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Iguana in the Wetlands - Judith Sparhawk

This fairly large iguana was crawling around in a dry area in the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Del Ray Beach, Florida. This one was about 3 feet long, with the spiny back and a fierce expression. The Marsh Rabbit there gave him a wide berth when they came almost face-to-face. I really enjoyed the diversity of bird and animal life I experienced in the area. 5/22/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Glossy Ibis - Judith Sparhawk

This Glossy Ibis was photographed from the boardwalk at Green Cay, Boynton Beach, Florida. There were many of these birds at that location. With their colorful and shiny plumage, they look very stately striding through the wetlands. The blue rim around the beak and eye show that it is in breeding plumage. 5/21/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Diamond-Studded Cobweb - Judith Sparhawk

I've always so admired the spider webs I have seen you SMuggers capture, beaded with dewdrops. I never get to see them, as the air is so dry here that we seldom get that dewy look. Well, in Florida I happened to run across this dewy cobweb, and although it isn't the most perfect web, at least it had dew drops, so of course I had to shoot it. It was along the boardwalk in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in SW Florida, north of Naples. 5/20/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Long Pine Key - Judith Sparhawk

This is a view of Long Pine Key Campground in Everglades National Park, Florida. I birded this side of the lake, and was quite taken by the pines growing there. These are called Slash Pines, and at one time covered most of southern Florida, from the coast to well into the Everglades. It became prime real estate for Miamians, with the pines providing a source of wood for building, and most of the pineland woodlands were decimated by farming and development. Currently only about 20,000 acres of this unique pine habitat exist, almost entirely in the park, which once occupied 10 times this area--it is the most endangered pine community in North America. 5/19/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Tri-colored Heron - Judith Sparhawk

I had seen this species before, but never in breeding plumage, including the feather plumes on his back, on his head, the deeper blue feathers and the bright blue bill. It almost looked like a different bird from wintering individuals in San Diego. This one was photographed at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Del Rey Beach, Florida. 5/18/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Eastern Pondhawk - Judith Sparhawk

This pretty dragonfly was photographed on the Pinelands Trail in the Everglades. I was not familiar with this one, but after getting home, I found it in my dragonfly book; it is a female Eastern Pondhawk (the male is almost completely blue). There were quite a few dragonflies in the various marshes and swampy areas I birded in Florida, but they seldom sat still long enough for photographs, especially using a camera with a lag in shooting. I was happy to get such good views of this one. 5/17/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Taking the Kids Out for a Swim - Judith Sparhawk

This is a Common Gallinule with three of her five chicks, swimming around in the water at Green Cay Wetlands and Nature Center in Boynton Beach, Florida. I had never seen the chicks of this species before, so it was a real treat. Green Cay is a wonderful marshy area with about two miles of boardwalk trails throughout the wetlands, giving good views of many birds. 5/16/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Rest Stop for Everyone -Judith Sparhawk

One hot afternoon in Florida, we were driving back to Fort Lauderdale, and stopped at a roadside rest stop. I was amazed to see all the signs, posts, light standards and bushes covered with these Lubbers. The yellow-brown ones are Eastern Lubbers and the black ones are Horse Lubbers. We had apparently run across a mass migration of these large grasshopper-type insects. (A few years ago I saw a similar phenomenon in Arizona, with the Horse Lubbers and another type, the Prairie Lubbers.) Naturally I spent a few minutes shooting them. A funny story: About an hour later we were driving down the freeway in Fort Lauderdale, and one of the Horse Lubbers came crawling down my arm! After a mild scream and brushing him off, he eventually was deposited in the bushes at the motel. I guess he had jumped onto me while I was shooting in the foliage, and apparently was attached to me for over an hour while driving. He sure startled me by showing up that way; maybe he appreciated the air-conditioned leg of his journey! 5/15/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

In the Rookery - Judith Sparhawk

This is an example of the Wood Stork rookery at the Wakotahatchee Wetlands in Florida. These are just a few of the many storks nesting in the trees. It was noisy, with squawking chicks, displaying birds, clacking of bills in (real or play) fights, and birds flying overhead. I've never had such a close-up and personal experience with the nesting birds--I loved it! 5/14/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Anhinga - Judith Sparhawk

