Gary
Gator Love!
Bellows reverberate in a Florida cypress swamp. I assume the noise is from cars with bad mufflers on a nearby highway, but Anne points out that it is alligators making that guttural roar. The sound is so loud at times that it vibrates the wooden walkway we are on. That is astonishing since alligators don’t […]
Who’s That Knocking at My Window?
Thump! Anne and I hear coming from our Florida room. “What was that?” I ask Anne. I was thinking one of our pet prairie dogs climbed to the top of the cage, then it dropped down to the floor. “I think it was a bird crashing into a window,” Anne tells me. A short time […]
Lake Tsala Apopka – Florida
A chain of lakes, wetlands and islands consisting of 19,000 acres makes up Lake Tsala Apopka. Three large “pools” – the Floral City Pool, the Inverness Pool and the Hernando Pool – are within Tsala Apopka Lake. It is part of the Withlacoochee River system. The chain of lakes was once linked to the river […]
Tri-colored Herons
During our routine morning walk along Lake Tsala Apopka, I spy an unusual looking heron, with slate-blue feathers, wading in the shallow water at the edge of one of the small islands. Upon closer examination, I see that it is the beautiful tri-colored heron, formerly named the Louisiana heron. It is searching for fish, tadpoles […]
Cattle Egrets Swarm Livestock
When you drive pass the cattle ranches here in Citrus County, Florida you will see cattle egrets. The insects attracted to and stirred up by the cattle are readily eaten by these egrets. It is not unusual to see flocks of cattle egrets following behind the ranchers’ farm equipment. These birds feast on the grasshoppers, […]
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