CEDAR KEY DURING THE SHUTDOWN

by Ann Kamzelski

Juue 6, 2020

  Living in Cedar Key and being a photographer is a wonderful combination, especially, when the island has been closed down because of a dangerous virus.  I love to ride around in my golf cart with my camera and see what I can photograph. I can’t think of a better way to spend my afternoons or sometimes mornings.  This was an activity that I enjoyed even more often during this trying period. There were fewer people around than normal, and the number of birds seemed to increase. Birds are my favorite subject here because they are so abundant and accessible.

 I was lucky enough to find a group of avocets, roseate spoonbills and short-bill dowitchers that I watched several different days from a short distance away. I also got numerous images of various egrets and herons feeding and flying.  But there were little birds too. We feed the birds in our back yard and have seen many indigo buntings, blue grosbeaks, rose breasted grosbeaks; as well as cardinals and a myriad of other small birds.  Even riding in the golf cart, I have come across scarlet tanagers and several woodpeckers.

The golf cart, for whatever reason, works like a blind. Birds don’t seem to be as skittish when I am in it. I also have friends on the island who will call me if they see something interesting.  With so many of my normal happenings on hold, I was almost always available to jump in the golf cart and race off to the location for a photo op. All in all, not only did photography give me something to do, I ended up with a host of wonderful images that I probably wouldn’t have if life had been running on a normal  schedule.

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