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A Joyful Day

(Click on images to enlarge, click again to zoom.) Just after sunrise, by the side of a lake, we take delight in the distant, slightly eerie calls of Limpkins. Do they know they are the only living members of their avian Family (Aramidae)? Would they care? We are fascinated with the strange call, answered by calls from several different areas. An Osprey crashes into the surface of the lake, submerges briefly and… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: bald eagle, black vulture, creeping woodsorrel, eastern pondhawk, glossy ibis, greater yellowlegs, gulf fritillary, halloween pennant, northern parula, nuttal's thistle, oakleaf fleabane, ovenbird, prickly pear, red saddlebags, red-bellied woodpecker, red-shouldered hawk, solitary sandpiper, southern beeblossom, swamp sparrow, sweetscent, white ibis, wood duck

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

Our Favorite Day

Header Image: Red-eyed Vireo “What day is it?” asked Pooh.“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.“My favorite day,” said Pooh.” ― A.A. Milne As we entered the month of September, thoughts turned to fall migration. Even in a region which barely alters appearance during “autumn“, we can sense all sorts of changes. We actually do have some trees which have leaves showing us a golden or reddish hue instead of forest green. Annual bird migration is… Read More

Category: Birds, Flora, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: blue-gray gnatcatcher, brown pelican, brown thrasher, cicada, cypressvine, eastern towhee, gulf fritillary, northern cardinal, northern parula, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, slaty skimmer, spicebush swallowtail, velvetbean caterpillar moth, zebra longwing

Out-Of-Doors

Header Image: Carolina Wren Once again, that mee-tee-oh-rah-low-gist was absolutely correct. Partly cloudy with temperatures about the same as yesterday. I missed my calling. We pulled into the management area just before the sun was scheduled to make an appearance. Thin fog suggested the actual appearance would be somewhat later than Sol had in the day-planner. Atop the welcome sign, a Red-shouldered Hawk scanned the dew-soaked grass for any sign of movement,… Read More

Category: Birds, Florida, Insects, Photography Tags: band-winged dragonlet, belted kingfisher, blue-gray gnatcatcher, carolina wren, carpenter mimic leaf-cutter bee, common ground-dove, common yellowthroat, downy woodpecker, flesh fly, hyacinth glider, northern cardinal, northern parula, ovenbird, palm warbler, red-eyed vireo, red-shouldered hawk, regal jumping spider, roseate skimmer, scarlet skimmer, tenoroc fish management area, tufted titmouse, wandering glider, white-eyed vireo, zebra swallowtail

Our Natural Places

Exploring - Naturally