The Long Bar Pointe is a portion of the Sarasota Bay located in Bradenton, Florida. Granny happens to live in front of it, and I had many opportunities early in my photography career to practice my skills on the beautiful mud flat. During low tides, lots of birds come to feed in the shallow waters. One might see Roseate Spoonbills, Great White Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Yellow crown Night Herons, Snowy Egrets, White Ibises, Brown Pelicans, White Pelicans and many more other bird species. In other words it is one of those rare spots where the birds remain undisturbed and free to feed in the natural habitat.
Great White Egret standing in the shallow water. This photograph was created in Long Bar Pointe, Sarasota Bay, Florida.
ISO 1000 | f/5.6 | 1/6400 | Manual Mode | AI servo
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review), the Canon EOS 7D on a Jobu Design Gimbal head and tripod. Have a look at the equipment I typically carry with me.
The photograph above is a Great White Egret warming up, created a bit after sunrise. Lots of Egrets and other waders flock this mud flat during low tides.
The issue is that there is a big commercial project to build a resort area, a marina, a large convention center, commercial retail space and thousands of new residential units. To build the marina, deeper trenches will need to be dug and chances are that the wildlife will not easily come back to that spot as their habitat would have been turned upside down. More importantly, the birds need the shallow water to feed. If channels are dug, the water level will become a lot higher. That is without mentioning all the forest cutting, which will push Red-shouldered Hawks and other wildlife to possibly migrate somewhere else. When will we stop to develop big commercial projects which turn everything upside down overnight?
Please help and sign the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-manatee-coastline . There will also be a public hearing on August 6th, 1:30 pm at the Manatee Civic Center. If you live close, come along so that the county can hear your voice! Tell the commissioners to vote No on PA-13-06 Text Amendment and NO on PA-13-03 Long Bar Pointe Map Amendment!
Great Blue Heron walking close to the mangrove trees. This photograph was created in Long Bar Pointe, Sarasota Bay, Florida.
ISO 200 | f/6.3 | 1/3200 | Manual Mode | AI servo
This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens (Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM review), the Canon EOS 7D on a Jobu Design Gimbal head and tripod. Have a look at the equipment I typically carry with me.
The photograph above of a Great Blue Heron was created a bit before sunset. What a memory! Let’s hope this does not go away…
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Steven
joshi daniel