Not all seabirds are what we imagine. When I hear “seabird” I think of a large pointy-winged hunter gliding over the ocean, waiting to dive for its prey just below the surface of the water. Or, I think of a huge colony of squabbling seagulls on the sand fighting over their food. In this photo however, are a trio of fairly timid and quiet seabirds that are often overlooked for a photo. I think that the red-brown feathers and bright orange legs are a perfect match for this crystal clear, aqua blue water.
Dance of the Pelicans 1 – Photograph by Laura Lecce
This was one of my most challenging and yet rewarding photography experiences. I was sitting on a wharf, while the sun was setting in the late afternoon, watching pelicans in small groups dive bomb over and over again for food. I had to photograph a moving target, in frame and in focus, and hopefully come away with some incredible poses of these pelicans in flight. This is my favorite photo, I hope you enjoy seeing these incredible birds as much as I enjoyed taking their pictures.
A gorgeous school of Blue Tang fish swimming through the corals around South Water Caye island in Belize. These fish swim across you in undulating waves, and it’s very soothing and relaxing to watch them. They mostly swim in a large school of fish, moving through the water as if they are a single large organism, all connected and communicating. They seem so peaceful, as if no predators exist in the world, and for those moments I wish that could be true for us all.
To my absolute delight, the moment I arrived on the small island of South Water Caye in Belize, I spotted an osprey nest. I had previously stalked out osprey nests (each with a baby inside) in Yellowstone National Park hoping to get a glimpse of a parent returning, but having no luck at all. This time, the ospreys and I were stranded on an island together and I was determined to get my photograph… and I got several! These large beautiful birds mate for life, and I got to watch a gorgeous couple of ospreys ‘baby making’ on several occasions. I don’t think it would be very pleasant at all having your male partner dive onto your back with huge sharp talons, I hope the feathers provide some cushioning. Ospreys live near water, either a river or the ocean where it can hunt for fish, so you may get to see some dive bombing. They inhabit all continents on earth except Antarctica, which means they are in Australia too!
This week I wanted to continue the theme of spotted sea creatures. This is a spotted eagle ray, also seen while snorkeling off the beach in Jamaica. They live in tropical waters and have one of the longest tails compared to other sting rays. Unlike most other fish they give birth to live baby sting rays. I must apologize for the bad photography, this ray did not make things easy for me at all. He instantly knew the second I had spotted him (pun intended) and took off so fast that I had to channel my inner Olympic swimmer to get any photo at all! These beautiful underwater creatures are named eagles for a reason, they truly do appear as though they are flying underwater with no resistance at all…. the absolute opposite of my clumsy thrashing and getting nowhere at all.
Spotted Eagle Ray in Jamaica – Photograph by Laura Lecce
Today we start the week off with this smiley shore crab from Jamaica. This crab made me realize just how many different creatures are decorated with white spots and lines (one of which is the whale shark, click here for post). People tend not to pay too much attention to crabs unless they can eat them, they are however fascinating to watch. These shore crabs may look like they have thin spindly legs, but they are fantastic at holding on even when the rocks are getting pummeled with waves. They eat just about anything and everything including any animals that are sick or dead, but they also eat worms, barnacles, clams, mussels, snails and algae. Their biggest fear are sea gulls especially when the crabs are malting (because their new shell is still a bit soft), which explains why they are so quick to scurry to safety under a rock ledge if you startle them. Thankfully this one was quite willing to pose for my photos.
This gorgeous and very large clam was photographed while swimming off a beach on Fitzroy Island, Australia. This beautiful island is situated just off the coast of Queensland about a 45 minute boat ride from Cairns. It is surrounded by coral reef that is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, where you can see many different corals, clams, fish and even turtles. Clams are incredibly fascinating creatures especially in regards to their life cycle and reproductive habits. They are born male and remain so for the first few years of life and produce sperm to reproduce. Once mature they also develop ovaries and produce eggs making them hermaphrodites. To maintain genetic diversity, clams living in the same area will spawn at the same time. Clam spawning, along with many corals takes place when sea temperatures rise and the moon is at the correct phase. Once spawning has begun they simultaneously release reproductive pheromones telling other nearby clams to spawn. First they release sperm which gets moved away by the current (hopefully to meet another clams eggs), and then they release eggs (to hopefully meet another clams sperm). After fertilization takes place the baby clam passes through a mobile larval stage (which sadly many do not survive), before finally settling on a permanent home and growing into the beautiful, colorful clams that we see amongst the corals.
It wasn’t always peaceful – Photograph by Laura Lecce
Today is an extra special Friday… the one year anniversary of my blog!!! I want to thank everyone (all of my followers) for your support which has made blogging the wonderful experience it has been so far. Today I am breaking Friday tradition, and instead I want to share with you an alternate photo of one of my earliest posts. The original photo below (click here for original post) was of a peaceful Western Australian seascape with well behaved, black and white cormorants. Todays photo above was taken just moments before that one, the cormorants squabbling over a territorial dispute involving expensive waterfront real estate. Together these photos are the perfect metaphor for how quickly life can change in a mere moment, and that no matter how ugly a current situation is, the calm will eventually arrive.
Life at Sea – Photograph by Laura Lecce
Early on in my blog I also had a post on my battle with anxiety, especially bad when I travel on airplanes (click here for post). I am proud to say that two days ago I was courageous enough to fly alone for the first time in about 10 years. It wasn’t a great experience with definite moments of panic, but I calmed myself down and I made it. I did it by myself and I can be very proud of that! So here is to the incredible changes that one minute, one hour, or one year of time can bring to someone’s life. Happy Weekend Everyone!!!
Laura Lecce's art and photography 