Florida: Journey to the land of plenty

[Steve Foss]

Hey all:

Just got back from 5 days in Florida yesterday. It was quite a whirlwind of activity. We were headquartered out of Naples, where my Dad was getting a big award for his long UND hockey writing career. So he brought the whole fam damily down with him.

It was all about family activities, and nature photography took a back seat. Which is why with many of these images you'll see the light is harsh overhead instead of the mellow early morning and late evening light we cherish.

We fished the Gulf, went to the Naples Zoo (the primate and giraffe images are the only ones that follow from the zoo; all the rest are in the wild), the Corkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary, the Keys, the Everglades, and much, much more.

So what follows is a bit of all of that.

Yeah, I could live there. Meanwhile Lisa and I would love to get back down there for a week of nothing but birding and nature photography. I didn't add any birds to my life list this trip, though Lisa added a bunch.

It was kinda funny. Ken and I were talking on the phone about how we were both heading south to far-flung places at the same time, he driving, us flying.

Anyway, I'll be adding photos as this thread goes along. Enjoy. God knows we did.

First, the birds . . . .

ruddy turnstones

sandpiper (ID?)

sandpiper II (ID?)

sandpiper III (ID?)

great egret

brown pelican

osprey

red-shouldered hawk (immature)

white ibis (immature)

black skimmers

[Deitz Dittrich]

Wow!!!! Fantastic

[Steve Foss]

snowy egret

little blue heron

great egret

crow (fish or American)

royal or Caspian tern

laughing gulls

wood stork

snowy egret II

tern (ID?)

[Steve Foss]

Here are some other critters.

the ubiquitous alligator (with dogfish)

Various primates and giraffe (Naples zoo)

green anole

banded watersnake

[reinhard1]

great pictures steve. that gator looks like he had a bowfin with salad. good luck.

[Dbl]

I spend a lot of time in the Naples area and you hit most of the highlights down there which shows in these shots! The gator with the dogfish is a memorable one for sure!

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, guys!

Here are some more.

Marathon Key

Islamorada

Gulf off Pine Island

Key Largo

Naples beach

[Steve Foss]

More from Naples beach.

The fam

[Steve Foss]

And hey, we did a little fishing, too.

Went out with Capt. Kirk SanCartier of West Coast Fishing Charters at Pine Island. Excellent guy and guide, with his son as first mate. It was a wonderful time. We caught black-tip sharks (35 lb biggest), Spanish mackerel, sea trout, speckled trout, Jack Crevalle, two types of ocean catfish, ladyfish, etc. First mate threw nets for greenies (like small shad, but saltwater), and we used medium action spinning gear with live bait and plastics/jigs.

Then they cleaned the catch at the marina, and we brought the fresh fish a couple miles down to the Lazy Flamingo along another marina, where they fixed it for us for a late lunch. Blackened mackerel and mesquite grilled speckled trout. Coupla cold beverages, and it was the best meal of a trip full of fine meals. Our stomachs were very happy places.

[Steve Foss]

I think that's all of them, at least for now.

[finnbay]

Great lookin' trip, Steve! Fishin' looked like it was fantastc! Now that we've spent some time in warm climes while spring couldn't decide to arrive up here or not, maybe we can turn the cameras on up here!!

[Steve Foss]

Well, Lisa has definitely set her sights on Florida, Ken, so we better get out and shoot pretty soon. It is her preferred habitat, and in an incautious moment of euphoria (just caught a shark in the Gulf), I let it slip that I could live in Florida quite easily.

So now the game is on!

Seriously, I could happily spend the rest of my life down there fishing and doing nature photography. So many new experiences there for a northern boy. Well, a fella WOULD have to buy himself a pair of snake boots and learn how to speak Spanish.

[Jim Almquist]

Boy talking about getting in all the sites. All those new birds and critters make for some very cool shots. Sure hope you and Ken brought back some of that warmth for the rest of us saps that had to endure this "weather"

[cbrooks]

Looks like you had a great time Steve. I really like the shark pic.

[itchmesir]

awesome photos! thanks for sharing

[Steve Foss]

Here's a vid taken by the charter captain. Wind has pushed away most of my words. Good thing, too, since the HSO word filter would have been working overtime.

[reinhard1]

that has to be one cool experience to get a shark. good luck.

[spivak]

As always, another great post. We were down on North Captiva last March during the cold snap when manatees, snook, and other warm water species died. We went out on a fishing charter and our captain was wearing a leather mad bomber hat. He mentioned more than once that it just wasn't right. I think the unidentified sandpiper is a sanderling.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, spivak. After checking the Sibley, sanderling looks like a solid ID. Could have done the work myself, I suppose, but it's nice to involve other folks. Care to make the call on the Caspian vs royal tern?

Funny story. Dad (half Norwegian and half Swede) was trying to describe lutefisk to our charter captain, who was Florida born and bred, and mostly French.

The captain's eyes glazed over after a few seconds, but he was a whippersnapper of a wit, and as soon as Dad finished, Capt. Kirk said: "You lost me when you told me a 'lye.' "

[Matt C]

Excellent pics Steve! I really like the 'green anole' the best. Sweet.

[1luckydad]

Thanks for bringing us along.

[beakgeek]

The sandpiper is a Sanderling. Nice series!

[ShawnZ]

Great images Steve. I went to the keys about two years ago, your images bring back some great memories.

As far as bird/nature photography goes...your title to this thread sums it up nicely.

I think those old timers with nice RVs that snowbird for the year have it figured out!

The caspian/royal tern is definitely a royal.