Series: Take A Moment and Enjoy A Sunset
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Even Great Blue Herons take a moment to enjoy a sunset!
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Sunset over the Barron River
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“Never go too long without watching a sunset.” – Atticus
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Pileated Woodpecker In Hot Pursuit
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I saw a flash of red followed by another shooting from tree to tree through the forest, a male Pileated Woodpecker in hot pursuit of a female.
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Male Pileated Woodpecker (the red cheek stripe is the male identifier)
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Ahhhh…..she’s just above him in this tree. Can he catch her?
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Male Pileated Woodpecker in hot pursuit
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Alas, the female was quicker on the move. Not giving up, the male continued the chase as they flew deeper into their forest playground.
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Great Blue Heron In A Swamp
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You may have noticed my last few posts shared photos from the Everglades and one was in real time (Christmas Star 2020), when I was previously home in Maryland for the holidays.
Now a second holiday cancellation, this time Christmas, along with impending snow/ice/cold temps, had us quickly deciding to get home affairs in order and pack our motorhome back up to head for Florida two weeks sooner than planned for our winter season. Christmas had to be virtual this year with our grandboys. 😢
What’s been perking me up is the excitement in making plans to revisit my favorite birding/wildlife spots discovered last winter here in the Everglades area. I’ve already been out and about exploring. 😊
One place is the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park that has some awesome nooks and crannies. Finding this Great Blue Heron was a pleasant surprise when I checked out one such nook through the trees and saw it perched on a branch over the swamp.
If you’re able to see large enough, it stuck it’s tongue out at me!
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Great Blue Heron
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Hey, Florida birds/wildlife, it’s great to be back!
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Merry Christmas From The Everglades
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May this holiday season bring you many reasons to smile,
and the true spirit of Christmas shine in your heart.
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Wood Stork
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American Alligator
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Roseate Spoonbills
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American White Pelicans
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Merry Christmas from the Everglades!
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Snowy Egrets Leading White Pelicans
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I saw them coming, a squadron of American White Pelicans in V-formation.
But who was leading them?
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Three Snowy Egrets leading a squadron of American White Pelicans
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Snowy Egrets leading a squadron of American White Pelicans
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Snowy Egrets leading a squadron of American White Pelicans
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Continuing their way…..
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Staying in formation!
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How unique and beautiful was that fly-by?!!
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Series: Take A Moment and Enjoy A Sunset (Christmas Star 2020)
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Christmas Star 2020 over the Barron River, Everglades City
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Jupiter (left) and Saturn (right)
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Florida Softshell Turtles
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If you recall, I had taken and shared my mystery wildlife photo a couple months ago taken in Alabama that had me so curious to confirm what it was, I contacted a reptile group. I thought it was a huge snake!
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Mystery Wildlife – Softshell Turtle (a.k.a. baby hippo! hehe)
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There are several species of softshell turtles in North America, the largest of them is the Florida softshell turtle. At our campground last month, there were several that basked in the sun each day around the ponds.
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Florida softshell turtle
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The Florida softshell turtle ranges from 6 to 30 inches (15 to 76 cm) in length. Adults females are often 3-5 times larger than males!
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Florida softshell turtles along with another unidentified turtle
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Florida softshell turtle
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It was neat to actually get to view these turtles after having seen a glimpse of the one previously that had piqued my curiosity!
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Wildlife Cohabiting Together — Killdeer and Least Sandpiper
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I adored watching this Killdeer and a Least Sandpiper hanging together for several days at our campground. It appeared as if the Killdeer was the protector. When the Killdeer took flight to another spot, the tiny sandpiper followed. While the Killdeer kept guard, the tiny sandpiper crouched down and rested.
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Killdeer and Least Sandpiper
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Killdeer and Least Sandpiper
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Least Sandpiper, the smallest shorebird in the world,
weighing about 1 ounce and measuring 5-6 inches long.
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The Wood Stork’s Unique Beauty
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Birds are mostly described as beautiful, adorable, majestic, gorgeous, to name a few. All those wonderful ‘pretty’ verbs.
There are some bird species, though, that are described with other not-so-pretty verbs. Odd, ugly, weird, only-a-mother-could-love. Add shy and prehistoric, and you’ve described the Wood Stork.
I hope these photos show you that they are beautiful too!
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Wood Stork 01
Wood Stork 02
Wood Stork 03
Wood Stork 04
Wood Stork 05
Wood Stork 06
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Birds Camping With Me – Part 2
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My last post shared more of the smaller birds I photographed within our campground last month. This series is showcasing more of the impressive, larger birds. The draw for them were the three ponds the campsites surrounded. Fly-bys overhead were always welcomed!
I love to cruise around in my ‘birding mobile’, setting myself up to allow the birds to ignore me or work their way towards me, while I wait, not moving, not making eye contact. We all know vehicles make great ‘blinds’ when birding, can you believe a brightly colored golf cart would work too?! 🙂
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My Fun “Birding Mobile”
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And now on to my campground birds….
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Little Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Egret
Wood Stork
Great Blue Heron
Immature Bald Eagle
Brown Pelican
Anhinga
Great Egret
Tricolored Heron
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I get a lot of smiles and love from people when they see me photographing from my birding mobile. And above, it looks like the birds all give a smile too. 😉
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