Before leaving the Dry Tortugas, I saw this Brown Anole, watched it for a few minutes, as it displayed its dewlap, several times, finally catching it with my camera. This was harder than it sounds, as my G-12 camera has a bit of a delay in shooting, not the best for shooting moving birds or speedy reptiles! 5/1/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com
This is a view from inside the outer walls of Fort Jefferson on Garden Key of the Dry Tortugas. The inner area is quite large, and after walking around outside, it was lovely to sit in the shade of a tree by a water feature and have birds come for a drink--a variety of warblers, mostly. There were also Cattle Egret on the grass, hawks flew over--even a Peregrine Falcon flew into a tree nearby! The open air compartments were, historically, quarters for soldiers and officers, and later, for prisoners. One of the more famous inmates was Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who was imprisoned for treating James Wilkes Booth, after the assassination of Abe Lincoln. After he attempted to escape, he was shackled in one of the first floor enclosures called "the dungeon". 4/30/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com
Quite a lot of visitors to the Dry Tortugas plan to go snorkeling to see the pretty fish and other underwater things. I was more interested in birding, but while walking along the edge of the moat at Fort Jefferson, I shot down into the water. No fish in the shot, but notice how clear the water was--I liked the play of sunshine below the surface. 4/29/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com
