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Out There

Header Image: Northern Flicker (Female) A trio of sleek Swallow-tailed Kites appeared above the cypress trees on the bank of the lake. Gini and I were enjoying a mid-morning brunch of fresh tangerines and granola bars and were content to sit back and enjoy the show. Long tails acted as rudders and the pointed wings hardly moved as they glided effortlessly just above the tree tops. Having spent the winter in South… Read More

Category: Birds, Fauna, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: common grackle, eastern pondhawk, glossy ibis, gopher tortoise, northern flicker, red saddlebags, saw palmetto, snail, swallow-tailed kite, tenoroc public use area, white ibis

Balancing Act

Header Image: Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) Early morning sunshine illuminated the forest’s shadowy places and dried the dampness left by last night’s dew. Insects roused from their torpor to start their daily routine of survival. Just above the bugs on the food chain, hungry birds also began their daily routine of survival. Slightly next in line on that food chain thing, a couple of humans raised binoculars in unison to watch the… Read More

Category: Birds, Fauna, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: band-winged dragonlet, barred yellow, camphorweed, carolina wren, eastern amberwing, eastern bluebird, eastern pondhawk, giant swallowtail, gophter tortoise, great pondhawk, ovenbird, roseate skimmer, royal river cruiser, showy rattlebox, snowy egret, southern green-striped grasshopper, spicebush swallowtail, spotted beebalm, tenoroc fish management area, wild hogs

Colt Creek Critters

Header Image: Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) A pine forest is welcoming in so many ways. The unique green of the trees, the scent that has become synonymous with “fresh“, the cones on the branches as well as those littering the understory, the texture of the tree bark and the incredible diversity of life which calls the forest home. No wonder we like such a venue! Colt Creek State Park is one of… Read More

Category: Fauna, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bar-winged skimmer, black-bordered lemon moth, colt creek state park, cuban brown anole, eastern pondhawk, great blue skimmer, little blue dragonlet, white-tailed deer, yellow garden spider

The Bugs of Summer

Header Image: Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) Excitement is hoping aloud a diminutive damselfly will arise from its blade of grass and land on your windowsill. It happened last year about this time and at this spot. Alas, not today. Gini’s disappointment was short-lived as we reminded ourselves this was only the fourth time a Seepage Dancer (Argia bipunctulata) has been observed in our county. We had little time to think about it…. Read More

Category: Birds, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: blue dasher, eastern pondhawk, fiery skipper, four-spotted pennant, great southern white, gulf fritillary, horace's duskywing, rambur's forktail, red-shouldered hawk, roseate skimmer, seepage dancer, tachytes, variegated fritillary, white peacock, zebra longwing

Forest In Summer

Header Image: Golden-winged Skimmer (Libellula auripennis) The sun has barely managed to get out of bed and already the cicadas are buzzing their raspy chorus in glorious surround-sound. Walking into a meadow requires slogging through a small ditch where the weeds hide six inches of water under bright green tangles. No matter. The dew is so heavy my feet were wet before I made it to the ditch. The humidity is thick… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bar-winged skimmer, brown-headed nuthatch, eastern pondhawk, golden-winged skimmer, gray-green clubtail, northern cloudywing, palamedes swallowtail, slaty skimmer, spicebush swallowtail, wand loosestrife, wild turkey

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