Three More Birds at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

 Pileated woodpecker

Red-crowned woodpecker

And a male cardinal

Night Herons

A birder said this is a juvenile BLACK-crowned night heron, and an adult black-crowned night heron was not far away.   I looked online and it looks more like a juvenile YELLOW-crowned night heron.

Let's just call it a juvenile night heron.

This one is pretty clearly an adult black-crowned night heron.
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

Red-shouldered Hawk

A hawk perched in a tree not far from the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Ruddy Daggerwing butterfly

Naturalist

Blue flag iris

Black racer

Maybe a midland or northern water snake?

Dragonfly

Anhinga.  I tried several times to get a good reflection image,
but the trees are too busy to let the bird and its reflection stand out.

And a big alligator.

Orchids

 

No visit to Naples Botanical Garden is complete without admiring the orchids near the exit.

Atlantic Coast Line

The three things that turned southwest Florida from an uninhabitable swamp into a populous tourist haven were mosquito control, air conditioning and transportation.  The Atlantic Coast Line ran intermittently as a freight line and as a passenger line.

This is the third panel of murals on the long wall of a Bonita Springs building, 

painted by Garrett Stinchcomb.  This post is linked to Monday Mural.

What do we want? Gun control. When do we want it? Now.

People of all ages and stripes walked yesterday in Naples' Cambier Park's March for Our Lives.

Most of the speakers after the march were high school students.  They began with 17 different students taking the microphone, reading the name of a person murdered at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and then respectfully banging a bell.

Asian Garden

I always like walking through the Asian Garden at Naples Botanical Garden.

Naples Botanical Garden has DINOSAURS!

Big.  Colorful.  Moving.  

Not going back when granddaughters visit next week.  Too scary for the littlest kids.

Willa has already announced several times that she is afraid of alligators.

I would say "lifelike," but how would I know?  I wasn't here when they roamed the earth.

Great Blue Heron

Great blue herons are frequently seen in Southwest Florida.  

This big heron was almost aggressively visiting beachgoers at the beach on Lovers Key.

Willet

Willets are good-sized shorebirds.  This one was on the beach at Lovers Key.