Jays and Jets Photography

12/25/2025

I’m on a roll - Gulf Islands used another one of my photos. Always exciting to see!

Have a seat! ✨ We love the views from the tower bastion. We kindly ask that you sit on the benches instead of the historic walls.

The park including the Fort Pickens Area is open on Christmas. The William M. Colmer Visitor Center and park store inside Fort Pickens will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

Thank you for helping us preserve Fort Pickens for future generations.

To download the National Park Service mobile app before you visit www.nps.gov/subjects/digital/nps-apps.htm

NPS/Doggrell Image from top of Fort Pickens stop 14 on self-guided tour.

12/25/2025

The heavy fog really made the Christmas laser lights pop last night. Wish I’d taken a video - maybe tonight if it’s foggy again. Merry Christmas!

12/25/2025

After making the first half of his Christmas Eve run in a Blue Angels F-18 and starting to run low on fuel, the Thunderbirds had one of their F-16’s on Alert 5 ready to go for him to complete his mission.

Merry Christmas!

12/25/2025

Santa gave the reindeer the night off and borrowed a Super Hornet instead!

Merry Christmas!!

(And yes, the Santa and night sky are AI generated, but the plane is a real photo lol).

12/24/2025

Is it Airshow season yet?

A couple of shots of the Blue Angels 4 ship formation in a right echelon flying behind Fat Albert during the 2024 Homecoming Airshow.

12/23/2025

One more photo of the USAF Heritage Flight during the 2006 Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow. F-86, F-4, F-15, and A-10.

12/22/2025

The Blue Angels in a tight right echelon during the 2021 Homecoming Airshow which was actually performed at Pensacola Beach that year!

12/21/2025

One of my bald eagle photos taken for Gulf Islands National Seashore

If you look hard enough you will see a Bald Eagle during the . The Bald Eagle is the most recognized eagle in Florida and serves as the national bird of the United States.

The chilly winds of winter are gusting across Pensacola Bay, and our American bald eagles are cuddled up close with their eggs. Soon, their hatchlings will emerge.
Florida’s long bald eagle breeding season begins in early October and can span all the way through May.

Florida has one of the densest populations of bald eagles in all the United States, beat only by Alaska. Bald eagles are categorized as fishing eagles, but these opportunistic scavengers will eat just about anything, including prey caught by other birds.

When looking for eagles, keep an eye out for osprey, a small, skilled fishing hawk—an eagle might be close behind, ready to steal its hard-fought catch. Its habitat is near large bodies of water, including lakes, rivers, and coastal areas, where they hunt for fish, their primary food source.

If you’re raring to catch a glimpse of these majestic birds, the Florida National Scenic Trail has just what you need. Just start at the northern terminus, which begins at historic Fort Pickens!

Two bald eagles on a tree limb in Fort Pickens Area. NPS/Doggrell

12/21/2025

Going all the way back to the 2006 Blue Angels Homecoming show that had the coolest Air Force Heritage Flight I’ve ever seen. An F-86, F-15, A-10, and F-4!

12/20/2025

The Blue Angels pitch up break from a 2022 practice aboard NAS Pensacola.

12/19/2025

A couple of different edits of the same photo as Franz/CDR Zimmerman screams down Pensacola Beach on the sneak pass during this year’s Red White and Blues Airshow. Always the best part of the show!

12/18/2025

Another photo for Gulf Islands National Seashore. I’m on a roll! LOL.

A bird you might see during the in December in the South is the coopers hawk. This hawk lives in wooded habitats from deep forests to leafy subdivisions and backyards. Once thought averse to towns and cities, Cooper’s Hawks are now fairly common urban and suburban birds.

Bird on a limb. NPS/Doggrell