Florida Nature Photography Home

The Eye of a Killer

In some parts of the Fakahatchee Strand in the northwestern Florida Everglades, it is very common to wade into areas heavily populated with alligators...

Wood Stork

A creature so prehistoric-looking and unusual, with the added bonus of some involvement I had with a special project including video.

Eaton's Ladies'-Tresses Orchid

A very rare orchid that I found quite by accident in a typical North Florida long-leaf pine scrub near the Gulf coast...

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

Alligators and Crocodiles! One of the most well known symbols of Florida is the America alligator. They are found so often all over the state that sometimes a pond looks strange without one. What many people don't know is that Florida also has native American crocodiles.

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Birds

Migrating songbirds, in full breeding plumage, arrive in waves each week from Central and South America.
Mourning doves nest now through November.
Carolina wrens are nesting now.
First mangrove cuckoos return to the Keys.
Summer tanagers and great-crested flycatchers arrive to breed.
Wild turkey and quail begin breeding in central and north Florida.
Great-crested flycatchers return late March to early April.
Brown thrashers begin singing.
Wood storks in Central Florida begin courtship and nesting.
Sooty terns hatching in Dry Tortugas.
Peak of snowy plovers nesting.
Scrub-jays begin to mate and build nests in scrub oaks.
Hummingbirds return.
Purple martins begin nesting.
Swallow-tailed kites return to Florida from South American wintering areas.
Listen for newly returned Chuck-will's-widows calling after sunset.
Great blue herons may be seen on their nests.

Mammals

Look for red foxes emerging from remote beaches.
Last chance to see manatee concentrations in the Caloosahatchee River this winter.
Striped skunks are fighting over mates - watch out!
Litters of raccoons, bobcat, and armadillos are being born.
Black bears begin moving after winter's inactivity.
Endangered gray bats return to Florida caves to raise young.

Amphibians

Frogs and toads move to ponds, streams, and ditches to breed during rainy nights.
Pine Barrens tree frogs start calling.
Tree frogs lay eggs now through August. Tadpoles hatch out in about 5 days.

Reptiles

Snakes become active and move to favorite feeding areas.

Fish

Gulf of Mexico Sturgeon spawn in the Suwannee River during the spring or early summer.
Largemouth bass spawning throughout Central and North Florida.
Redear sunfish begin bedding in Central Florida.
White bass run up the Ochlockonee River above Lake Talquin.
Lake Kissimmee shellcrackers bed on the full moon.
Cow-nosed rays move north along the Atlantic coast.

Invertebrates

Horseshoe crabs lay eggs on coastal beaches on a full moon at high tide.
Ghost crabs come out of hibernation.

Plants and Trees

Chicksaw plum and crabapples bloom in north Florida.
Bromeliads start to flower in south Florida swamps.

Orchids

All four species of grass-pink orchids are now blooming in various parts of the state.
Cigar orchids go into flower and will put out spectacular displays of color in South Florida wetlands.
Eaton's and Florida ladies'-tresses begin to flower in select locations in Central and North Florida.

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.

Updates

I have the great honor to announce that my whooping crane photograph taken in 2008 in Central Florida was selected to be in the 2011 National Audubon Society calendar! Read more about it HERE.

We were the feature story in "Getaways by Design - The Online Magazine for Florida Travel" and it was a great opportunity to tell a little about our nature photography. Read it here - "Interview with Rich Leighton of Florida Nature Photography" by Marcus Adkins.

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.