Since it's almost Christmas I will start out with a Ruditee. This larger than life manatee is posing as Rudolf the Reindeer at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.
The Kings Bay bridge, a very small residential bridge, is one of the best places to watch the manatees go from their springs...which is a constant 72 degrees...to the gulf. When they swim under you it looks like a thousand pound torpedo, silently gliding by.
A mother and calf heading out to the gulf for some delicious water grass to feed on. The calf will stay very close to his mother up to two years.
Tiara (EP) and Jed (WHAT) join me at the bridge to photograph some of the manatees. Tiara counted 21 going under us in the 40 minutes we were there.
Tiara and Jed are Tas and Duane's children.
It is common to see the snorkel and pontoon viewing boats at the mouth of Crystal River and the gulf delta. I believe the manatees are a real American treasure and Florida has taken steps to insure the species safety and survival.
Out west I can't seem to get very close the Great Egrets but here in Florida they are so common that this one, at the end of a fast food drive thru, is trying to collect the necessary $3.99 for lunch.
Sandhill Cranes use Florida as a winter haven, much like the Canadian snowbirds do in their trailer and motor-homes.
Great Blue Heron are a regular visitor on the golf courses because they all have ponds, canals or small lakes that are abundant with fish.
This is the Florida Double-Crested Cormorant and an unknown (to me) gentleman in 1832 wrote a great personal reflection about the bird here. I believe it may of been Charles Darwin but could not find any such facts that would attribute it to the article. I have a very good friend named Nona who might research it for me...this is her expertise.
There were many more birds and even some monkeys that I photographed but the picture were not up to my "National Geographic" quality. :-) Maybe next time I'll bring a camera other than my phone.
No comments:
Post a Comment