Naples Pier

One of the joys of our annual trip to Florida is the chance to go fishing.  I struggle to fit this in at home and photography takes priority - hard enough to fit that in.  Most mornings see me down at the pier in Naples at sunrise for a couple of hours.  2012 was a struggle, but 2013 was great.  It wasn't just me though.

Most days an osprey called in  - herring gull like in terms of it's tolerance of people.

Looking vaguely hobbit like - smaller than you would think but look at the size of those feet (yeah I know, perspective, but they were big.

The reason it called in was soon apparent

when one of the locals tossed a fish onto the roof of the shelter!

Lovely views.

The real spectacle this year though was the sight of huge tarpon (100lbs +) smashing into the shoals of baitfish.  If you watch the video make sure you have your sound turned on - the sound was as striking as the view.

naples pier from Brian's 'Wobblecam' Videos on Vimeo.

Other birds joined in - you can see pelicans on the video, as well as dolphins.

There was a downside - if you weren't careful a pelican can snag the hook, and several got snagged while we were there.  most got sorted, but the pictures below reveal the sad sight of some with hooks or almost certainly hook related wounds.  Basically when the fish were really smashing into the baitfish the pelicans joined them and you just had to stop casting to avoid snagging.

Still a stunning place to spend some time

Here's a clue - it's knot Dartford

You may not believe it, but I often think a bit about what I'm going to say on the blog before I start typing. We've just had a few days away on holiday, and I thought I'd start with a little photo quiz. Can you guess where we went?
First a general snap just to give a vague sense of location .................


Then a couple of pictures of species named for the location ........

and finally a snap of one of it's best known (former) inhabitants.

Trouble is my insect identification let me down, so if you know your moths you'll be scratching your head at this point!
The answer is Jersey - St Ouen's Bay, Jersey orchid and Gerald Durrell (My Family and Other Animals was an all time favourite of mine). When Kay pointed out the moth I knew it wasn't the 'tiger' we normally see and I said authoritatively "It must be a Jersey tiger." Except it's not. They have lines not blotches. I think this is a cream spot tiger - still pretty, but kind of spoils the start to the post!
St Ouen's Bay is a fabulous expanse of sand. I'm not the world's best sunbather given my celtic origins, and even though there was a bit of cloud about I left Kay to it and went to have a peer in some rock pools.

There were a few fish, etc, but it was these creatures that caught my attention - moving singly or several 'bonding'. Some kind of rock pool mollusc I think they may be a form of sea hare - if you know please tell me by using the comment facility.



The gulls were tending to be a bit twitchy, although as the tide came in they settled and started crabbing pretty successfully.

As ever though the best views came from the tamer ones seeking a share of our lunch.

Anyway, while I was down fossicking I noticed a couple of little shorebirds, which gradually came nearer, working the waterline. As usual the little buggers wouldn't stay still, and I didn't have the easiest camera kit to use (I don't usually take the fast lens away on holiday) but eventually I got my first ever views, let alone snaps, of summer plumage knot. Perhaps the best days sunbathing I've had. [Although there was that evening skinny dipping with the Scandinavian girls in Greece ....................]

So I thought that would probably be it. This wasn't a wildlife holiday after all, and the views of some good sized mullet in the marina were probably the only other sights I'd get.

However, in the cafe there was free internet access and the Jersey Birds website (thanks guys) mentioned some heathland birds that saw me up early for the last 2 mornings to try and see, and hopefully snap a bird that has been on the wish-list for some time now. As it turned out the weather the first day wasn't great - but I did see some. Day 2 saw more sun, and although the lack of a tripod proved a fairly bad decision I also got some snaps worth posting. Not the dunnock, although it was kind enough to pose against the gorse .....

not the meadow pipits either ....................

but these little guys. My first Dartford warblers. I couldn't work out at first what was going on. I thought I'd found a nest as there were definitely a couple of adults catching caterpillars. But there were more than 2 adults. Then they all moved off? Eventually the penny dropped when I had a brief view, and sadly a bit of a ropey snap, of a youngster. It seemed to be a small group of several adults with young that stayed mainly hidden in the dense gorse bushes.

While there I met a friendly guy from Paisley who told me about the 'orchid field' at St Ouen's. As I had seen but not snapped some marsh harriers down there too, I did the sums and decided I could make a quick visit before Kay stirred. I found the Jersey orchids, and some southern marsh orchids, complete with cricket. The harriers were too far off, but they can wait for another year.


