Polly Wanna Parrot...but...

Mr. Ru came home from a bicycle ride yesterday,

And announced he'd seen a flock of the "green parrots"

That we see almost daily flying over the house...

I don't have a bicycle yet,

So we packed a lunch and picnicked at a nearby park,

Then we drove into the other nearby park

Where he'd seen the green birds...

Nothing...

But we'll keep checking/trying,

Later in the day...

I did get to warm up the camera a little bit,

After several days w/o using it...

Above is a male boat-tailed grackle,

On the rail of a bridge over a canal...

The male grackles...

Aren't as pretty as the female grackles...

A few species of birds were getting drinks

While we watched from the bridge...

Including some white ibises.....

A Florida red-bellied "cooter" was also basking on a rock near the bridge.

An aside...We went to Dania Beach a couple days ago...got lost on the way to Ft. Lauderdale Beach

Actually, but we found the really nice Dania Beach further south as a result...I didn't take my

Camera...so I should've known we'd see two black skimmers ~ a lifer ~ on the sand...amid hordes of terns! We also saw an osprey soaring over the shoreline...

Am anxious to go back w/ the camera now..... 

Iguana See an Anhinga

We liked Long Key Natural Area enough the first time

To make another visit,

And managed to find different critters

To take a gander at...

I was pretty excited to discover this male (or imm.) anhinga sunning...

It tolerated my presence pretty well...

At a slightly different angle, I was able to pick up the reflections in the water...

Hubby spied this iguana hanging by the pond...

These guys are escaped/released ex-pets, can be seen

Along canals and other bodies of water,

Regardless of the human population...

Hubby also spied an atala hairstreak butterfly...

There were gulf fritillaries about the little butterfly garden also...

I believe this is a red-bellied turtle

(As noted in previous post)...

Seemed to be swimming over to greet me,

But he just kept swimming under the bridge.

Up in the trees, I could hear a couple different birds twittering, but it was pretty hard to make out what they were they were so busy flitting about...I managed to capture a black-and-white warbler as it pecked at the bark for a moment before moving again. This warbler was a lifer for me!

Swamp Creatures

Florida has what's called The Great Florida Birding Trail...

I haven't visited any of the sites on the trail yet...

(Thanks for the good tip, Bob!)...

But nature parks are in abundance...

And we've visited a couple in the past week...

 

So far the parks have been well-maintained,

And small, like Tree Tops Park.

We walked to the end of the boardwalk,

And after we walked away, this

Little Blue Heron landed by the covered sitting area,

So I crept back to get photos.

It posed nicely...

 

Swamp lilies were growing in the...swamp...

Kind of shocking to see lilies in this setting!

 

These berries are truly this color...

The beautyberry...common...

And stunning...

 

A distant common moorhen was paddling about in the swamp...

 

A great egret was carefully fishing...

A very common bird in FL...

 

Many white peacock butterflies were flitting, also common here...

...And a floating red-bellied turtle was hanging out.