No kidding, I was up to my mid-knees in a swamp (which I thought might eat me alive) to get the pictures of the water birds this morning. It felt like I was stuck in cement and I was thinking about the sinkholes found in Florida recently. I also wondered if they had quicksand […]
Read moreI have discovered that someone is feeding the Key Deer right down the street from me, attracting the herd of nine I saw yesterday.Then again today I saw four bucks eating pellets the humans gave them. Haven’t the people lived here long enough to realize that feeding the deer is harmful for them? It keeps […]
Read moreThese tropical ducks has been bred since pre-Columbian times by Native Americans. They are native to Mexico and South America, and somehow found their way to Big Pine Key.
Read moreAlthough I did not see it for myself, a couple from New York told me they saw a Key Deer nursing, the first of the babies to be born this season. Instead, I saw a herd of nine deer resting in the afternoon shade in the woods. There were five males and two of the […]
Read moreNotice the pile of dead babies at the edge of the nest. Even in death the Anhinga mother protects her young.
Read more.
Read moreRead more
There is only one baby in the nest. I saw its little head peeping out looking very interested in what its father was bringing home. If you look closely you can see its head, which blends right in with the nest and looks like a twig. The leatherjacket looks as if it might have been […]
Read moreAlong the bike path in Shark Valley, this snake was definitely looking at me when I was photographing him.
Read moreDry season in the everglades brings out dozens of gators looking for food and water. One alligator met its death along the bike path that runs through the park, while others were born.
Read moreThis Key Deer buck was in my driveway eating the scattered berries that fell off the palm trees from last nights wind. He graciously posed for me and truly did I thank him. He probably weighs about 65 pounds and stands about thirty inches tall at the shoulder. He looks to be about four years old. […]
Read moreI am starting to feel like I am part of a movie. As I was crossing over the dry savanna, on my way back to the car, right out of the blue a military helicopter flew directly above me and hovered, not unlike the other birds do. It was so close and appeared so suddenly […]
Read morePerhaps I am watching too many mysteries but the abandoned boat washed up on the rocks of Sawgrass Beach today was somewhat creepy. It looked as if it had been drifting for some time, and as I approached closer I was tempted to board the shabby ship and see what was in the cabin. I […]
Read moreI never have to go far from my house for a great photo op .Today right inside the subdivision where I live I noticed two male deer ignoring each other and the absence of any females. It was just the three of us going about our business and the cat, too.
Read moreWashed up from the ocean, there was no way of telling how this Loggerhead Sea Turtle died.
Read moreMost of the birds have left along with the pools of water filled with fish fry but there seems to be enough food for the Ibises that live here year round.
Read moreI was looking for a shortcut to the beach and ended up in a tangled maze of mangroves and creepy crawlers. Instead of bushwhacking my way through, I walked around the edge of the marsh until I spotted a deer trail. In a small clearing lay a scattering of white bones, and I realized that […]
Read moreThe tiny mammals never cease to amaze me. Sometimes when I am romping around in the mangroves, or trying to make my way across SeaGrass beach, our paths cross. It is remarkable how at ease with humans they are, as if they realize that I am just another animal trying to get through the two […]
Read moreWhen I saw a band of four males together in the subdivision two days ago I thought rutting season might be over. However, although I did not witness it myself, a bicyclist told me today that he saw a fierce battle between two Key Deer males at the entrance of Eden Pines. By the time […]
Read moreLast night while kayaking off No Name Key during the sunset and moonrise, I saw a dead pilot whale. This was one of fifty-one whales stranded ten days ago on the edge of Everglades National Park (it made national news). Twenty-two whales beached themselves and eleven of the fifty-one found their way to Snipes Point, […]
Read moreI always see the same alligator at the Blue Hole in Big Pine Key. One day at the visitors platform I noticed that the alligator came swimming across the lake when he heard the sound of a car door slamming in the parking lot. It became obvious that the reptile was conditioned to the sound […]
Read moreRutting season is not yet over as these two bucks will verify. The older male was chasing the younger one off the beach and into the marsh and was staring at him with a sharp intensity. Their behavior almost seemed playful and there was not any aggression like sparing as the young bucks’ antlers were […]
Read moreThis beach is not your ordinary beach. Piles of dead seagrass washed up from the oceans’ bottom lines the shores instead of white pearly sand as one might expect. There is always a very strong odor, depending on the winds and tides. Most days I need to wear a bandana over my face to […]
Read moreAfter living in the Pacific Northwest for many years I still marvel at the beautiful weather (and still marvel at seeing the sun at all) here in Florida. HOT in December! Today at low tide the wind was about 9 knots, which gave the ocean a glassy, calm, surreal look. The deer were plentiful and […]
Read moreThe Hermit Crab was washed up during high tide and was struggling to get back into the sea. It uses the shell of other crabs and as it grows abandons house to find a larger one. It is called a hermit because of its habit of living in a second hand shell by comparison to […]
Read moreI never know what surprises await me as I begin my trek across the swamp to the other side. Today instead of one hundred Pelicans I saw an overturned windsurfer in the same spot. There were no Pelicans around but if so, they might think the surfer was one interesting creature to be wary of. […]
Read moreIt must be nesting season for a pair of Ospreys sitting high above the highway in a huge nest perched on a man made pole especially designed for them in the refuge bounds. I also saw Thor again at the edge of the savanna. Or was it a different buck trying to gain territory and […]
Read moreAt sunrise this morning there were at least ONE HUNDRED pelicans harvesting breakfast in a long line in the shallow waters of the warm Atlantic Ocean. I had to be super quiet as in the past the repositioning of my camera could be enough to spook them into a mass exodus of flutter and feather. […]
Read moreI counted about sixty Brown Pelicans today floating in the Atlantic Ocean. The island curves in such a way to form an enclave where I have seen them gathered before. The curvature of the terrain forms a good trap for the fresh sushi they so enjoy.
Read moreI saw one of the three immature spoonbills at sunrise fishing by itself. Three frolicking Key Does, encouraged by the early light, ran across the marsh and the elusive bird flew away.
Read moreI was happy as can be when I went out to the reef and saw that the Moonfish have all but gone. The last three times I was out there the sea was so thick with the jellyfish I did not brave the waters.
Read moreThe Roseate Spoonbills have either found new territory in the region or migrated South because I have not seen the mother with her three charges since November 5. First the mom disappeared and the three grown babies were left alone for about two weeks. How exactly does the female convey to her offspring that the […]
Read moreThe magnificent buck, now named ‘Thor’ for referencing, was on the beach again sparing with a younger male. My presence did not seem to disturb their interacting and I watched in awe something I have only seen on NatGeo. I also noticed that Thor has a harem of at least three does.
Read moreThe tide was at its lowest, exposing the rocks, creating reflecting pools of brilliant sunshine as it rose over the Atlantic. I saw the magnificent buck and he saw me and we stared at each other in silence. Wedged in the mangroves, I found a coffee cup from Vancouver, Canada and wondered if it […]
Read more
