Myakka River Shooting Adventure

Myakka River State Park is about 20 miles inland on Florida's west coast near Sarasota.  There is a large lake surrounded by wetlands and forest lands that teem with wildlife, especially in winter.  It is a favorite wintering location for wading birds, Sandhill Cranes, songbirds and a wide assortment of other animal life.  Mild winter tempertures also attract rare and elusive creatures like photographers, including me!

On this trip I camped for several days and photographed each day around the lake.

I had numerous sitings of deer, turkey, and other 4 legged creatures.

The animals are somewhat acculimated to people but they certainly are not tame and in order to get close enough for a good photo you must approach with caution.

A long lens is a must and a tripod is very helpful.  I shoot with an older Nikon 500 f4 that does not have vibration reduction.  This is a tripod only lens and I use a heavy Gitzo with a Wembley Gimble head.  I often shoot wildlife handheld with a Nikon 80-400 VR lens.  This lens is a little slow in focusing but the VR feature is great and it allows me to catch fast action that is almost impossible to catch with a tripod mounted camera and lens. 

(Thank you AP for the loan of the Nikon 80-400)




The best action at Myakka is around the lake shooting the wading birds.  One of the stars of the show is the Roseate Spoonbill.

While the Roseate may be one of the stars, I enjoy working with the Black-Necked Stilt.  They are very graceful birds and beautiful in flight.  They are small birds perched atop very long legs and they tend to be in small groups.

Myakka River is a great winter photography location!  I hope you get a chance to visit there soon.