Series: Take A Moment and Enjoy A Sunset
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Sunset over Chokoloskee Bay at Everglades National Park Gulf Coast Visitors Center
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“The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.”
— Pamela Hansford Johnson
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Red-bellied Woodpecker in Hot Pursuit
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I shared a post of a male Pileated Woodpecker in hot pursuit of a female a few weeks ago.
The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are playing the same games!
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Female Red-bellied Woodpecker on a dock piling
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Everywhere the female flew and landed, her suitor was quick to follow.
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“Hey, where did she go?”
Male Red-bellied Woodpecker
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The female allowed the male to catch her, and he was quick to impress by flaring his crest feathers.
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Female Red-bellied Woodpecker evaluating the male’s bonding display of crest feathers…..
Was she impressed? 😉
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Love is in the air with birds in Florida!
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Stalking with Elegance
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When it’s low tide at the Everglades NP Gulf Coast location, a small beach exposes at the far end of the bulkhead.
While I was sitting on the bulkhead by that beach a mid-afternoon, a Snowy Egret came around the bend and towards me along the beach, stalking for fish in the small incoming waves.
Sitting very still, I waited; and not for long. The Snowy Egret was on the move and was quickly right in front of me.
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“The Elegant Snowy Egret”
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I know the egret had to see me, but it didn’t give any indication acknowledging my presence. It just continued it’s stalking.
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“Ready to Strike”
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“Super Quick Strike”
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“Tiny Tasty Snack”
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Not missing a beat, the Snowy Egret continued on past me, searching for more.
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“The Elegant Snowy Egret”
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I think this is when I started breathing again. 😉
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White Pelicans Riding Thermals
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Have you ever seen birds fly in a spiral, going higher and higher? They have discovered a weather phenomenon known as thermals.
A couple weeks ago, I was lucky to notice White Pelicans riding thermals for several days above Everglades City.
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White Pelicans and single Anhinga (far right) riding a thermal
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Thermals are updrafts of warm air that rise from the ground into the sky. Birds will fly in a circular path within these columns of rising air and “ride” the currents to climb to higher altitudes while expending very little energy in the process.
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White Pelicans riding a thermal
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Some thermals may only last for a few seconds, others can last up to 10-20 minutes. As thermals rise, they cool, eventually reaching the same temperature as the surrounding air. Suddenly the thermal dissipates, and you’ll see the birds lose their momentum and form of flight.
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White Pelicans riding a thermal
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Each day that I saw them, it was in the afternoon.
Some close-ups….
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White Pelicans riding a thermal
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White Pelicans riding a thermal
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Watching these huge birds gracefully spiral up high in the sky was such a delight!
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An Alligator Encounter
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The Fakahatchee Strand/Everglades 10,000 Islands NWR definitely delivers beautiful birds and scenery.
It also delivers dangerous wildlife. You cannot be out and about in this area without also keeping your wandering eyes to the ground for snakes and alligators. Nowhere.
I parked my car in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park’s Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk parking lot. In the pond alongside the parking lot and highway, there is a good chance of seeing the alligator that lives there.
This day, yep, s/he’s there. I walked at a distance around the alligator and pond, taking some shots.
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American Alligator
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Mind you, I am zoomed in on a 70-200mm lens attached to a 1.7x teleconverter, so know I did not take an unsafe chance with that photo above.
I continued walking around and alongside the pond and alligator. It had not moved, so I took some close-ups.
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I continued down along the pond to check a couple known bird perches, then turned around to go back to go wander down the boardwalk.
Walking back, I kept my eye out for that alligator and found s/he had moved, in a direction not good for me.
The next photo shows s/he had moved closer to the embankment of the road pass-through to the second parking lot where you see my car is parked. The boardwalk entrance is behind my car and the first parking lot is to the far right and front of the pond.
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Alligator and My Car
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At this time walking from the big parking lot to the right are three guys in a laughing conversation, heading towards the alligator.
Like out of a movie, I watched the alligator slowly move to the embankment and begin to climb out….
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I could see the guys weren’t paying attention and hollered, “Watch out, alligator!” The guys stopped and started backing up when they saw the big alligator coming out of the water.
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“Big ‘Ole Gator”
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The alligator also stopped and laid down.
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“Advertising for the Sign”
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At this point, I was a bit nervous. The guys were getting closer to the alligator now to take cell phone photos, including selfies. I told them that alligators were fast, they shouldn’t be so close. “We know,” they said.
Now, I just wanted to get around this scene and to my car. I walked the farthest point around the road with those three guys between me and the alligator and quickly made it to and inside my car.
When I looked out my car window, the alligator had lowered back into the pond, but was still on the surface, while the guys were standing there marveling about the photos they took.
I am quite thankful nothing bad happened, but it certainly could have gone wrong for those guys. As I was driving down the highway, it struck me I’d forgotten to go down the boardwalk. I decided there’d have to be another day and time, lol, I’d had enough danger for the day.
Someone here in Florida recently told me, “Gators do not attack people. Gators attack stupid people.” Sounds about right.
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Black-crowned Night Heron
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Across the swamp, a Black-crowned Night Heron rested in the shade under his naturally created ‘tiki umbrella’.
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Black-crowned Night Heron
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Roseate Spoonbills and a Roseate Skimmer
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Having roseate in your wildlife name usually means it’s gonna be pink-alicious pretty!
Most likely, you’re immediately thinking Roseate Spoonbills. 😃
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Roseate Spoonbills
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But there’s another roseate in town!
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Roseate Skimmer
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Mr & Mrs Hawk
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Running an early morning errand, I spotted a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks on a communication pole. I wouldn’t have pulled off of the highway for one, but two hawks? You bet!
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Red-shouldered Hawks
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Wildlife Cohabiting Together — Great Egret, Anhinga, Softshell Turtles
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I love seeing different species of wildlife resting together, feeling safe. Getting to see size comparisons is a big plus.
Even if they don’t want to look at each other. 😉
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“Getting Along”
Anhinga, Great Egret, Softshell Turtles
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Blue-gray Gnatcatchers
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The energetic Blue-gray Gnatcatcher rarely slows down, zipping from branch to branch, bobbing it’s tail to flush up and chase small insects.
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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in the shade
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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in the sun
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This last one is a bit of a ‘change in scenery’ for a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
After I lucked out with the above two photos, the foraging pair shot up to a roof, looked around, then took off.
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Blue-gray Gnatcatchers on a Seminole chickee hut
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Bay Photos by Donna 