It all started with the Ibis, my Dad and I and were watching one walking in a marsh and I asked if he noticed the color of the eyes. He hadn't noticed the eye color. If he didn't, I can understand if it may have slipped by others too. This post is dedicated to the eyes of the birds we photographed in the Everglades.
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| An Ibis wading along Turner River Road |
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| Zoomed in to reveal the beautiful blue eyes |
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| Little Blue Heron in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary |
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| A closer look at the pale yellow eye |
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| "Blinking" |
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The Little Blue Heron was caught "blinking" which is actually a third eyelid - the nictating membrane - which lubricates the eye. I've taken photos of birds of prey where the nictating membrane is fully opaque creating a creepy other-worldly look.
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| A Great Egret along the road in Fakahatchee State Preserve |
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| The Egret eye catches the light and looks like a marble |
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| This Great Blue Heron was "giving me the eye" in Shark Valley |
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| A closer look reveals the same marble effect |
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| Another Shark Valley resident - a tri-colored heron |
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| Zoomed in to highlight the wonderfully colored eye |
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| The jewel of the Everglades -the Purple Gallinule |
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| The PG also has a beautiful red eye to go with its candy corn beak |
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Lastly, I was reviewing my bird photos, intent on picking out never before posted photos to demonstrate the different bird's eyes when I came across an alligator photo. I opened this image in Photoshop and moved a slider the wrong way - making the photo too light...however it revealed a remarkable find.
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| An alligator along Turner River Road |
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| Look closely |
A closer, albeit an accidentally lighter, look reveals a slit in the eye that reminds me that this alligator is a descendant of the dinosaurs. Doesn't this look like an eye from a dinosaur in "Jurassic Park?" It does to me. The trees and setting sun reflected in the gator's eye are spectacular. The little ball of light in the eye however is not my flash going off - though it looks like a flash. I do not use a flash when taking wildlife photos - the ethics of which are hotly debated on some blogs - not here, I'm not looking for a fight or to push my agenda - so please do not debate it in the comments.
Thank you again for joining me and our treasured birds - each one different and yet similar - like all of us humans.
Tomorrow I'll be snowed in, under a foot of snow, if you believe the local weatherman - either way I plan on starting a series of posts with some good photos taken over the last few months.
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