Cormorant, 02-21-2025

Often confused with Anhingas but a bit more rare. Cormorants have a slight hook at the end of their beaks and shorter broader tails.

Sandhills Squawking, 10-25-2024

My wife was at Arthur Marshal and finally caught the Sandhill Crane's squawking. This is also the first time I've seen the Sandhill's without their full trio, maybe they were looking for their missing third.

Crocodiles, 9-27-2024

I've been wanting to see a crocodile for a very very long time. I'd been researching it for a while and found one of the best places to find them was the docks down by Flamingo Bay. So we drove down to Flamingo Bay one day as a spontaneous trip and it was amazing. The whole national park section of the trip driving towards Flamingo Bay was incredible. Not alot of people there, barely anybody. I did not expect to see the crocodiles but was hoping. We ended up seeing two for a considerable amount of time. We also saw 20-30 manatees up close. They were all crowding around a fresh water outlet to drink.

Blue Heron, 8-18-2024

big heron disturbing size medium --aaron

Black Vultures, 8-09-2024

Just a big pack of these at a rest area on the way back from Fort Myers. I love these and tossed them a bunch of gold fish. The vultures in the immediate vicinity as well as the vultures from all over the rest area came flying and started to swarm the car.

Cattle Egret, 7-24-2024

I've been seeing flocks of these around, but its been hard to get a good picture as they always fly off when I get close. It has very nice gold feathering, you can see it here next to a bunch of other regular White Ibis'. Cattle egrets are named for their habit of following livestock such as cattle. They feed on insects and small animals stirred up by the movement of these large animals.

Water Hemlock, 7-21-2024

Water hemlock is a native Florida plant that can be found in the Everglades and throughout the state. It flowers in the spring and summer and is considered one of the most toxic plants in North America, and all parts of the plant are poisonous. The plant contains cicutoxin, a chemical compound that attacks the nervous system if ingested and can cause death. A type of Hemlock was used as the means of execution for Socrates. "By a small majority, the jury sentenced him to death; tradition holds that the instrument of execution was a lethal dose of hemlock."

Egret eats snake, 7-21-2024

The last time I saw a bird eating a snake it was a Great Blue Heron and the snake had wrapped itself around the Heron's neck preventing the Heron from swallowing it.

Juvenile White Ibis, 7-21-2024

Despite seeing many many white Ibis' before, this is the first time I've seen a Juvenile White Ibis. Looks sort of similar to a Wood Stork. Except a wood stork head and neck are bald whereas this actually has grey feathers.

Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, 7-17-2024

Haven't seen one of the adults yet but the Juveniles look very cool.

Red Shouldered Hawk, 7-17-2024

One of the more common raptors you'll see in the Everglades. I always thought that was a strange thing to call birds so I looked it up Birds of prey are called raptors because the term "raptor" comes from the Latin word "rapere," which means "to seize" or "to take by force." This name reflects their hunting behavior, as raptors are known for their keen eyesight, strong talons, and powerful beaks, all of which they use to catch and consume their prey. Raptors include eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, and other birds of prey.

Water Hyacinth, 7-10-2024

There are huge patches of these now growing out in the deeper channels where during the dry season(winter) the water was pretty clear.

Brown Watersnake, 7-02-2024

This seems to be one of the more common snakes out here. This is one of the larger ones I've seen.

Black Necked Stilt, 6-19-2024

First one of these I've seen. I did not immediately recognize it but knew it was something new and distinct. Had to look it up when I got home. They seemed to be following me around and yelling at me which was pretty funny.

Soft Shell Turtle, 6-19-2024

Saw this from a ways off. I've seen a lot of these in the water but it was my first time seeing one out of the water. It looked pretty incredible and was on the larger side.

Morning Glory, 6-16-2024

I'd never seen these until I went down one particular path at Arthur Marshal which had a lot of new and beautiful flowers.

Roseate Spoonbills, 6-16-2024

You can see these year round at Arthur Marshal. They are usually in this same area every time or sometimes one square over.

Beauty Berries, 6-16-2024

These are edible, non toxic. You shouldn't eat too many as they are astringent in taste and eating too many will make your mouth start to feel dry. The greens and whites are just at earlier states of ripeness.

Elder Berries, 6-16-2024

Uncooked berries as well as the leaves or stems contain cyanogenic glycosides, which can produce cyanide, a toxin. Eating raw elderberries can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Juvenile Deer, 6-9-2024

Saw these juvenile deer from a ways off and I was heading down the same trail. The one on my right would keep popping down to the shore to grab some of the big white swamp lillies. When it saw me approach it would jump out and back onto the trail. They didn't seem too bothered and we both walked up almost back to the parking lot before they finally decided to head back out into the marsh trail.

Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers, 6-9-2024

These guys have multiplied like crazy all over the marsh trail. A couple weeks prior to this I remember seeing them but they were much much smaller. Now they are nearly the size of my hand. You can hear them while in nearly any part of the marsh trail.

Sandhill Cranes, 4-29-2024

You can usually see these around Arthur Marshall. They're a little more on the rare side. During winter the juvenile had a golden/copper color without the red but has now matured and looks similar to the adults in the summer. Sandhill Cranes mate for life so this may be the same family we had seen during winter. These make a tremendous noise I've been wanting to hear in person. They sound like raptors and would probably be pretty intimidating up close.

Bobcat, 4-18-2024

First and only Bobcat I've seen in the wild. It didn't seem to be too shy, it posed for a minute or two and then went back into the brush. I got to see this with my wife, we both loved it. I still go back to this general area almost every time I visit hoping to see it again.