Sunday, February 8, 2026

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - REVISITING A TRIP TO FLORIDA TAKEN IN JANUARY 2013

 We woke up this morning to wind chill warning as low as 10 below zero. Can cause hypothermia if you are out in this too long. Temperature is 12 degrees F.  People east of us have worst conditions than we do, and probably further north. Please stay safe out there. Gregg just sent me this from his cell phone. Neither of us remember experiencing this before.

Now back to my ‘warm weather’ post.

The information below was found years ago, so may not be up to date, though I have checked and fixed the links when needed for this redo post. They do over the years keep changing. What you read below was done in 2013.

Today I thought I would share some photos I took when we were on vacation in Florida a while back. It was a fun experience taking photos of birds we don’t get in our state, definitely a bird-lover’s paradise. Some of these were taken in the Everglades and others at a bird rehabilitation centre found while driving down to Key West.


We found this beautiful Green Heron when looking around a Marina.


The Stork was having fish for lunch under a pier in Sebastian. A fishing boat had just pulled in and one of the men from the boat tossed a bucket of leftover fish bait to the birds.


Brown Pelican found also in Sebastian.


We found these pelicans at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center in Tavernier.


As we did the Great Egret.


I have included a couple of maps showing Florida in the first map, and the Keys in the second. You can see the location of the rehabilitation center. It's very much worth a visit.


I was surprised to see all the restaurants pinpointed too. If you travel down Rt. 1, you can see the sanctuary approximately two-thirds of the way down. You can enlarge any of the photos for better details by clicking on them. I sometimes forget to do that when I am visiting blogging friends.


But now we are in the Everglades where there were many, many photo opportunities to take photos of Cormorants close up without using a zoom. It was an incredible experience. They must be very used to visitors and they should be. The Everglades typically welcome 1 million visitors per year (I added this information on Sunday, 2/7/26)


I saw several with outspread wings, drying them in the warm sun after diving and swimming for fish.


This pretty little bird is a Palm Warbler


And now for the bugs we found on the palm trees. These are the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, young nymph (Romalea microptera).

2-7-26: thank goodness for old photos when the well is running dry, so to speak. I have been trying to take photos of bird out back and am not very successful at capturing them. My reflexes are definitely slowing down and the camera with our zoom is getting heavier it seems. Still, I never give up, says I smiling.


Thanks for looking everyone.
Have a great day.






22 comments:

  1. Never thought I would think a grasshopper is beautiful! It is always such a treat for me to see a Green Heron, they are so secretive and somehow mysterious to me. I have seen a real Cormorant too. But none of these others. I bet Florida is a birdlover's paradise.

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    1. I know what you mean Ginny :) I feel the same way. It is a birder’s paradise and have never seen anything like it.

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  2. Lovely birds and photos of them, Denise. Always good to look back on photos and share - thank you.

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  3. What a wonderful trip to revisit. Florida really is a bird lover’s paradise, and you captured such a beautiful variety. The Green Heron and those pelicans must have been a thrill to see up close, and the Everglades with cormorants drying their wings sounds unforgettable. Old photos are treasures, they carry the light of another season and let us relive it all over again. Wishing you a peaceful and happy Sunday. I just shared a new travel post and you are warmly invited to read it www.melodyjacob.com

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    1. It is indeed Melody and I do agree, old photos are treasures. Beautifully worded! I will look forward to visiting your new post :) Thank you, I wish you the same.

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  4. Hello there. How is your Sunday?
    By the way, your Florida photos are beautiful, especially the herons and pelicans. The Everglades sounds amazing, and the rehab centre is inspiring. Thanks for sharing these memories

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    1. Thank you and you are very welcome :) Sunday is going well so far and thank you for asking. I hope yours is also.

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  5. I am sure you are familiar with plague of Burmese Pythons in The Everglades, Denise. They are having a devastating effect on native wildlife, including colonial nesting birds. We do know how to screw things up, don’t we?

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    1. Unfortunately only too well David. It is a sad state of affairs, these invasive species, not just here but around the world. People seem to be trying hard to get rid of them, but it’s like telling the tide not to turn back.

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  6. Piękne fotografie ptaków. Nie lubię zimy wolę lato. Miłego tygodnia życzę😊

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    1. Bardzo dziękuję za komentarz. Nie mogę się doczekać cieplejszej pogody :)

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  7. You took some great pictures, Denise. Love that stork! Have never seen one here.

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  8. Stay safe and warm. We've got the extreme cold here too.
    Enjoyed seeing the bird pictures and the grasshopper looks huge in those pictures.

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    1. You too Ann :) They are quite big and range from 2.5 to 3.5 inches, with the females being larger. Thank you, happy you enjoyed the photos.

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  9. As a northerner I am not laughing because my brother lives in Virginia also and when it gets cold I know it causes issues. You guys are getting the cold weather and we are warming for the next two days up to 40 F!
    Wind chills are not to mess with!

    Your FL pictures were great! Thanks!

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    1. Good to know you are getting warmer weather Val :) My sister-and-brother-in-law lived in Norway for several years and I remember them telling me about their winters. We are very lucky in comparison and this is a rare event.

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