Wildlife Snapshots Goes USA

Just back from another great trip to Florida - this time the Gulf Coast at Naples. Not so much photography, but as always a chance to get snaps of some new species or better ones of those i've seen before.
The pick of the shots were taken on Naples beach where Sanderling, Willet, Snowy Egret and several species of tern wandered happily amongst the sunbathers.
Sanderling

Why fly when you can just walk around the people?

Willet

Snowy egret

Royal tern (see top also)

Sandwich tern

Fosrter's tern

Pelican cleaning bill

Plover

Ruddy Turnstone

It wasn't only birds at the beach, though. Walking the strand we came across the following sight....

If you look in the centre of the next shot you get another clue ........

Guessed? A cownose ray. Several in fact working the shoreline

I saw a shoal of about 15 of these when I was fishing from the pier one day, although I didn't catch any. Someone else caught by far and away the biggest fish I have ever seen on the end of a line though. It's hard to get the scale here - the concrete is the main support for the pier - and we are looking at several hundred pounds of fish ..................

A well-named Goliath Grouper.

More shots of these and others in the web album HERE

Most of my shots from the upper Keys were taken where we stayed at Tavernier, but included below are also a few from the John Pennekamp state park (actually as this is an underwater park the pictures are from the land-based section!), and some of wild birds at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Centre, where each afternoon they feed pelicans and whatever herons, etc that come in. Although numbers were down due to the easy pickings from all the cold-killed fish, that probably only helped the photography by keeping the field of view less cluttered.
First the remainder from our resort:
Double crested cormorant having a grump.

There was a small marina on the site - you can see the narro0w channel in running in from left to right here ........

and get a feel for how narrow it was here (yes that little channel to the left).

So imagine my surprise one day when I found this surfacing in the middle of the marina!

I could see it swimming underwater and so was able to catch the moment it surfaced.
The marina was a good spot to watch the mullet and other fish - like this sort of mini barracuda -

although it was the crabs with the spider like grip that surprised me most.

At dusk each day some people would feed the feral cats (despite all the warnings not to) and this guy (or girl) would join them for a snack. I was able to watch it at ground level, but not having a decent flash with me the shots I took were pants - yes even worse than this one from our balcony!

Sitting on the balcony one day I saw 3 birds flying towards us. By the time I realised what they were and ran to grab the camera they were just going past. No time for adjustments it was a point and hope job, so forgive the snatched view of this Magnificent Frigatebird.

One of the cold mornings at the marina led to me finding this iguana.

I didn't handle it, but it was clearly literally stiff with cold. As the sun came around it gradually thawed and showed signs of life, It was lucky - this was the last of the cold days, but many died during the cold snap.

and

then when I wandered away for a short time it was gone - who knows where.
But mainly it was birds - this little grey gnatcatcher near the osprey nest ............

the northern cardinals making use of the marina facilities

and the spotted sandpiper working alomng the rocky edges.

Many mornings a group of white ibis could be seen working the mangrove margins,

but the best views were seen near the Wild Bird Rehab Centre.

Also

Also there good views of this snowy egret

wood stork

and the brown pelicans

White ibis were ubiquitous. Anyone who has been to the Florida theme parks will have seen them working the cafe tables like London pigeons, but this bird at John Pennekamp was the cheekiest I saw!