Follow me on Twitter Last month, my daughter and I visited my mother in Naples, Florida for a week. I thought I’d share some of the wildlife pictures that I took. Most of the shorebird pictures are from the beach in Naples. Sometimes dolphins feed along this beach – always fun to watch! Occasionally they get really close & you would think they are going to rush up onto the beach! I tried to get some pictures of one of the dolphins & almost had it jumping out of the water, but no. This fin shot was the only clear one I got. We also took my daughter on an airboat ride to see some alligators. What a fun trip! Last year, the lake was much smaller and there were tons of baby alligators everywhere. This year, the lake was flooded and the babies weren’t as accessible, but there were lots of very large alligators to be seen! The males were just starting to go out into the open lake to set up their territories – no bellowing yet though. I hope you enjoy the pictures!
I was in Florida earlier this month and I had the opportunity to visit the everglades and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. It was a great trip and I was able to get a few good pictures. We saw lots of alligators, yellow belly sliders and softshell turtles, and lots of lizards; several species of anoles and skinks. We saw many beautiful shorebirds as well. There were quite a few dolphins, but I didn’t get good pictures of them, I’m afraid.
The first part of the trip was a short walk into the Fakahatchee swamp. Last year, I read The Orchid Thief. This is the area where the orchids were being stolen, although we were just on the fringe of the Fakahatchee. The trip included a boat ride through mangrove islands. We saw lots of ospreys & their nests as well as many dolphins on this part of the trip. No manatees, unfortunately. We also took an airboat ride on a lake that was just filled with alligators. I would have like to have spent an entire day in each of the spots!
Another day we visited Ding Darling and saw some beautiful shorebirds; little blue herons, ibis & roseate spoonbills. This is another area where I’d like to spend more time.
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