Botanically the wall pennywort, or navelwort, seemed to be growing everywhere.
Lastly I found this behind the dunes at St Ouen's. I haven' a clue what it is. If you know please leave a comment, as I hate nameless pictures!

As always some of the shots can be seen in more detail HERE in the web albums

- click on latest pictures.

Florida - refuges, preserves and the other bits

Although the holiday in Florida was not a wildlife or birdwatching trip, we did fit in a few days at local nature reserves.

In Orlando iteself the Tibet-Butler Preserve was a little oasis of calm. A mixed habitat including long leaf pine and saw palmetto was a pleasure to stroll through on a cloudless day.

Even before we left the Preserve buildings this mantis-like bug proved to be an interesting if not beautiful find.

More insects were around in the trees, including this jumbo sized wasp-type creature - not quite the crow sized beast Kay described, but certainly a good 4 cms long

Strung between the trees was this fabulously marked spider - for a second I thought it was the head of some fearsome grasshopper or cricket, until I saw the tucked in legs. Still had a few doubts until I saw another on Merritt Island.

Birdlife in the main reserve was a bit shy, more heard than seen, but there were a few flowering plants including this one which had a scent remiscent of some orchids.

More interesting still were some of the lichens - the blood red ones on trees, and these fascinating little balls, gathered in clumps in the undergrowth.

Regularly scattering the ubiquitous small lizards which roamed the boardwalks, eventually we came out into an area of open water.

I presume the dead looking trees were cypress in their winter garb. The colour helped to highlight the several ospreys that came in to feed, and in the water itself a disturbance revealed itself to be a turtle sneaking through the lily pads. When it went into clear water an almost unreal red veining of the shell and limbs became apparent, although the contrasting light above and below water defeated the cameras sensor!

Over at Cape Canavaral we planned to squeeze in a trip to the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge before visiting the Kennedy Space Centre, but the wildlife got in the way, so Kennedy will have to wait!

Merritt Island has several nature trails and the Black Point Wildlife Drive - a seven mile long 'self-guided auto tour' - basically a drive through nature reserve.

The trails were short' but interesting enough. Within minutes Kay spotted a couple of woodpeckers, of which this Pileated woodpecker was the most amenable to posing. The picture doesn't portray its sheer size, as it piledrived small chunks of bark from the tree.

Crashing through the undergrowth we found another armadillo

The vegetation included wild oranges,

welded trees,

poison ivy (somehow I expected something a bit more spectacular)

as well as several epiphytes lodged in the trees - air plants,

Bromeliads,

and what I believe was called Cardinal Wild Pine

In a nearby pond was a largemouth bass

and then a kind local pointed us down a track to a small pond with a large alligator on (thankfully) the far side. We saw quite a few wild 'gators, but somehow this one felt the most wild.

Maybe it was the duckweed!

The Black Point Wildlife Drive was better than I expected, although one of my enduring memories was the American guy with the big lens SLR perched high on the back of his convertible, directing his wife in minute detail as to how she should position the car so he could get the best shot!

As well as a host more 'gators, which seemed to be the main attraction to most of the visitors, there was a good range of birds:

Tricoloured heron

Snowy Egret

Wood Stork

Male Roseate Spoonbill

and the less in-your-face coloured female

Green Backed Heron

Glossy Ibis

and male

and female Anhingas,

while overhead flew black vultures.

After Black Point we headed for the manatee viewpoint, but there were none there. Never mind - it had been a great day.

A flying trip down to the Florida Keys to swim with Dolphins - fantastic, but not wild! - led to encounters with pelicans

a softback turtle

Laughing Gulls

this barracuda-type fish

and the joys of Miami Beach.

The one creature that I still yearned to see in the wild was a manatee - a bizarre creature that reminded me of a giant waterborne tick, with that huge body and that tiny head. Funny how these images just come into your mind! Sure you got great views of the rescued ones at Seaworld .............

but that's not the same. So we phoned Captain Joe of Fun2Dive and booked a trip to the Crystal River Reserve. If you want to see manatee and have a great day out, book with Captain Joe - not his advert, just my opinion.

He'll only take 6 at a time and he will work his not inconsiderable butt off to show you the manatee. Although swimming is quite tightly controlled now you can still get close to them with some patience, a gentle approach and a manatee that is happy to be there. It took a while, the water was murkier than ideal, but I did get to swim alongside this one for 5-10 minutes. Fantastic. (That's it's head by the way!)

Crystal River was good for birds too.

Great Blue Heron

Brown Pelican

Great Egret - look at those feathers

and, to cap it all, perhaps the best views of osprey I'll ever have