The Wandering Disciple

Lakeland, Florida: After over a year hiatus, we finally went back to the wildlife mecca of Circle B Bar Reserve. This nature reserve is a wildlife hotspot popular for the variety of animals seen along the trails. On today’s visit we hiked the Heron Hideout, Alligator Alley and Shady Oak trail.   Along the way we saw the following animals:   American Alligator  Anhinga   Black-bellied Whistling Duck   Black-crowned Night Heron   Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher   Brown Pelican  Cattle Egret  Common Gallinule  Common Yellowthroat  Double-crested Cormorant  Eastern Gray Squirrel  Florida Red-bellied Cooter  Glossy Ibis  Great Blue Heron  Green Heron  Little Blue Heron  Nine-banded Armadillo  Northern Cardinal  Osprey  Painted Bunting  Palm Warbler  Pine Warbler  Red-shouldered Hawk  Red-winged Blackbird  Snowy Egret  Tree Swallow...

Fort Myers, Florida: As Florida begins Phase I reopening as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a few of Florida’s natural gems have started to open. We took advantage of this and practiced our social distancing skills during a wildlife hike at Six Mile Cypress Preserve. The park was rather empty for a weekend and we enjoyed a nice leisurely stroll to the preserve. We have been coming to this park for years and this was the driest I have even seen the park. Much of the swamp and ponds were dry or mostly dry. Hopefully this weekend’s rain will help replenish some of the park’s waterways. During today’s trip, we saw: American Alligator  Black Crowned Night Heron  Eastern Gray Squirrel  Florida Softshell Turtle  Great Blue Heron  Great Egret  Limpkin  Northern Cardinal  Red-bellied Woodpecker  Red Shouldered Hawk  Roseate Spoonbill  Snowy Egret  Tricolored Heron  Tufted Titmouse  Wood Duck...

Sarasota, Florida: Today we took advantage of the cooler weather by taking a trip to Myakka River State Park. Cooler weather usually makes the wildlife more active and today did not disappoint. On a trip through the park, we saw quite a bit of wildlife. Here is a look at what we saw today: American Alligator  Common Raccoon  Black Necked Stilt  Eastern Gray Squirrel  Great Blue Heron  Great Egret  Least Sandpiper  Limpkin  Little Blue Heron  Osprey  Red Shouldered Hawk  Tricolored Heron  White Ibis  White Pelican  White Tailed Deer  Wild Boar  Wild Turkey  Myakka River State Park is located at 13208 State Road 72 in eastern Sarasota County. The park is open daily from 8am to sunset. Admission to the park is $6 per car. Click on the photo above to see photos from today’s visit as well as the entire Myakka River State Park photo gallery .

Fort Myers, Florida: The swamp was filled with color today. The usual lush greens were mixed with bright fall leaves and colorful birds. Today’s hike was missing a lot of the regular visitors but features a few colorful ones I have never seen before. Here is a look at what we found on our hike today:  American Redstart  Black and White Warbler  Blue Jay  Common Yellowthroat  Eastern Gray Squirrel  Limpkin  Northern Cardinal  Peninsular Cooter  You can see Fall in the swamp for yourself by visiting Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. It is located at 7791 Penzance Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. The park is opened daily from sunrise to sunset. There is no admission for the park but Lee County charges $1 an hour/$5 daily max for parking.  Click on the photo above to see photos from today and the entire gallery from Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve .

Fort Myers, Florida: We had a break in the middle of our travel ball tournament today so we decided to head over to nearby Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve for a hike in between games. It was very hot for March, sitting in the upper 80’s and low 90’s all day so the wildlife viewing was extremely limited. But nonetheless it was a great walk. Whether you see animals or not, the boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is one of the region’s best walks. Here is a look at the wildlife seen on today’s walk: Black-crowned Night Heron  Cottonmouth  Mourning Dove  Northern Cardinal  Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is located at 7791 Penzance Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. The park is opened daily from sunrise to sunset. There is no admission for the park but Lee County charges $1 an hour/$5 daily max for parking. Click on the photo above to view my photo gallery from Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve .

Sarasota, Florida: Just east of I-75 there is a little gem known as the Celery Fields. Back in the 1920’s An experimental farm was developed to grow celery. These farm produces celery until 1995 when the property was sold to Sarasota County to create a storm water collection point for flood mitigation. But in addition, the county also restored the wetlands which in turn created a great park to watch wildlife. In conjunction with the Sarasota Audubon Society, the Celery Fields has become on the of the state’s more popular birding locations, featuring over 300 acres to view wildlife up close. On a recent visit to the Celery Fields, I managed to observe the following: Blue-winged Teal  Boat-tailed Grackle  Brown-headed Cow Bird  Cattle Egret  Common Gallinule  Glossy Ibis  Limpkin  Marsh Rabbit  Nanday Parakeet  Northern Mockingbird Palm Warbler  Purple Martin  Red-winged Blackbird  White Ibis  Yello...

