Down the hatch

This bird (a juvenile cormorant ?) put on a display of fishing prowess for us yesterday. It would disappear underwater in pursuit of fish for what seemed like minutes at a time. I captured it as it surfaced and proudly displayed its catch for us. Then it deftly manoeuvred the fish in its hooked beak and swallowed it.

(70-200mm  f11  1/400 sec  ISO200)

A fine feathered friend

We spent the last day with our guests at Sanibel Island. It was a glorious day in many ways - the weather was sunny, and warm once we moved to the lee side of the island, we saw dolphins cavorting just off shore, and a number of birds came by to entertain us. Among the feathered entertainers were a few snowy egrets, smaller cousins of the great egret. They weren't shy by any means, having likely grown quite accustomed to the many visitors. I was able to walk to within a few feet of one of them, and they seemed to mingle quite easily with other two-legged beings on the fishing pier.

(next 2 photos - 70-200mm  f11  1/500 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/1250 sec  ISO200)

note my snowy egret friend mingling with the crowd on the pier waiting for a fishy morsel (this fish was released after the requisite photos were made)

Look, but don't touch

No visit to southern Florida is complete without a visit to the Everglades. Today my son and I were faced with the monumental decision of whether to go shopping with the ladies or go on an airboat tour to see some wildlife. After agonizing over this for about a millisecond, the Everglades won out.

Surprisingly we didn't see any reptiles on the airboat tour, although we did see a lot of different birds. However, along a canal which ran beside one of the highways, we saw countless alligators. In places there were 4 or 5 grouped together, lounging in the sun, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings, but undoubtedly ready to lunge at anything that resembled a snack. In other places large, lone creatures had staked out their territory.

Alligator numbers have rebounded significantly over the past 25 years, and we saw ample evidence of that today.

(70-200mm  f20  1/40 sec  ISO200)

(18-55mm  f8.0  1/125 sec  ISO200)

Clean up crew

Being somewhat migratory 'birds' ourselves, we've noticed some feathered friends down south that we also have in abundance, in season, up north. Lately we've seen, but more often heard, red-winged blackbirds - I expect they'll be heading north around the same time we will be. But we've also seen another bird in large numbers that we saw quite often back home - the turkey vulture, or buzzard as some people call them.

They feed primarily on carrion which they can spot and/or smell from some distance. They have a magnificent wingspan that can reach over 170 cm/67 in. The parental instinct must be strong because vultures have faces that only their mothers could love.

(70-200mm  f11  1/400 sec  ISO200)

Sunday bloomer

One of the traditions my mother started quite a number of years ago was to give each of her children and older grandchildren (those with their own home or apartment) an amaryllis for Christmas. These came with a pot and potting soil - just add some water and watch them bloom, usually within 6 - 8 weeks.

Since this was to be our first winter in Florida, we naturally brought our bulb with us, and I promptly planted it outdoors. Within a couple of days, the stem that had started to sprout in the box had straightened, and yesterday the bulb started to open. Given that its natural habitat is also sub-tropical, I foresee a trip to the nursery soon to get more of these beauties.

(ps - our visitors are exploring the area on their own today, so I have some time to post, respond to comments, and perhaps make some blog visits)

(70-200mm  f10  1/160 sec  ISO200)

click on photos to enlarge

I like to join in Scott's Sunday Sunset theme by posting a sunset shot. For today's contribution, I'm posting this 'pelican at sunset' shot:

To see Scott's Sunset Sunday shot, have a look here.