Florida | Our Natural Places

In Search of Tyrants

“All men would be tyrants if they could.” – Daniel Defoe One of the special treats we enjoyed when living in Texas was the year around presence of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. Their...

Category: Birds, Fauna, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: blue-gray gnatcatcher, ornate bella moth, palm warbler, peninsula cooter, sandhill crane, scissor-tailed flycatcher, sunset, western kingbird

Around The Lakes

(Click to enlarge images. Click again to zoom.) It was mid-November and plans were in progress for Thanksgiving. Family and food. Not enough of the former and too much of the...

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: anhinga, bald eagle, blue-gray gnatcatcher, brown pelican, cloudless sulphur, eastern carpenter bee, eastern phoebe, great egret, green lynx spider, little blue heron, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, red-shouldered hawk, variegated fritillary

Falling Toward Winter

(Click to enlarge images, click again to zoom.) Winter solstice begins in two days. That may not mean too much, temperature-wise, to us here in central Florida, but in many areas...

Category: Birds, Fauna, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: american beautyberry, carolina satyr, chapman's blazing star, colt creek state park, eastern bluebird, eastern phoebe, four-petal st. john's-wort, goldenrod, gray wall jumper, gulf fritillary, house wren, narrowleaf sunflower, northern cardinal, prairie warbler, swamp sparrow, tropical checkered-skipper, white ibis, whitetailed deer, wood stork

The Fog Also Rises*

We arrived at Lake Apopka just before “official” sunrise. Of course, the fog obscured the sun completely. It was now about three hours later and the marsh was awash in sunshine,...

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Photography Tags: american white waterlily, belted kingfisher, blue-winged teal, broadleaf arrowhead, bulltongue arrowhead, eastern phoebe, fulvous whistling-duck, great blue heron, lake apopka wildlife drive, mottled duck, palm warbler, purple gallinule, spatterdock, striped mud turtle, yellow warbler

On Little Bird Feet*

“At least it’s not cold.” How can I not remain in love with such an optimist? The thick fog permitted a very limited view of our surroundings. We could hear the...

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Photography Tags: american alligator, common water-hyacinth, common yellowthroat, gray-headed swamphen, lake apopka, marsh wren, northern flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, red-shouldered hawk, white ibis

Our Natural Places

Exploring - Naturally