Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

One of our favorite spots to visit in Florida is the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. This time the weather was perfect, and we saw more wildlife than ever before.

This painted bunting was one of two that were snacking at this feeder. We also saw an indigo bunting there. I've never seen such a colorful bird before! You can't see its back, but it's chartreuse!
Who knows what this red shouldered hawk is thinking?

We have lots of lichen in the Pacific Northwest, but I've never seen red ones like these. In this photo there are at least 3 different kinds of lichen.

This little fellow is the state butterfly of Florida, the zebra longwing. Does Washington have a state butterfly? I have no idea.

This is, if I remember correctly, a gold-crowned night-heron and supposedly somewhat rare.

We saw lots of ibises both inside and outside of the sanctuary. This one was looking for dinner!


Here's the same heron sharing the limelight with an anhinga. Do you suppose this bird was the inspiration for the thunderbird on totem poles?

This time we saw more baby alligators than grown ones. Hard to believe they grow so huge, isn't it?
Mama 'gator has a baby on her back! You have to look very carefully to see the baby's yellow and black stripped tail. (in the upper left corner) You don't mess with Mama!

This is a black-crowned night-heron. For some reason, they make me think of Sherlock Holmes.
This pretty butter fly reminds me of a monarch, but it's called a queen butterfly. The plant is pickerelweed.

I'd never seen a barred owl before, and we saw two of them. If you look carefully, you can see the second one hiding in the leaves.

The one bird we didn't see in the swamp was the wood stork. They are supposed to be nesting at this time of year, and this sanctuary is one of their favorite spots to nest. The ranger told us this is the second year they haven't nested and seemed very concerned. We did see a flock of 15 overhead though. If you're ever in the area, I'd highly recommend a visit to this special place!