Hello Mr. Black Vulture

Came home and found four of these guys in the back yard.  Thankfully, we didn't find anything dead or dying!

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

The Early Bird Catches the...Fish

Went to visit our friends, Archer and Karen Ann, in Sarasota today.  On our way to lunch at the cafe in the facility, we spotted this Great Blue Heron having lunch, too.

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6 Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

First of all, it's pronounced "slew".  We have had this place on our list to visit for a few years.  It's reminiscent of Corkscrew Swamp but a lot closer and smaller and the admission is only $1.00/hour to park  It's virtually in the midst of Ft. Myers, a nice place to enjoy some quiet nature.

The "Slew" is over 3500 acres of wetland preserve.  There is a 1.2 mile long boardwalk which intersects four lakes/ponds.  During "season" there are two guided walks daily, which we weren't aware of.

Peeking between the fence rails

The boardwalk begins by going through this cypress forest, which looks like someone planted all these in rows.  It's winter so there are no leaves.  I think they look like teepees.

 This airplant is blooming.

First up was Gator Lake.

And right on cue, this guy showed up, probably around 6 feet long.

There were a couple of floats in the lake where birds and turtles liked to sun themselves.

Female Anhinga

Turtle, Herons (not sure what kind), Anhinga, Egret

This guy flew across the lake and landed right in front of us.  I tried to get a photo but it was too blurry.

Great Blue Heron

There were benches along the boardwalk and each one had a plaque.  I really liked the sentiment on this one.

The lake also had these awesome fish.  They look like they have oriental writing along their spine.  Bill guesses they were 10-12 inches.

Even though it hasn't rained much at all since November, the ferns were still green.

There was still water near Wood Duck Pond.

We agreed we have never seen an Ibis in a tree.  They are always on the ground eating bugs.

We counted ten turtles sunning themselves.

Pretty sure this is a Black Crowned Night Heron,

and a Flicker.

We watched a Pileated Woodpecker for several minutes; I think they are my favorite.

We spotted several of these bird houses, for owls maybe...or ducks

Otter Pond...

Pop Ash Pond...

Pop Ash Pond actually dries up during the dry season but provides great hunting for the wading birds as the size of the pond gets smaller and the fish get stranded.

This preserve is prettier than it appears in the pictures with lots of wildlife and vegetation.

Thanks for stopping by...

Manatee Watching

We were up at oh dark thirty the crack of dawn very early this morning in order to be at Manatee Park in Ft. Myers by 8:45.  It's about a 40 minute drive and we didn't want to be late!  We had breakfast and took Titan for a short walk before heading out.  Being Sunday, the traffic on I75 was light and our trip went smoothly.

We arrived at the park early enough to check for manatees, which we did not see when we visited with Wendy.  But today, there were several swimming around; of course, I left my camera in the car.

We had a Groupon for a 3 hour manatee sightseeing kayak tour and were met by the Manatee Guides owner and guide, Tim Martell, a Certified Florida Master Naturalist, and another guide, Mike.  They both proved to be very personable (a must in this business), knowledgeable and lots of fun! 

The beginning of our explorations

We would be paddling along the Great Calusa Blueway, one of the many areas once traveled by the Calusa Indians.  The water from the park enters the Orange River, which got its name because barges used to move oranges to Ft. Myers along the river.

Park walkway to the river

Nor sure why anyone would offer a manatee water...

Clearly, one of us was slacking in the paddling department...

It was a gorgeous day with sunny skies and a breeze.

Looking up river

Ahhh, life is very good!

It started out a little cool but I was able to remove my sweatshirt fairly quickly.

We were "warned" that because of the warm temperatures, there were not a lot of manatees in the river.  That was okay with us, we were enjoying being on the water.  We learned there are three types of manatees...West Indian, West African and Amazonian.  They are nicknamed Sea Cows and their closest relative is the elephant.

We paddled up the river for an hour or so while Tim schooled us on the different types of mangroves (black, red, white and buttonwood), the invasive Brazilian Pepper Tree which is choking out a lot of the native vegetation and the Leather Fern, which can be eaten raw or cooked.  Tim admitted he has never eaten it.  

Is there going to be a quiz?

They identified several birds, including the Green Heron

a Red Shouldered Hawk

a Red Headed Woodpecker

a Bald Eagle (everyone knows what that looks like) and a male Muscovy Duck.

 We even saw a Clydesdale.

Nice digs.

Mike told us a story about a couple of kayakers parked beneath a tree, looking up at some ducks, only to discover that they were parked right next to an alligator.

Ducks don't live in trees.

We headed back to the park to hang out and look for more manatees.

Hanging out

Now, manatees are somewhat shy and quite fast.  The bright sun makes it easier to spot them under the water but you have to be positioned in just the right spot to get a good photo.  Although I turned my camera on, off, on, off, on, off, this is the only picture I was able to take.

Seriously, this is a manatee nose

Mike took this photo as we returned to the dock.

We had a great time!

 Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

 Today's out takes...

Nice hat

There's a paddle growing out of my ear

Smile, yes that means me