Heather and I headed over to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery for a morning of bird photography, and it’s honestly one of those places where you can just stay busy the whole time. The big idea with this trip was simple: real birds, real light, real shooting—no studio talk. I shot with my Canon R5 Mark II, Heather ran the Canon R7, and we both stayed on the Canon RF 100-500 the entire time because it’s such a practical focal range for a rookery. In this video I’m focused on what actually works in the field at a location like this—how the 100-500 handles when birds are close, when they’re further out, and when you need to react fast. I also show the kind of setup details I actually use, like the Haoge replacement collar and the Canon ES-83 hood to keep things more compact. If you’re planning a rookery trip, the takeaway is that you don’t need a crazy complicated kit—one solid telephoto zoom on a capable body can cover a lot, and St. Augustine is a great place to practice and come home with keepers.