LaChua Trail - Paynes Prairie

Bill and I decided that New Years Day was a perfect day for a walk through Paynes Prairie- and apparently, we were not alone in our thinking as the parking area was so full, we thought there must be an event going on! The wildlife all got the message too as they were out in force!

The Alligators were lined up on the banks - big ones, small ones and some HUGE ones. We expected to run into the Swamp People! Chut-em Liz'bit!

Yummy - lunch! This Anhinga swam to the bank where he beat the catfish on a log - and ate it.

Ms. Cardinal was playing peek-a-boo through the reeds.

Yuk! I can feel the stings just looking at them!

A Great Blue Heron was on an island waiting for something to happen. Notice the much, much smaller Green Heron in front of him

As I looked away to take a picture of an immature Black-crowned Night Heron...

I heard a ruckus and looked to see the heron with what looks like a HUGE salamander. 

The heron was jumping and flapping his wings.

Another Yuk! We watched for awhile but couldn't decide whether he ate it or just killed it. Anyone know what it is??

An adult Black-crowned Night Heron looked on - obviously bored by the whole thing.

I did not expect to see a Forster's Tern so far inland.

He was flying rapidly around before diving straight into the water - over and over.

He finally got tired and landed for me to take a better picture.

We couldn't believe the size of this alligator - probably over 10 feet - and he was sitting along the side of the path where we were all walking. We passed within 5 feet of it - as did mother's with strollers, small children and a VERY excited gentleman jumping up and down yelling in some foreign language. I don't think he'd ever seen an alligator before. Bill offered to take his picture while he sat on his back - but he declined.

A Green Heron waiting patiently for lunch. He stood very still until a very territorial heron scared him away.

The wind was fluffing the feathers of this magnificent Snowy Egret. Check out his yellow feet!

An immature White Ibis. They are brown their first year.

The pied-billed Grebes look like playful duck children.

I love this shot! He looks like he got caught eating the cookies!

Another immature White Ibis.

We saw so many American Bitterns on this walk that Bill was calling them "trash birds" by the end.

American Bitterns are slow-moving birds and the stripes on their neck act as camouflage in the reeds.

Bill says I take too many pictures of the Tricolor Herons - but I like them!

I know this is a Song Sparrow because of the central spot on his streaked breast.

This is the last American Bittern picture.

Butterflies and flowers in January. I love Florida!

This Red-shouldered Hawk was in the distance and reused to turn around - but the picture shows his pretty coloring.

Is it just my imagination, or am I being watched? This Common Buckeye was sitting on the path.

Last but not least is this beautiful Great Blue Heron. Nice walk and a wonderful start to the new year.

Christmas Visit

Our holidays began the week before Christmas when Bill's two daughters and their families arrived in Florida. We met them on Cocoa Beach after they spent a day enjoying Universal. Terri's family had never seen the ocean so it was fun for all as they played in the waves.

Laura jumped right in with the kids.

Since the kids rented a van, Bill and I left in our brand new car for a leisurely drive to Fort Myers - down 95 and across the state near Lake Okeechobee. I was on the lookout for a Crested Caracara!

and was rewarded when this beautiful, majestic bird posed for me. I was thrilled!

The family joined us for a walk through Six Mile Cypress Slough. This is a Pied-billed Grebe that played in one of the ponds.

an Eastern Phoebe

The water was high, but we saw quite a few wading birds including a large group of White Ibis.

I know it's only a Boat-tailed Grackle but he was sitting in the sun and his colors were gorgeous.

The Ibis were very close and didn't seen to mind me taking their picture.

An American Alligator was on the "must see" list. This guy wasn't very big but we didn't care.

 We heard a terrible ruckus in the bushes just before this Black-crowned Night-Heron appeared. We think a hawk that we saw earlier startled him.

The next day I nursed the 24-hour flu while the kids headed to Lovers Key to collect shells. I'm sorry I missed it - but they had a wonderful time.

After 3 days in Fort Myers, we headed to Ocala and took the kids to Rainbow River State Park. This Anhinga caught a fish and was beating it on the branch before eating it. Anhingas are excellent swimmers with their large webbed feet.

The kids rented canoes and paddled down the crystal clear river. We had a memorable visit and were sorry to see them leave on Christmas morning. Our little house was bursting at the seams with 7 extra people - but it was wonderful!

Metro Parkway

We found a new place right here in Fort Myers that's full of tropical birds. It's at the intersection of Metro Parkway and Six Mile Cypress - beside the Orange Juice place. We first saw it from the road - then I checked http://swfloridabirder.blogspot.com/ and he confirmed this was a place to see!

There was a huge variety of birds: stilts, herons, egrets, spoonbills, kites, ibises, storks and pelicans.

This is an immature Little Blue Heron.



I can't get over how red the bill and feet are on this breeding White Ibis!

I never get tired of seeing Black-necked Stilt. They are so cute - maybe it's the long pink legs.

The pond was clear so I got some nice reflections.

The way this Snowy Egret is all puffed up - I think it must be a juvenile.

The Roseate Spoonbill in the middle is a 1st year juvenile and the ones on either side (with the bright red stripe on the wings) are breeding adults. White Pelicans are swimming and feeding behind them.

White Pelicans - right here in town!

This immature Little Blue Heron had me stumped - because of the crown feathers - but after looking at my pictures, the adults also have these.

White Ibis sporting their best breeding plumage.

Tricolor Heron canopy feeding: they shade the water with their wings to better see the fish.

I was surprised to see so many Wood Storks. The staff at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary reports that the Wood Stork did not nest again this year - a very bad sign for the species.



I know the Great Egrets are common - but I never tire of seeing them.

It's a happy day in the state of Florida when the Swallow-tail Kites return in March. They are so cool to watch - but we are told they are very nasty birds - king of the sky.

These three babies (at least I think they're babies!) have me stumped. They were on one of the islands in the pond - so that probably rules out Cattle Egret as they prefer dry land.

I can't see their bills well enough to see the shape - could they be Roseate Spoonbill chicks? We saw several Roseate Spoonbill adults and 1st year juveniles in the vicinity. There were also lots of Great Egrets around - but their babies shouldn't be pink. Please let me know if you know what they are!