Flying over the Loxahatchee NWR.







Wetlands Boardwalk at Green Cay:



Mourning Dove


Red-wing Blackbird


Fish Crow

Some of the silkworms had spun cocoons before they could be consumed by Tadpole, so I set them up in a box in hope of breeding them. Unfortunately, they lack mouthparts and do not eat or drink so they do not live very long.

The first one emerged last week and I subjected it to a photo shoot.









Here is the moth posed with Encyclia radiata, one of my fragrant orchids.



I discovered this moth dead today. On the bright side, five more have hatched throughout the week, and one is laying eggs! Life goes on.

We continued along the main park road to Flamingo. It took some courage to brave the saltmarsh mosquitoes at dusk! We arrived at the marina to see three crocodiles swimming languidly below the boat lift.



The crocodiles dispersed, the ospreys settled in on their nighttime perches, and there was a distinct lack of human noise. It was a peaceful evening, punctuated by the occasional whining buzzzzzzzzzz as a mosquito approached your face. The rain started as we left.

We drove on through the drizzle as it got darker. There were plenty of frogs and toads on the road, which resulted in some creative swerving. Surprisingly there were no snakes.

This Barn Owl was cooperative, perched just off the main road. It was fully dark by this time and still raining.


It was getting late, and we had seen no snakes, so we decided to forego our usual stops and head home. Little did we know what was ahead of us. Just a few hundred feet away from the pay station and the main entrance to the park, a large feline shape sauntered out and along the edge of the sawgrass, just off the road. A FLORIDA PANTHER! I quickly turned the truck around to get another look, and managed a half second glimpse before it disappeared into the sawgrass. I did hear a "bark" coming from the distance ahead of us, which I thought was odd.

Just before the pay station, I saw another large animal moving along the road, but this was distinctly dog-like. Coyote? It was not as secretive or graceful as the panther, and trotted along the road cheerfully. We were amazed to see two large carnivores within such a small distance. We passed the main visitor's center and saw another coyote in the sawgrass, this time a smaller one. Again, it did not appear fearful, and kept walking parallel to the road and my truck. The darkness, drizzle, mosquitoes, and excitement were not the best recipe for quality photography. Here are some shots of the coyote that came out better than I expected.





Distant fireworks heralded our return to "civilization". An awesome Independence day in the Glades!

We celebrated the 4th of July with a long overdue trip to Everglades National Park. The mosquito level was at HIGH and there were ominous thunderstorms closing in as we arrived.

ST commented that I always get good light here in Florida- well not on this trip! But, even with the stormy weather and the skeeters, we had a fantastic time.



Along the Research Road, we saw a single bluebird. Other memorable sightings on the way include Northern Bobwhite quail and Ground Dove, two species I rarely see.

The storm approaching. First in color.


Then in sepia.


Common nighthawk resting in the road.


Demonic looking coreid bug along the Anhinga trail.


Lubber Grasshopper


During our evening Glades visits, we are always hopeful that we will see a panther. We saw one last year, and thought that it was a once-in-a-lifetime sighting...

To be continued!

Nighthawks are nesting at one of my job sites. There are at least three nests in progress.

Parent, sitting:


Babies!


A distant great horned owl greeted me as I drove in this morning:


Commmon myna at Burger King in Florida City:


Last weekend, another cottonmouth was found at my parent's house. The snakes seen recently have all been of a similar size I am wondering where the "big momma" is.


Knight Anole on the palm tree outside our apartment. This spot is popular for the local lizards. On this same tree we have seen green iguana, green anole, brown anole, and now Knight Anole. I think the squirrel has been ousted.

This family of ducks lives in our neighborhood. A muscovy duck and her babies have "adopted" this strange duckling. I am not sure where it could have come from since we only have muscovies around here. It is already almost as large as the mother duck. And it peeps incessantly, poor thing. This is only a cell phone pic, taken while sunning Tadpole this morning.



Speaking of Tadpole, she has shed the skin from her face and is doing much better. Whoever had sold her to the pet store had "dyed" her skin to make her appear more red. (Red beardies are more desirable and more expensive. I didn't care too much about her color when I bought her, I wanted a companion for Pebbles).

She has been grumpy the past week while shedding but has been gobbling up her silkworms nonetheless.



In other news, the silkworm eggs have hatched! Here is one of them being consumed by President Lincoln. The unhatched eggs are on the left.

I am amazed to report that the silkworms are thriving. They are eating like monsters and growing at an alarming rate. The eggs I bought have not hatched yet though.





Yesterday we got takeout from a local "British Pub." The food was good but the place seemed more like an American idea of what a pub should be. I got Fish and Chips, and appropriately, we took our meal to the beach for a picnic dinner.
Birds were pretty scarce. A few pelicans and frigatebirds flew over but that was about it.

Sea turtle nesting season is underway and there were numerous nests along the beach. The wire is to protect the nests from being dug up by scavengers (raccoons, dogs, etc.). The holes in the mesh are small enough for the babies to escape after hatching.



The most cooperative subject of the day was this ghost crab:





Next weekend I am going to search out a more "authentic" pub that serves Yorkshire Pudding! I have been craving that stuff something terrible.

The weather is settling into the normal summer routine: baking hot mornings and afternoons, building the massive thunderstorms which unleash just in time for evening traffic.

My latest project is breeding silkworms for Tadpole. They are more nutritious for her than crickets and mealworms but finicky to keep. Everything has to be sterilized. You cannot touch them or else they will die from bacteria on your hands. They have to be fed a special chow which has to be boiled and mixed to just the right consistency, then refrigerated and sliced for them, again without touching it or else it will be contaminated and they will die. Needless to say I am doubtful that I will be successful! :)

Not been doing much photography lately. Too hot. Here are a few shots from today:

Limpkin


Tricolor Heron




Anhinga


Swallowtail Kite

Another cottonmouth from my parent's house.



This past few weeks has been very good for snake spotting. Mangrove snakes and green watersnakes were abundant last week, and this week at my parent's house there was the cottonmouth plus a tiny Florida Brown Snake. Also there was a large Banded Watersnake by the lake at our apartment. Black racers are numerous everywhere and often spotted darting across dirt roads and into the shrubbery.

In other news, Tadpole has finished her meds and is much improved. She is eating readily and more active. However I have an issue with her "poo" so will probably be bringing a sample to the vet this week. Hopefully its nothing major.

Finally, here is a photo of the fish tank. The fish are doing well and I have recently added some red-leg and electric blue-leg hermit crabs. I want to get an anemone for the clownfish but have not found anything suitable yet.

More reptile shots.



The tiny one is from Tadpole's third clutch, just hatched.


Beardie pyramid!


Savannah monitor:


Spur-thigh tortoise, or eco-friendly lawnmower:


Burmese Python


In other news, hurricane season began June 1. Right on cue, a tropical storm formed earlier this week but quickly dissipated. I can't wait till November.