Tuesday, March 10, 2009

On the road again...

From Naples, we went across on US 41, as suggested by Robert Sobczak. It was amazing - very, very dry. There was grass, but not much of a "river of grass."

I just can't seem to figure out what wrong with my picture posting on my blog - I tried to lighten these, because they seemed to be too dark, now these just look washed out...Anway, big brown sign...

Blue sky, puffy clouds, and grass and leafless trees.

This was the only kingfisher I got a shot of at all - they don't much like me, I think. Although my son calls me "the bird whisperer," it doesn't apply to kingfishers!


The cormorants were so funny, holding onto the wires with those big clumsy feet of theirs...they bobbled around, but managed to stay on.
There was a boardwalk off the highway, and we stopped and walked out. Didn't see or even hear much, but it was very peaceful.
Near the end of the boardwalk there was one place with a little pool ...there were a few birds and alligators in the water.


The green heron was looking for his lunch...

This guy was snoozing..

The yellow-crowned night heron was shy - he stayed on that branch..

and the tri-colored heron teetered around on his stilty legs.

In that spot, the blue-gray gnatcatchers were almost as thick as gnats, but I'm not sure what they were eating..we noticed very few bugs..maybe they found insects in the moss..

And this was NOT a good thing. There was a group with a guide, and she was worried about this snake. She felt pretty sure it was one of the exotics that they are having so much trouble with in FL - people get pet snakes, then dump them in the swamps and streams....they are causing a lot of trouble.

21 comments:

Shelley said...

It was funny to see that comorant on that wire! Loved the green heron! Frightened of that snake! (Why do people want these things as pets anyways??!)

Jayne said...

How funny to see those big feet on the wire! The kingfisher runs from me too Helen. :c)

Eve said...

What a great time you had! I'm not liking that snake at all! I don't mind snakes, but this one shouldn't be there. :-(

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

A great collection of photos.I have neverseen Cormorants sitting on a wire,that must look out of place.
Blessings,Ruth

Tina said...

I love seeing that Comorant grasping to hold on to that wire..I have always been amazed how birds with such big feet can hold onto the darnest things and keep their balance. You caught a great variety of fl's birds..and yuk that snake would have me stepping back!! Great shot tho..
Love kingfishers but I don't have any luck getting close enough to get a good pic..they fly away screaming at me everytime!!

June said...

Had trouble seeing your photos today...a few showed, but many just blank frames. We're definitely in a drought down here...180 days since last 1/4 inch of rain. That's a problem...as are those pythons!

Roses and Lilacs said...

Wonderful interesting birds I don't see up here in IL. The snake I'm not so fond of;)
Marnie

NCmountainwoman said...

I love the cormorant. They do look so clumsy on wires. What a beautiful area.

John Theberge said...

I visited Florida 5 years ago and went to the same places as you're going to. My absolute favorite area was the Everglades which I'm sure you'll be visiting. I love the bright green eyes of the commorants.

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Beautiful Cormorants and Anaconda too!

Mary said...

These are great Helen! I love that cormorant on the wire! He looks very funny up there. That snake is creepy....how bad for people do dump them. Kingfishers are hard...the only I've seen was pretty distant, but at least stayed put for a few photos. I think you are the "Bluebird Whisperer" :-)

Anonymous said...

Snakes and Gators, not a nice place to be Helen.

Marsha said...

I was enjoying the bird shots from Florida and even the alligator but then WOW, look at that snake! Is he as big as he looks in this photo? I watched a segement on GMA a month or so ago about all those exotic species that people have released down there making it all the way to Key West and they assumed by swimming. They were thriving there so they were training mail carriers and meter readers to look for them and call in sightings.

Dave Coulter said...

Watch out for those gators!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Helen: Great grouping of photos and that snake looked like a big one. People must not think of the balance of nature when they dump one of those.

Anonymous said...

Those kingfisher's are definitely photo shy. It almost sounds like they get angry if we get too close to them.

Peggy said...

That was a great tour! Snake... not so much!

Unknown said...

Do you remember where you shot that last photograph? -It looks like a python. And yes, there is a concerted effort to try to get rid of them. Great photos all of them: you should have given me a call! -You passed right by my office. Please let me know about the snake photo location if you can remember.

2sweetnsaxy said...

Looks like you had a great time. I just visited my first reserve/wetlands and had a ball. Your shots are wonderful. :-)

DeniseinVA said...

I loved your series of photographs Helen, the Cormorant on the wire was a great balancing act, the snake? Yikes, people really do need to be more responsible don't they?

Sky said...

great photos! i can do nicely without alligators and snakes in my life, so i hope there is no occasion for me to photgraph them!