Wildlife

All wildlife photography, including, birds, raccoons, alligators, predators, raptors, moose, deer and more.

Pair of Great Blue Herons
A pair of Great Blue Herons fly together as they hunt for fish over a Marion County lake in central Florida. Largest of the North American herons, they fly with their heads pulled back against their shoulders and have smooth, deliberate wing beats.
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Boat Tailed Grackles
Silhouetted by the late evening sky, a pair of boat tailed grackles, perch above the Savannas Preserve in south Florida.
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Florida Deer Running
A doe runs for cover in the woods at Kissimmee Prairie State Park in central Florida.
deer running woods wildlife doe
Speedy Spoonbill
A roseate spoonbill glides over the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. The colors can range from pale pink to bright magenta, depending on age, whether breeding or not, and location. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.
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Rattler Eye to Eye
A rattlesnake peers out through the bushes along a hiking trail near the Blue Ridge Parkway near Pisgah National Forest.
rattlesnake rattler snake snakes reptile slither fangs poisonous timber wildlife
Singing Black Bird
A Red-Winged Blackbird sings in the late afternoon in a marsh near Ocala Florida. The male perches on a high stalk with feathers fluffed out and tail partly spread, lifts leading edge of wing so that red shoulder patches are prominent, and sings in hopes of finding a mate.
black bird redwinged florida birds singing and white marsh
Bathing Beauty
A young four-foot-long alligator soaks up the sun at Highlands Hammock State Park in central Florida.
alligator sunning log swamp gator wetlands florida
Perched Red Shouldered Hawk
A red-shouldered hawk perches high in a tree as dusk settles in at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. This haw usually hunts by watching from a perch, either within forest or in open, swooping down when it locates prey. Sometimes flies very low in open areas, taking creatures by surprise. May use hearing as well as sight to locate prey.
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Little Pied-billed Grebe
All alone, a little pied-billed grebe floats in a marsh looking for food at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
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Prying Eyes
A Raccoon peeks over the grass at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. Raccoons are among the most intelligent of Florida’s wildlife. They feed on fruits, plant material, eggs, crustaceans, small animals, and even garbage.
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Posing Pecker
A red-bellied woodpecker, checks out a branch for insects hiding inside. The rat-a-tat-tat of the woodpecker digging into trees to grab a morsel of food is a familiar sound in woods across south and central Florida.
redbellied woodpecker red head wildlife birds
Seal Nursing Pup
A Harbor Seal nurses her pup while lying in the sun on Eastern Egg Rock Island off the coast of Maine.
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Snowy Egret on Blue
A Snowy Egret scans the water, watching for signs of fish at a lake in Marion County Florida.
snowy egret birds white closeup birding wildlife
Doe and Two Fawns
A doe and her fawns are on high alert while grazing in the lush grass along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
deer fawn doe wildlife nature landscape
Cormorant Shaking Off Water
A young Cormorant shakes the water from its wings after taking a dive into a pond in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Cormorants have sharp curved beaks that they use when diving for fish.
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Spoonbill Winging It
A roseate spoonbill's large wings help give it a quick takeoff from the wetlands at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. The colors can range from pale pink to bright magenta, depending on age, whether breeding or not, and location. Unlike herons, spoonbills fly with their necks outstretched.
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Flying Eagle
A Bald Eagle in flight over the Mount Desert Narrows off the coast of Maine.
eagle bald flying birds raptors
Common Gallinule Munching
A Common Gallinule forages for vegetation while swimming in the marsh at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.This bird also eats insects, snails, tadpoles and sometimes eats the eggs of other birds.
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Brown Pelican Flying
A brown pelican flies over the Mosquito Lagoon as strong winds out of the northeast churn up the water on Merritt Island in Florida.
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Heron in The Storm
As a storm rolls through the area in central Florida, a Blue Heron flies home at the end of the day.
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A young White Ibis balances on a twig as it peered into the water looking for fish at Merritt Island, Florida
ibis young ibis merritt florida birds water birds
Mottled Duck Takeoff
A Mottled duck prepares for takeoff from a pond in Port Saint Lucie Florida. The Mottled Duck is a southern species found in Florida, all along the entire Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic coast.
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Mystical White Ibis
A White Ibis hunts for insects in the swamp at Highlands Hammock state park in central Florida.
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Perched Osprey
At the end of the day, an osprey is perched high in a pine tree above the marsh at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
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Roseate Spoonbill Flying
An adult Roseate Spoonbill flies over a popular feeding area for wading birds at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
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Osprey Nest Landing
An osprey returns to its nest just before sunset in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
osprey nest birds birding wildlife refuge merritt flying landing
Palm Warbler
A small palm warbler flits from branch to branch in south Florida.
palm warbler bird birding florida
Stan and Ollie
A pair of Brown Pelicans kind of reminded me of the classic Hollywood comedians, Laurel and Hardy, as they waddled along the beach at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
pelicans brown funny birds water
Snowy Egret Flying
Snowy Egret flies over a Marion County lake in the glow of the evening sun. Adult Snowy Egrets are all white with a black bill, black legs, and yellow feet. Snowy Egrets nest in colonies on thick vegetation in isolated places—such as barrier islands, dredge-spoil islands, salt marsh islands, swamps, and marshes.
snowy egret flying white bird birding wildlife
Just Ducky
The Mottled Duck is a southern species found in Florida, all along the entire Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic coast.
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A breeding adult Tricolored Heron searches for food in the shallow marsh at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
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Beauty is Skin Deep
A vulture suns itself in the late afternoon near Kissimmee Prairie in central Florida.
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White Ibis Dripping
A large White Ibis searches the swamp for insects at Highlands Hammock state park in central Florida.
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Spoonbill Spreading Wings
An adult Roseate Spoonbill flies over a popular feeding area for wading birds at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
spoonbill roseate birds birding wildlife red pink
Wood Stork Stare
The wood stork usually lives in Cypress swamps, marshes, pond and lagoons. The large bird forages mainly in fresh water, including shallow marshes, flooded farm fields, ponds, ditches and favors falling water levels (when fish and other prey likely to be more concentrated in remaining pools). The species was down-listed from endangered to threatened in June 2014.
stork wood large bird wetlands threatened florida wildlife
Blue Jay on Mountain Top
A beautiful Blue Jay briefly lands on a branch on Flat Rock in the Pisgah National Forest.
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Snowy Egret Landing
A Snowy Egret glides in for a landing on a lake in Marion County Florida.
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Cara Cara Strutting
A Crested Caracara struts through the grass at Kissimmee Prairie State Preserve in Central Florida.
crested caracara raptor birds birding wildlife
Doe A Deer
A doe snuggles with one of her fawns while grazing the grass along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
deer doe fawn woodland forest wildlife animals wild
Pair of Bald Eagles
A pair of Bald Eagles in the forest on the coast of Maine, near Acadia National Park.
eagles bald eagle perched two birds raptors

David Lane nature photography, wildlife photography and landscape photography

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Wildlife