However without fast internet and full photo-processing software I will only post a few pictures until I return home in mid January.

Mockingbirds are great mimics and make a variety of human and domestic animal noises in addition to their own delightful song. Male mockingbirds will sing late into the evening in Spring, especially on moonlit nights. A fantastic bird.


Everglades Glory

One of the first notable bird species we came across was a group of Wood Storks in the wetlands by the roadside. They were in company with a flock of female Boat-tailed Grackles who were not at all happy about the Red Shouldered Hawk perched nearby. Their noisy harassment eventually drove it away.

Once we got over the initial fright and saw the source of the noise we started to note the many and varied bird species that frequent the pools and swamp trails of this superb location. The Anhinga itself is a fascinating bird which embodies the mysterious, Spanish moss-draped interior wetlands of South Florida. At first glance they look similar to a cormorant but are much longer and slimmer with a long, snake-like neck and needle-sharp bill which is used to spear fish. They are even known to eat young alligators at times. Theya re also powerful flyers and can be seen soaring vulture-like over the swamps and lakes.



Another very elegent white egret is the Snowy Egret. This one below was being harassed by a Tricolored Heron and the pair looked quite evenly matched.

No such problem identifying the Green Heron, America´s smallest. Its diminutive size is its main feature but it is a very attractive bird that sits rock-still for long periods waiting for fish to swim by, which it then grabs with lightning speed.
