a Roseate spoonbill as we walked along the boardwalk.
Roseate Spoonbill at the same settings as the previous shot
Speaking of Spoonbills, Orlando Wetlands is one of the best places in Florida to view them on the nest at this time of year. There were quite a few spoonbills throughout the hammock adjacent to the boardwalk and it makes for some wonderful viewing and relatively easy photography. With the boardwalk railings providing a stable platform, a tripod is not really necessary to capture a relatively stable image.
We ended up with about 30 species for our trip through the preserve. It is often easy to get up close and natural in this setting without unduly disturbing the wildlife. This final shot of an Anhinga is a good example of that.
Anhinga - Orlando Wetlands - 2/20/26 Nikon Z8 with 100-400 mm lens at 340mm 1/1250 sec, f/9, ISO 720
No need for the 560 mm of reach on the Nikon for this shot. I was close enough and the anhinga was cooperative enough that I could easily get detail in the beautiful plumage of this bird’s wings without the need for serious cropping. The deep blue around the eyes tells me that this bird like so many others we saw today is ready to start a family. Great time of year to be down here in the Sunshine State.
