Back from the Sunshine & Birds Galore

 

We just got back from 10 days in warm and sunny Florida where we met up with my sister and her husband as well as a number of friends.   (We got a reality check last night on the way home when they deiced our plane in Minneapolis where it was SNOWING.  It's not snowy here, just real grey.  Welcome home, eh?)

 

We wandered the beaches, waded in the water, and explored.  One of the places we found was the Circle Bar Ranch Reserve near Lakeland.  What fun we had trying to identify the birds.

 

The last we'd seen of sandhill cranes was last spring in Chicago when a huge flock flew over our daughter's house.

   

We've not identified this one.  We saw several including one that was nesting.

Our friends told us that these are black-bellied whistling ducks. And no, we didn't hear them whistle!

 

Great blue herons live in our state also.  They have such a huge wingspan and are just beautiful to watch when they fly.

  

Aren't wood storks interesting?

 

We saw lots of these roseate spoonbills very busily eating something in the swampy water.

 

This was the first time we've ever seen a live armadillo although he didn't seem to be interested in posing for the camera.

  

How do you suppose this iguana climbed up on this wall?  He only had 3 legs, too.

  

We saw all sorts of these jelly fish that had been washed up on the beach during high tide.  I think they are the kind that sting.

Look what was lurking nearby along with her babies!

 

It's been awhile since we saw this little guy. I wonder whether he's perfected this maneuver while we've been gone.  Can you do this?  I think my leg would snap right off!

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!