Florida Bay Tour - Two Thumbs Up!

08 December 2014.  Flamingo Visitor Center.  Everglades National Park in Homestead, Florida.

We had a "private" Bay Tour since nobody else showed up for the 10.30 AM schedule.

Roseate Spoonbill

Black-crowned Night Heron

Reddish Egret creating a "canopy" so it's easier to see its prey

Brown Pelicans

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Ospreys a.k.a Fish Hawk

Double- Crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron in white form

Great Egret

American White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Egrets and Double-Crested Cormorants

Also, a Bottlenose Dolphin swam playfully alongside our boat.  What a treat!!! This is the best boat tour ever :)

Manatees

We recently drove down to Florida City to explore the massive 1.5 million acre-Everglades National Park or at least a part of it :).  We left the motorhome in Port Richey and stayed in a hotel for a week.  

Of all the places we've been blessed to visit this year, Florida is definitely my favorite when it comes to wildlife diversity.  Our trip to the Everglades sealed that.  

Our first adventure was the Flamingo Visitor Center at the southern edge of the park where boat tours depart.  We decided to embark on the Bay Tour first (I'll post photos in my next entry).  While waiting for our boat to leave, I had my very first encounter with manatees.  And I broke into a dance of joy!

Boat propeller wounds.  A leading cause of the manatees' demise is, unfortunately, watercraft-related.

Morning Walk Critters

December 2014.  Port Richey, Florida.

Our campground in Port Richey is a concrete jungle.  It's located next to both a state park and a ginormous commercial center.  We take Bronë for her morning walkies outside the campground, passing by the lush greenery and eventually winding up in the huge parking area.  I don't normally take my DSLR with me but when I do sometimes, I get lucky :)  Here are some of the creatures we encounter.

Immature White Ibises

Muscovy Duck, an invasive species and considered as nuisance

Mourning Doves

  

I used my Iphone to snap this Armadillo.  I wish I could see it again and photograph it with my DSLR.

Prescribed burning???

Picnic Island Park

December 2014.  Picnic Island Park in Tampa, Florida.

Brontë had the beach dog park to herself.  We were surprised that nobody else was around.

Hiya!  Where are your humans?  Wanna play?

Great Blue Heron and Great Egret

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling (left) and Willet

Willet

Great Blue Heron and Little Blue Heron

As the Brown Pelicans were feeding, the opportunistic seagulls waited for a chance to grab an easy meal.