Florida Nature Photography

My New Sanibel Island Art Installation!

Earlier this year, I was contacted by the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society on Florida’s Sanibel Island about the possibility...

The Cuban Treefrog

The Cuban treefrog is my #1 hated invasive species for a number of reasons ranging from ecological damage to personally anger-inducing events and even...

Anhinga!

- One of America’s Most Overlooked Birds. When North America was split in half roughly 100 to 40 million years ago by a great inland sea...

We are extremely happy and proud to announce a new way of providing you with the very best professional prints for your office, home or gallery.

Now we are offering not only prints, but a whole new range of customized frames, mats, and other accessories! All prints are shipped within three business days and come with a no questions asked 30 day return policy.

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…Notes from the Field is our brand new and updated blog (complete with a new look) that will relate experiences and stories about photographing all that is wild in Florida. It has replaced our “New Photos” page, and all of our new images will be presented here - including stories of what was involved to get these shots - camera tips and tricks for other photographers who really enjoy nature and the outdoors and want to learn more. You might even get a chuckle or two out of it!

Read the Latest Post

Forests occupy one-third of the Earth's land area and are found on all corners of the globe. While there are a few different types of forests, all forests have trees as the dominant plant type, and each type creates its own ecosystems and habitats for many other kinds of wildlife!

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Birds

Indigo buntings, Mississippi kites, eastern kingbirds, grosbeaks, warblers, tanagers, orioles, thrashers and thrushes begin returning to North America.
Bobwhite quail nest now through September.
Migrant warblers concentrate on coasts after cold fronts.
Watch for hummingbirds feeding on blooms of columbine, buckeye, and others.
Wood storks in North Florida begin courtship and nesting.
Florida sandhill crane chicks get more conspicuous as they become old enough to begin foraging in open habitat.
Common loons head north from their Florida wintering grounds.
Most wild turkey hens are nesting.

Mammals

Black bears begin moving after winter's inactivity.
Long-tailed weasels, minks, and river otters will be born April through May.
Endangered gray bats return to Florida caves to raise young.
Manatees move up the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers, while in other parts of the state they are dispersing around Florida's coastal waterways.
Bobcat kittens born this month and next.

Amphibians

Pine barrens treefrogs begin calling.
Larval mole salamanders mature and leave ponds.

Reptiles

Most Florida snakes begin mating rituals.
Alligators begin moving about, seeking new territories and mates.
American crocodiles in Florida Bay begin laying eggs.
Florida softshell turtles lay eggs now through July.
Carolina anoles breed.
Loggerhead sea turtles begin to nest on Florida sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida.

Fish

Largemouth bass move into shallow water in Lake Talquin.
The cobia migration is in full swing in the Panhandle.
Stingrays move close to shore in Southwest Florida.
Jack crevalles and cobia move into coastal waters off the east coast.

Invertebrates

Black swallowtail butterfly larvae begin feeding heavily on garden parsley.

Plants and Trees

Blooming wildflowers and pitcher plants blanket the wet savannahs of the Apalachicola National Forest.

Orchids

Leafless beaked orchids begin to show off their fiery red blossoms all over undisturbed areas of Southwest Florida.
Pine-pink orchids begin growing in profusion in the Fakahatchee Strand and the Big Cypress National Preserve.
Spreading pogonia orchids begin to blossom in wondrous beauty in North Florida forests.

Data provided in part by UF Florida Wildlife Extension

FloridaNaturePhotography is a part of Leighton Photography & Imaging - our local photography business based in Tallahassee, Fl. Nature photography is a large part of what we do, but we are by no means limited to just that. Click HERE to find out more about our company.

Our photographs not related to nature photography can be seen HERE in our online gallery, or through Fine Art America.

If you are or represent a gallery, publisher/publication, exhibition, event, vendor/reseller, or any other group interested in our work, please contact Rich or Galina Leighton HERE for more information.

ALL SUBJECTS ARE PHOTOGRAPHED IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS. NO ANIMALS ARE IN CAPTIVITY OR POSED,
AND ALL PLANTS, INCLUDING ORCHIDS, ARE NATIVE AND NON-CULTIVATED.