Edison and Ford Estates

I took a long weekend to go down and see my sweetheart. We went out to the Edison and Ford Estates. Very cool place, and because we are Bok Tower members, totally free. Sweet deal. Here's some pictures.

Some Mallards on the estate grounds.

Lots of cool trees, including this Calabash tree. It looks like someone just glued the fruits on there.

What would a day with my sweetheart be without birds? Here's a mockingbird.

My sweetheart under a really really really big tree.

Edison's book case. When I grow up, I want this kind of book case in my house.

A really huge Fig (also known as "walking" tree).

The fig trees on the grounds alone are worth the trip, this was a really cool place to visit. 

Merritt Island

David and I popped up to Merritt Island today. Great day for photography. Got a lot of Dragonflies that I haven' t been able to identify. If you know what any of them are, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks!

 Great Southern White butterfly

Dragonfly#1, unidentified

 Four-spotted Pennant Dragonfly

Golden-winged Skimmer Dragonfly

Gaillardia

Female Boat-tailed Grackle

Male Boat-tailed Grackle

Green Heron

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret

Tri-color Heron

White Ibis. This is my favorite picture of the day.   He looks like he's kissing himself, which reminded me of a silly poem my mom used to recite: "You love yourself, you think you're grand, you go to the movies you hold your hand, you put your arm around your waist, and when you get naughty, you slap your face!"

Dragonfly#2, unidentified

 Dragonfly#3, unidentified

Dragonfly#4, unidentified

 Dragonfly#5 unidentified

 Dragonfly#6, unidentified

 Dragonfly#7, unidentified

Landscape on ...I can't remember the name of the road, but not on Blackpoint or Biolab.

Unidentified pink fluffy birds. Haha, just kidding, Roseate Spoonbills.

 Black and Yellow Garden (argiope) spider. I don't see nearly as many of these as I used to when I first moved to Florida.

Black-neck Stilts.

AFLOC at the 4th of July Parade

Here are some picture we took of AFLOC at the 4th of July parade in Sebastian. There were other floats in the parade too, but it was hot and I was tired:-)

 This is the bus they got for their summer camp programs. They are still taking donations towards paying for it, please help out if you can.

The float

 More of their float...

Kristen, their fearless leader.

Please help a friend out!

Help! A good friend of mine, Kristen Beck, runs the Florida Outdoor Center, which is a non-profit that helps get kids (and adults) outside. Their summer camp program is in urgent need of a bus. She has created a funding page to collect donations. 

The is a special request to everyone who has ever attended and enjoyed one of my birding classes: you have Kristen to thank for that - she is the one who convinced me I could teach, she convinced me that I am entertaining, and she gave me the confidence to get up in front of you all! So, if you've ever attended and enjoyed one of my classes, now would be a great time to thank me by throwing a couple bucks her way.

Bioblitz and the Enchanted Forest

David and I were honored to be ask to participate in the first annual Bioblitz at the Enchanted Forest in Titusville. We led a few walks including a herp walk, and a bird walk. It was really a blast, and we look forward to doing it again next year. Here's what we saw!

Velvet ant, also known as the Cow Killer ant. Supposed to have a nasty bite, but I haven't gotten close enough to find out.

 Unidentified Caterpillar species.

Dragonfly, I believe from the Libellulidae family.

Egg sack, but we aren't sure what from.

Gopher Tortoise.

Same Gopher Tortoise, smiling.

Grasshopper,  possibly Melanoplus femurrubrum?

Grasshopper, Lubber. As you can tell from this picture, these guys like to eat and tend to irritate gardeners something fierce. But they are really pretty to look at.

Cuban Anole, another invasive exotic species.

Green, or Carolina Anole, one of our local boys.

Gopher Tortoise Poop.

Ground Skink, being held by David.

Golden Silk Orbweaver spider.

Possible Western Reef Heron

I snuck out for a long lunch today to chase the Western Reef Heron. It wasn't a particularly hard chase, he was sitting right where it was reported, just waiting for us. Note that this has not been an officially approved sighting yet, but the only other thing it could be is a Tri-color/Snowy hybrid. Click the pictures to enlarge.

 Notice the long white plume on the head.

Compare and contrast with an immature Little Blue.

Although the plumage is similar, note that honking big bill, about twice the size of the little blue.  Note also the yellow lores.

There was also a nesting Black Neck Stilt. This normally would have been my big sighting for the day as I just love love love Black Neck Stilts. Look at the way it has it's pig pink feet tucked under, so casual, like she's just watching TV.

And of course, no trip to the refuge is complete without saying hi to the Roseate Spoonbills.