Florida Trip, Day Two

[KenC]

I have a cat the size of a bobcat, but he's a sweetie. I never get that look from him, only one that means "feed me" and another that means "rub my belly". I suggest never interpreting any look from a bobcat as the latter.

Oh, yeah, you posted bird pictures. I love the limpkin (never heard of that one) and the wood stork for their isolation from background and also the overall color scheme which in both cases appears to suit the bird. The first one is incredible as well, but it bothers me just a bit that the bird is in total silhouette while the vegetation appears not to be. It may be just that it's out of focus. Just ignore me.

 

[sm4him]

I have a cat the size of a bobcat, but he's a sweetie. I never get that look from him, only one that means "feed me" and another that means "rub my belly". I suggest never interpreting any look from a bobcat as the latter.

Lol, funny you should say that. A friend who saw my bobcat pictures and heard my story told me about something that happened to one of her neighbors many years ago.
Their daughter came in one day asking for some pet food. When asked, she said she wanted to give it to the kitty she'd been petting, which was under the house. Dad went out and discovered a Bobcat under their house! Turned out, it had been there for DAYS and it wasn't the first time the little girl had been under the house petting it!

Oh, yeah, you posted bird pictures. I love the limpkin (never heard of that one) and the wood stork for their isolation from background and also the overall color scheme which in both cases appears to suit the bird. The first one is incredible as well, but it bothers me just a bit that the bird is in total silhouette while the vegetation appears not to be. It may be just that it's out of focus. Just ignore me.

Thanks for the comments!
In the first one, there were clouds off along the horizon which are visible through the bramble in the foreground. The sunrise was happening behind me but reflecting pretty significant light and colors onto the clouds in the distance. I suspect that is what is lending some color to the vegetation.

 

[WesternGuy]

Sharon, since you asked - a week today we will be in Orlando, or approaching it on the plane. We try and go in the January-February time frame, when it is really cold in my part of the world. By cold I mean -15° to -25° C. (Did I mention snow?) I have been to Viera and Titusville, Merritt Island, Venus rookery, Sanibel Island and Ding Darling, and other places on different visits, so felt it would be nice to explore other parts of the state.

I am going to attend the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville for three or four days, then to St. Augustine to visit the Alligator Farm and the beach area. Then we will go over to the pan handle around Panama City to explore that area. I have never been there before, so I thought it might be nice to see if there are any good bird sites there. I will probably visit the B Bar Ranch either before Titusville, or after the pan handle, as we have an extra day or two in Orlando before we return to the Great White North. I will watch for the Bald Eagle and any of its friends. Thanks for the tip.

WesternGuy

 

[fishing4sanity]

My favorites are the bobcat, the few that I've seen before have been doing about mach 2 and never stopped. I also really like the limpkin preening.

 

[sm4him]

Sharon, since you asked - a week today we will be in Orlando, or approaching it on the plane. We try and go in the January-February time frame, when it is really cold in my part of the world. By cold I mean -15° to -25° C. (Did I mention snow?) I have been to Viera and Titusville, Merritt Island, Venus rookery, Sanibel Island and Ding Darling, and other places on different visits, so felt it would be nice to explore other parts of the state.

I am going to attend the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville for three or four days, then to St. Augustine to visit the Alligator Farm and the beach area. Then we will go over to the pan handle around Panama City to explore that area. I have never been there before, so I thought it might be nice to see if there are any good bird sites there. I will probably visit the B Bar Ranch either before Titusville, or after the pan handle, as we have an extra day or two in Orlando before we return to the Great White North. I will watch for the Bald Eagle and any of its friends. Thanks for the tip.

WesternGuy

That Birding Festival looked good--but I don't really do crowds very well, plus January is typically not the best time for me to take off from work. You'll have to tell me how the festival is!
I also went to Viera one day, and spent MOST of my time at Merritt.
St. Augustine and the Alligator Farm was on the list, but I ran out of time and didn't make it there; that'll have to be priority for the next trip.

 

[WesternGuy]

For the most part, the Birding Festival is not crowds, particularly if you take some of the Field schools. I am going on three early morning bird photography trips with Robert Amoruso. They start around 6:00 am and are all over by 10:30 am and involve a max of 12 people. I think the crowds will be at the display areas and at the various key note dinner(s) and larger presentations. I tend to stay away from big crowds as well, so I don't usually attend any of those sort of things, although I will probably take a swing through the display areas once or twice. I will let you know how it is.

I went to the Annual Festival at St. Augustine last year. I wasn't impressed and probably would not go again. We had too much rain and it spoiled a couple of my field sessions. It isn't a big festival and I did go to a couple of classroom sessions, but most of the instruction was oriented towards beginners, at least that is the way it appeared, and I am definitely not a beginner. If you are interested, you can check it out here - Florida's Birding & Photo Fest - Saint Augustine, FL - Event | Facebook

WesternGuy

 

[Raj_55555]

You are so so lucky to have such a close encounter with a bobcat, they can be really hard to track in the wild from what I've heard. I don't really think they'd attack a full grown human, love the close up btw, and the darter shot as well, it's lovely