Melbourne, FL ~ Viera Wetlands

Early Morning meeting of the minds

Wilson's Snipe

American Bittern

Male Anhinga

"Cousins" ~ Tri-colored Heron and Green Heron

Female Anhinga feeding

Female Anhinga ` And down it goes

Boat-tailed Grackle

Orlando, FL ~ Gatorland

Swallow-tailed Kite 

Great Egret feeding chick

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

Snowy Egret nest building

And American Alligators!

Big Cypress National Preserve, Fl ~ Loop Road ~ Everglades with a beauty all their own!

Mangrove Skipper

Zebra Longwing

Christmas, FL ~ Orlando Wetlands

American Alligator

Limpkin

Purple Gallinule & Tricolored Heron

Best looks of a Sora I have had ever!

Black-bellied Whistling Duck surrounded by young American Alligators

Western Palm Warbler

Orlando Wetlands Park, FL

We enjoyed the Orlando Wetlands Park so much we decided that we would revisit on Friday hoping to see more more great sights.  We arrived early and instead of waiting for the tram tour we decided we would walk a 2.5 mile birding trail. There were lots of Red-shouldered Hawks flying around, a Limpkin, many Common Gallinule with chicks, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks up in the trees, Osprey and so many more birds along with many alligators. We came upon an alligator along the road resting and while we were deciding whether to walk in front of it, the alligator made the decision by walking across the road and down into the swamp on the other side where it started swimming after a family of ducks. It was quite a sight and we were happy we hadn't walked in front of it though we had been repeated told all week that if you leave the alligators alone they will leave you alone.

Same alligator (as above) watching this family of ducks ~ Breakfast anyone??

Red-shouldered Hawk

Orlando Wetlands Park, FL

Anhinga

Our ADA seminar was over at noon which meant that we were now on vacation.  Doing research before coming to FL, I found that the Orlando Wetlands ranked high in the list of places that birders should visit.  When we arrived I happened to see someone to ask questions about the wetlands. Brad, a volunteer had just finished doing some bird counts for the state.  He said he had no plans the rest of the day and would be happy to give us a private tram tour. He didn't need to make the offer twice.  Orlando Wetlands is a man-made wetland designed to treat reclaimed water. It has over 20 miles of trails that you can walk and see a great variety of wildlife.  It sure seemed like Brad showed us most of them.  After the tram tour we walked back along on the paths to get some closer looks at the birds.  Highlights included lots of American Alligators, Anhinga, 2 Purple Gallinule, Whistling Ducks, Common Gallinule, egrets, and so much more including life bird ~ Mottled Duck.  It is an amazing place and worth a second visit.

Purple Gallinule

Tricolored Heron

American Alligator

Shadow Bay Park, Florida

Today's adventure included birding at Shadow Bay Park where we were greeted by a Limpkin which is a life bird for both of us.  Since it didn't hang around for any decent pictures we decided to try and search it out without any success.  This Eastern Towhee (left) we found was a life bird for Bernie.  We also found this Brown Thrasher and a Horace's Dustywing Butterfly.  We also saw our first alligator.

Brown Thrasher

Dustywing Butterfly

Naples, Fl ~ Corkscrew Swamp ~ Other animals

American Alligator

Raccoon

Sanibel Island, FL ~ Ding Darling NWR

Willet

For a long time it was a dream of mine to travel the roads of Ding Darling NWR.  Today was the day to explore both Sanibel and Captiva Islands in FL.  Best of all I was able to purchase my Golden Age Pass here at the refuge which is good for life in any of the NWR and parks.  The main wildlife drive is 4 miles long and hosts a great variety of birds.  In addition there are several trails and other areas to explore though we didn't have time to hike as we planned to explore all of the Captiva and Sanibel in just one short day.  I was excited to have great looks at both Roseate Spoonbills and White Pelicans.  We saw several alligators and an otter also.

Roseate Spoonbill

White Pelicans

American Alligator

My Yard ~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Hummer chasing Monarch

Florida ~ Sawgrass Lake Park

What a gem!  I found this park listed on the Florida Birding Trail and hoped that it would be good because we were coming from a park that had been a dud!  This park was super.  We saw several Anhinga, lots of Common Gallinule, Pied-billed Grebe's, Little Blue Heron, Tri-colored Heron, Green Heron, Wood Stork, lots more birds plus turtles and alligators.  They had 2 trails through the mangroves along with grassed areas.  Later I found out on ebird that there were 5 life birds seen there today that I didn't see. Feeling sad about that but plan to visit in the future.  Also sad to be going home after 4 wonderful days in Florida.

Anhinga

Tri-colored Heron with a snack

Green Heron

American Alligator