Big Cypress Fox Squirrel
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I feel very fortunate to get an opportunity to capture southwest Florida’s Big Cypress fox squirrel.
This fox squirrel is a unique subspecies of the Eastern fox squirrel, and is found south of the Caloosahatchee River and west of the Everglades region of Florida.
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Big Cypress Fox Squirrel
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The Big Cypress fox squirrel is protected as a threatened species in Florida. There is little information known about this subspecies due to their limited range, secretive nature, and reluctance to be captured.
Sightings are rare. I photographed this one in Big Cypress National Preserve which is where Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suggests to search for them while walking or driving along the preserve’s dirt roads into the wet pine and cypress forests.
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Big Cypress Fox Squirrel
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After that last shot, the fox squirrel scampered up the tree and I continued my walk.
Returning back down the path to my car, I looked for the fox squirrel again and found him/her relaxing in another tree. A quick photo and I continued on, very excited with this sighting!
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Big Cypress Fox Squirrel
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Snowy Egrets – Water Ballet
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There was a bit of a frenzy for a couple hours one morning with the Snowy Egrets when a fishing hole was swimming with tiny fish.
Too deep to stand, they took turns flying over, hovering/dangling their bright yellow toes, snatching a fish if they could, and then would fly off while gulping it down.
I was able to take photos from both the refuge’s deck and at ground level. It was an entertaining display of water ballet!
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This next photo shows how deep that fishing hole is with the Great Blue Heron up to its belly in water.
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This photo shows how deep the fishing hole is with the Great Blue Heron up to its belly in the water.
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And finally, this next three-photo series follows through with the tiptoeing to gulp success!
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Great Horned Owl
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I received a tip from a local resident that a Great Horned Owl was seen in an old banyan tree in town.
I was at the tree that evening, and looked and looked.
Ah-ha! When I finally spotted the owl, it was not perched in the banyan tree this time, but in a palm tree next to it, hiding in the shadows of the fronds.
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Great Horned Owl
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It was breezy, so I hoped for a chance to catch the early evening’s sun on the owl’s face inbetween the moving shadows.
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Great Horned Owl
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Fact – Great Horned Owls are the largest owl in North America and generally mate for life.
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Five On The Wing – #6
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Continuing my series of five birds in flight, this one has the added theme, raptors. Enjoy!
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Osprey
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Red-shouldered Hawk
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American Bald Eagle (adult)
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American Bald Eagle (immature)
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Crested Caracara
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More American White Pelicans
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Here is another series of photos of the beautiful American White Pelican from two weeks ago. I hope you enjoy!
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Red-shouldered Hawks – Mating Behavior
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Yesterday early morning while golf cart birding, I spotted a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks in a pine tree. I stopped for this shot, including seeing the power lines crossing my ‘scene’ as I took the photo. Ugh. Must get better shot, I thought!
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Red-shouldered Hawks (male top, female bottom)
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I quickly moved while trying to get my lens back on the scene. At the same time, the male dropped down to the female and began mating!
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Red-shouldered Hawks mating
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Red-shouldered Hawks mating
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As is with birds, it was over just as quick as it started. But what followed I had not seen before. The female immediately began to nip at the male’s feathers. Bonding bites?
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Female nipping male
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Female nipping male as he edges away
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Female continues the bonding nips
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Female is saying something?
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Just then some sunshine popped through the clouds, perfect timing for this next funny shot.
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“Ooooh, Baby!”
(male gets excited/fluffs up, as the female watches)
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She must have said something pretty good, you think? 😏
(Fact: Red-shouldered Hawks are monogamous and usually mate for life.)
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A Day in the Life of a Great Blue Heron
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It’s morning, time to wake up, Great Blue Heron.
You’ve got a lot to do today….
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Standing on those nice long legs….
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Fishing all day….
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With a dagger beak…
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Successfully…
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While protecting your fishing territory….
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Or maybe some courtship….
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Got to stay clean with an occasional bath….
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And preen those gorgeous feathers….
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While flying around from favorite spot to favorite spot…..
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Or sometimes just resting and enjoying the big view….
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And as the busy day comes to an end, feeling sleepy and ready for the night’s rest….
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A lot goes on in the day of the life of the Great Blue Heron.
(All photos taken in Florida in recent weeks.)
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Common Myna
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What a great surprise to spot a pair of birds that I recognized their ID from blogging friends’ posts in other countries.
Welcome to my bird lifer list #220, the Common Myna! Native to southern Asia where it is among the most common species, the Common Myna has been widely introduced elsewhere in the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Florida.
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Common Myna
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Common Myna
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Common Myna
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Between these two birds, they gave perfect ops for profiles and flight. It can’t get any better than that with a new lifer! 😊
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Five On The Wire – #2
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Continuing with my series of five bird species perched on those not-so-pretty communication wires, that have those awesome 360° views they love.
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Northern Mockingbird
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Loggerhead Shrike
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Red-shouldered Hawk
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Double-crested Cormorant
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American Kestrel
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Crab Abstract
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I got distracted while birding yesterday. It happens! 😏
I took this photo from the Briggs Boardwalk, shooting down into the orange-colored water below me. Everything in the water looked orange. Including this Blue Crab who should really be blue/green.
This is the actual photo. I did not do any editing other than darken the exposure a bit to see the crab better. There are no filters applied. With the water’s dancing movement, the reflections of the marsh grasses directly behind the crab and the blue sky created an abstract of interesting lines and colors.
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Blue Crab (orange in color)
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There were several ‘orange’ Blue Crabs running around in the foot of water. With everything laying in the water looking the color orange, I’m guessing there was a high concentration of iron in that specific area. Along the rest of the boardwalk and other water/wetland areas, the rest was the normal dark brown/black, brackish coloring.
I have a fondness for blue crab decor, so I totally love this cool, nature-created abstract!
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Bay Photos by Donna 