Florida 2015

Went for our second bike ride today, this time the whole way from the place we are staying to and through Celebration.  We are tired, but we did it!  It was a cold and windy day, but with brilliant sunshine, and we found a nice sunny bench to have our picnic lunch.

This beautiful mocking bird tricked me into thinking he was a cardinal - sounded just like one!  But the cardinals always hide, and this one doesn't!

I love the little blue herons!

Our usual trek through Celebration takes us on a few miles of boardwalks through woods/swamps.

I think this is called an air fern.  They seem to attach themselves to trees.

 


We heard about this fellow and strayed a bit from our usual route to see him.

I didn't need a zoom lens for this fellow - he was only about 6 feet from the sidewalk!  He kept turning his head to keep an eye on anyone walking by.

Anhingas, like cormorants, dive for their fish, and their feathers get saturated with water, making it hard for them to swim.  So they have to dry themselves to become buoyant again.

Some of Florida's finest spoiling peoples' day with a radar gun!

This big, somewhat ugly bird, is called a wood stork.  He has a head and neck that resembles wood.  We have seen very few of them this year.

What a beautiful creature is the Great Egret!  Many of the birds seem to be dressed in their breeding plumage right now.

As is the Great Blue Heron.

And as is the beautiful, and much smaller, Snowy Egret.

And one more gator, sunning himself by the path.

Until next time.......