Florida offers rich avian treasures for expert birders and beginners alike, if they know where to look. Carillon Lake located in Pinellas County and sits between the Hilton and Raymond James Financial buildings. It's about 5 minutes from the St. Pete/Clearwater Airport just off Ulmerton Rd. The lake is wrapped by a 3/4 mile boardwalk and home to many species of birds. 

This location has awarded me a huge portfolio of great bird shots and today was no different. Of course you will find the usual Anhinga and very populated Moorhens that are always eager to allow some portrait shots. But if you walk quielty and take the side exits you may be surprised to find something of interest watching you from overhead branches.

This Red-shouldered Hawk was my best catch for the day allowing me to take a few images before he decided that was enough and flew off for another nearby location.



I have often carried my D2H with the Sigma 500mm attached but find it sometimes to bulky to maneuver. I was blessed with a beautiful Nikon D40 with a couple of lenses for my birthday and armed myself with it today instead. I am very pleased with the images that this camera is producing for me so far. The Nikor 55-200mm was part of the kit and is not a bad combination to have in these types of scenarios.

Check out the Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Lens and Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED DX VR Zoom-Nikkor Lens + 4GB SecureDigital (SD) Card