This Anhinga was photographed along the boardwalk of the Anhinga Trail in Royal Palms in the Everglades in Florida. He was quite cooperative about having his portrait done, which I appreciated, since I only had a small camera without much zoom capability. Most of the Anhingas I saw were fairly far out, perched in trees. This one stayed perched on the railing for quite awhile--finally flying down into the bushes. 5/13/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Gray-headed Swamphen - Judith Sparhawk

This unusual looking bird was one of the life birds I got on the Florida trip, I had never seen one before, and in the field guides it is called a Purple Swamphen--though local birders were reporting it as Gray-headed. I saw a few of them in a couple of places, wading in shallow marsh water; I saw this one grab up a crab or crayfish of some type. Always fun to get life birds (I had 3 in Florida), as I have seen enough birds over so many years that I don't easily find one that I've never seen before. 5/12/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Lying in Wait - Judith Sparhawk

This is one of the many alligators I saw while traversing the marshes and swamps of Florida. Fortunately there are lots of boardwalks built through the swamps, allowing safe travel and gator viewing! Although not a huge gator fan, I found them an interesting part of the environment in such a different area. 5/11/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Great Egret and Chicks - Judith Sparhawk

This egret nest was spotted at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Florida. I liked the way Momma Egret seemed to be carefully tending her chicks--perfect for Mother's Day! In this one place there were nesting Wood Storks, Cattle Egrets, Anhingas, Great Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Great Blue Herons and probably a lot more I didn't see. Everywhere I looked there was something new to see--I was in heaven! ;-) I won't be posting or commenting for a couple of days. 5/8/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Marsh Rabbit - Judith Sparhawk

This unusual bunny was seen in one of the Florica wetlands. Although it appeared to be full grown, it was small overall, and had very small ears, legs and tail for a rabbit. It is said to be a strong swimmer, and is found only near water in marshes and swamps in coastal eastern and southern states. 5/7/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - Judith Sparhawk

These were two of the many Black-bellied Whistling Ducks I saw at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Florida. I never get to see them at home, and occasionally see one or two in Arizona, but there were lots of them in this wonderful wetlands. To me they look like they are having a nice chat, secluded in the plants. 5/6/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Anhinga on the Nest - Judith Sparhawk

Back to the mainland from the keys. This Anhinga was spotted on her nest on the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palms in the Everglades. Anhingas are such odd looking birds, it is such a treat to see them in their everyday life. 5/5/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Tree Climber - Judith Sparhawk

Another type of wildlife that frequents the keys is the iguana. In parks, in mangroves, in the cemetery, you never knew when they would pop up. This was one that climbed up the palm tree in a local park. 5/4/22

Key Deer - Judith Sparhawk

This little cutie is one of the Key Deer that live on the Florida Keys. The are the smallest subspecies of the White-tailed Deer found across much of North America. The does like this measure about 26 inches at the shoulder; they are delicate and very cute. At one point they roamed most of the keys, but today are mostly found on Long Pine Key to Bahia Honda Key. They are the largest herbivores on the keys. This one, and two others, were spotted on No-Name Key. 5/3/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Key West Cemetery - Judith Sparhawk

Back on Key West for another day before heading back to the mainland. One of the things I found charming in Key West was the numerous wild Red Jungle Fowl that wander all around in Old Town--sitting in a sidewalk cafe, walking along the city streets, even in the cemetery, as shown here. The roosters and chicken were wandering around, climbing up on graves, crowing. Some of the roosters were indeed beautiful, with iridescent feathers, long flowing neck feathers, nice red combs and wattles. The cemetery was founded in 1847, after a disastrous hurricane had destroyed the previous graveyard the year before. It was built on the highest point in Key West, hoping to avoid future flooding and destruction. It was an interesting place to visit, bird, and appreciate the historic gravesites. 5/2/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Displaying Brown Anole - Judith Sparhawk

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

Inside the Fort - Judith Sparhawk

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

Under Water at Dry Tortugas - Judith Sparhawk

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