First off, are we going to be continuously walking or are we going to be stalking in a single spot for shots?
In general, it's mostly walking - but not huge distances or speed walking - the two primary wetlands we'll be visiting are about 1 mile around and 1.5 miles around, I generally walk slowly around, stopping when I see something interesting - I might stay in one spot for 5-10 minutes if something really good is going on...but you rarely need to stake out a single spot and wait for things to come as there's stuff everywhere...unless there's one very specific animal you are trying to see (some folks will spend a few hours waiting for a bobcat to wander out on the levee, or stake out near the hawk nest to catch them going in and out). I personally don't find it necessary - I'd rather keep moving along to see other things and stop if it's good.
If we are picking a spot and shooting from the one location is it best to bring some sort of folding chair or camp stool? Also concerning the terrain, is it going to be wet and muddy in general? I'm trying to figure out the best footwear for these nature hikes.
At Green Cay and Wakodahatchee, they are mostly boardwalks raised above the water or scrub islands...or paved sections. No muddy wanderings at all. Now, if you want to try out some of the other spots, such as Arthur Marshall or Peaceful Waters, both of those locations will have grass and dirt levees that you'll be walking on - but they're well trodden and well maintained, so no special boots or protective footwear needed. I'd probably go with closed toe shoes just because of the rocks, grasses, and vines that might hurt the toes or get into the shoe. I usually wear Sketchers - mule-style - closed toe, open heel. Anything like that or any sneaker is fine. At Green Cay and Wako, you could go with sandals or pretty much anything you want (OK, don't do stilettos - you'll probably get stuck in the wood slats...but anything else should be OK).
You shouldn't need any chairs or stools, unless standing for a while might get tiresome - you could do stools or walking stick/seats that don't block the boardwalk, but you couldn't do full camp chairs. Throughout both boardwalks, there are spots to stop in covered gazebos with benches, or little popouts on the boardwalk with benches, so as you go around the mile loops, you have places you could stop for a rest, or even stay there a while and shoot what comes by.
I'm also wondering what your lens recommendations are. I have the Nikon 200 to 500 mm lens that I can bring and also the 70 to 200 and then some wider angle lenses.
I'm thinking it's probably best to shoot with the 70 to 200, but I'm wondering how far these birds are from the camera. I tried shooting this past weekend with the 70 to 200 but the birds were few and really far away. This weekend I'll try out my 200 to 500 on my Z9 with the lens adapter that takes a DSLR lens and makes it fit on a mirrorless body.
You'll have plenty of opportunities for close birds - and there will always be a few interesting things farther away - you can bring the bigger lenses to shoot the more distant stuff if you want, but if you decided to go light, there'd still be plenty of things to shoot close. At Wakodahatchee, you'll probably find about 60% of the birds and wildlife within 30 feet, and as close as 1 foot. A few species might stay farther back, maybe 20% will be 30-70 feet away...and another 20% will be 70+ feet. Within the 1 mile walk around, you will see somewhere between 500 and 2,000 birds and a few hundred reptiles. At Green Cay, it's a bigger park, and you'll have more times when things are farther away - but still plenty of close opportunities - it's probably around 30-40% within 30 feet, 20-30% within 30-70 feet, and 30-50% farther than 70 feet. There are less concentrated birds, but more species and diversity. I think if you brought the 70-200 and 200-500mm, you'd cover 98% of all needs. The wide angle stuff would be if you want to catch a few scenics, or show some wide shots of just how many birds there are and how close you get to them, for people who might not otherwise believe or understand that you are walking through a corridor of several hundred birds just 3-20 feet away, not minding you at all.
I also have a Wimberley gimbal to shoot with. Is that something that you recommend using or is it not really applicable to what we'll be doing? I'm thinking with that 200 to 500 mm lens that gimbal might come in handy.
I think that's always a personal choice - I do all my BIF shooting handheld, and never liked shooting off a tripod or monopod...but I see people who do their BIF work with them. I don't think you need one with a 200-500mm lens - but that also depends on your endurance and whether you're accustomed to swinging around that lens for a few hours handheld. If I was shooting a 600mm F4, I might stick it on a tripod or monopod, as that would be quite a monster for all day handheld shooting.
The other thing that we're wondering about is restaurant recommendations. Do you have any for us?
I can come up with some - depending on if you're looking for places close to where you're staying, for dinners and such, or places close to the wetlands to grab a lunch or snack. I generally don't bother eating when I'm at the wetlands - I have breakfast before I go, keep drinks in a cooler in my car, and then head home and have dinner. The wetlands aren't close to many restaurants - but there is a supermarket with a good deli just 1/2 mile from Green Cay, and if you wander a mile or two south, there are some small cafes and Subways & such. In Boca where you're staying, there are plenty of restaurants from fast-food level up to fine dining - just let me know the type of food you are looking for and price levels, and I can come up with a few. Right around your hotel, there's a great breakfast spot (Original Pancake House), a kosher grill, sushi and Asian places, and an Ale house. If you head east up Glades Road about 2 miles, there are many more selections including Cheesecake Factory, Houston's grill, Capital Grille Steakhouse, Maggiano's, Morton's Steakhouse, New York Prime, Rocco's Tacos, Seasons 52, and more. Another 2 miles east to Federal Highway, and from there south you could add about 250 more restaurants of every possible type.
The other thing I wanted to ask you about was how you made out with your most recent Disney trip. Did you try and use genie or was it not necessary because it wasn't crowded? I guess I should ask if it was crowded when you went.
It was fairly crowded when I went in December, and again last week...but not ridiculous levels. I really dislike the Genie thing - so I never bothered to use the 'free' version as it seems pointless, and so far, I wasn't tempted enough to pay for the 'plus' version or use any individual lightning lane money-grabs. If the line was really long, I skipped it...or circled back later. I went on Rise of the Resistance in December with a not-crazy 50 minute standby, though it turned out to be a little over an hour. This time, I went on Remy's as the standby was 40 minutes. When I got to AK, the Kilimanjaro was 70 minutes so I skipped it at 1pm, went back around at 4:50pm and it was 10 minutes. At MK, POTC and HM lines were in the 40-60 minute range in the early afternoon, and 30-40 min in the evening.
That genie crap is really annoying to me as well as the park reservation BS. I have my Park reservation set for the maximum number of days that I can make it but I'll be spending the mornings and Tuesday night at Universal.
Agreed. There is nothing I like about Genie, plus, or lightning lane. And the park reservation thing was supposed to be a temporary 'pandemic' thing but seems they're stretching it out and keeping it for a while - hate it.
I managed to get a spot on one of the Mardi gras floats so I'll be trying to inflict brain damage on the parade spectators as I toss beads from one of the parade floats.
I didn't even know they did that at Universal. I rode a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans when I was going to college there - I had an 'in' to get on the Bacchus Krewe (not an easy thing to do as those Krewes are super-difficult to get into - riders pay membership dues at different levels and there's a wait list). Lots of fun - and indeed, there are some people who you just enjoy beaning with the beads or a handful of doubloons.
