Florida offers so many opportunities to explore. We’ll chronicle our encounters with nature and interesting places and share our stories about the fun events we attend.
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Photography Heaven in Venice Florida
In the middle of the city of Venice, FL is a very small pond with a little island on one end. Each year the island becomes home to dozens of herons, egrets and cormorants that build their nests and raise their young. It is a photographer and birder magnet because the island and its birds…
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Myakka River Wildlife Destination
Myakka River State Park is a wildlife and nature gem. Located in eastern Sarasota County, it is one of the largest parks in Florida with over 37,000 acres. The Myakka River flows through the park and creates a variety of lakes, ponds, and flooded marshlands. Because of the diverse terrain, the park is home to…
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Go Green
One of the most striking birds that we see around here is the nanday parakeet. Their colors are absolutely amazing. On the neon green bodies is an entire palette of blue and purple accents. They also look like they’re wearing orange and yellow socks. Unfortunately, despite their beauty, nandays are annoying because of their constant…
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Wintering Waterfowl
It started off being a rather quiet year for waterfowl. No matter where we went in December and early January, the numbers seemed down from years past. But the last couple of weeks have changed everything. Not only have the number of ducks improved, but we found a couple of species that we hadn’t seen…
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Baby Owls
Many owls now have little owlets. We visited a nest in west Bradenton recently and there were two new little great horned owls. There are a few other spots that we will check over the next few weeks. It’s always fun to see the little owls because they’re cute and curious. More photos have been…
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More Scissor-tailed Flycatchers
Last week ended with a fantastic day photographing scissor-tailed flycatchers. These migrants travel all the way around the Gulf of America from Oklahoma and Texas to spend the winter here. They like open areas like farmland. We found them around the strawberry fields southeast of Tampa. They are beautiful birds that are fun to watch…
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Marsh Birds
The area marshes have become vacation destinations for many migratory birds. Again, this year we have been so fortunate to see yellow-headed blackbirds and bronzed cowbirds, among the many species enjoying their temporary stays. Another bird that has managed to work its way into the area from the southeastern part of the state is the…
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Reddish Egret
One bird that has become a favorite of photographers is a reddish egret. They are acrobatic feeders. There is one that people search for at Fort DeSoto Park in St. Petersburg. If you find a group of people in the tidal flats, you can generally figure that a reddish egret is the focus of their…
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Rosies
One of the most cherished birds to photograph in Florida is the roseate spoonbill. The beautiful pink colors are always stunning to see. People from around the world visit Florida on photography tours just to see the spoonbills. They are particularly colorful this time of year as breeding season is underway. More photos have been…
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Active Owls
A few weeks ago, we headed out to look for owls. They are active now as the breeding season is underway. Our trip took us to the Sebring area and to Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County. We had success finding barred owls in both areas and also found a pair of great horned…
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Eagle Nesting Season is Underway
The bald eagles are back, and nesting season has begun. Last week we headed to our favorite nest site and watched the eagles continue repairing and rebuilding their nest that blew down over the summer. When reports of the nest falling started rippling through the rumor mills, it was easy to wonder if the birds…
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Sometimes It’s Just About the Color
The other day I was in our back yard with one of our little dogs when a large Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly landed on one of our bougainvillea bushes. My first reaction was “wow” the colors of the butterfly and the flowering shrub were amazing. Thankfully, the butterfly liked the pollen on the flowers and…