Venice, Florida: A little Florida scrub preserved on the edge of a housing development, Shamrock Park is a sliver of scrub habitat left preserved from the coastal development. This habitat is crucial in the survival of scrub species like the Florida Scrub Jay and the Gopher Tortoise. And this parks collection of resident gopher tortoises does not disappoint. There are several miles of hiking and biking trails that bring you deeper into the preserve and closer to nature. It was a little warm during my receent visit to Shamrock Park so the wildlife viewing was limited. But here is what I saw: Gopher Tortoise  Mourning Dove  Pileated Woodpecker  Red-shouldered Hawk  Shamrock Park is located at 3900 Shamrock Drive in Venice. It is open daily from sunrise to sunset and there is no admission fee.  Click on the photo above to view my Shamrock Park photo gallery .

Lakeland, Florida:  The Circle B Bar Reserve has become one of my favorite places to view wildlife in their natural surroundings.  The easy to walk trails through this restored habitat boast some of the best wildlife viewing in Florida. Even on a slow day, there is still plenty to see and no two trips are alike.  On my most recent trip, I hiked the loop around to the lake and back which included the Heron Hideout, Alligator Alley and Shady Oak trails.  On this walk, I observed the following: American Alligator Bald Eagle Barred Owl Black-crowned Night Heron Blue-wing Teal Common Gallinule  Common Raccoon Eastern Gray Squirrel Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green Heron Mourning Dove Northern Cardinal Osprey Palm Warbler Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-winged Blackbird Sandhill Crane Snowy Egret Wild Boar Circle B Bar Reserve is located at 4399 Winter Lake Road in Lakeland Florida.  It is opened daily from sunrise to sunset and admission ...

Fort Myers, Florida: The cooler Floridian weather means the outdoor adventures continue, this time with a return trip to Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. This local hike is one of my favorites, a raised boardwalk with plenty of wildlife to see. Although today was pretty quiet, it was still an enjoyable walk and who really doesn’t enjoy a day of outdoor adventures. On today’s hike, I saw: American Alligator  Black-crowned Night Heron  Double-Crested Cormorant   Eastern Gray Squirrel  Great Blue Heron  White Ibis   Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is located at 7791 Penzance Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. It is open daily from dawn to dusk. Admission to the park is free however Lee County charges a parking fee of $1 per hour/$5 max per day.  Click on the photo above to view the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve photo gallery .

Fort Myers, Florida: Fall is in the air in Florida and the local parks are starting to show it. The leaves are thinning on the trees and animal migration has begun. Today I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and take a walk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. The park features a 1.2 mile boardwalk which takes you through the 3,500 acre wetland preserve. During today’s hike, I observed a bunch of the usual Floridian wildlife residents including a few legless critters located just off the boardwalk. Here is a look of what I saw during today’s hike: American Alligator  Black Crowned Night Heron  Downy Woodpecker  Eastern Gray Squirrel  Florida Cottonmouth  Florida Watersnake  Great Blue Heron  Great Egret  Peninsula Cooter  Red Shouldered Hawk  White Ibis  Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is located at 7791 Penzance Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. It is open daily from dawn to dusk. There is ...

Fort Myers, Florida:   We decided to take advantage of some cooler Floridian winter weather and take a trek into the great outdoors with a hike at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.  This little urban gem is just minutes from I-75 but feels like you are in the middle of the swamp.  The raised boardwalk trail is a family favorite and always provides great nature watching opportunities. We battled some high winds and had to dodge falling branches on today's trip but we still managed to see the following animals: American Alligator Angina Black-crowned Night Heron Double-creasted Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Pied-bill Grebe Rat Snake Turtles  Tricolored Heron White Ibis White Peacock Butterfly While the crowds and the weather impacted our wildlife sightings, it was still a great day to get outdoors. Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is located at 7751 Penzance Blvd in Fort Myers, Florida.  It is opened daily from dawn to dusk. ...

Sarasota, Florida: Last night we spent the night camping at Oscar Scherer State Park.  After waking up, we took a drive around the park to evaluate the wildlife scene and it was very quiet so we decided to take the short drive to a personal favorite, Myakka River State Park. The drive out to the park was very eventful.  We saw eagles, kingfishers and much more activites.  The amount of activity we saw on the way into the park further solidified our decision to head to Myakka. The cooler weather has brought the park to life.  The river level has receded and the wading birds were in full force.  In addition, the skies were busy with birds of prey making today a huge success. The alligators have also returned in large numbers with 20+ seen today. Here is a list of what we saw on today's trip: American Alligator Bald Eagle  Belted Kingfisher Black Crowned Night Heron Double Creasted Cormorant Little Blue Heron Gray Squirrel Great Blue Heron G...

Venice, Florida: During our weekend trip to the beach at South Brohard Beach, we had a nice day to observe some shorebird activity.  For the first time, we observed a bird that we had not seen before.  It really stood out among the normal beach visitors and it turned out to be a black bellied plover in breeding plumage.  This was a really neat looking bird and provided a nice break from the usual sights.  In addition to the birds along the shore, there was even a dolphin feeding just off the coast for quite some time. Here is a list of the animals seen during our beach visit: Black-bellied Plover Brown Pelican Dolphin Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling

Englewood, Florida:  The unseasonable warm temperature saw us hitting the beach just a couple days before Christmas and no trip to the beach is complete without photographing the wildlife found at the beach. It was a very active day for shorebirds at the beach and they were found in large groups throughout the beachgoers.  Spotted during today’s trip to the beach were: Anhinga Laughing Gull Osprey Ring-billed Gull Ruddy Turnstone Royal Tern Sandwich Tern Snow Egret Willet The highlight of the day was the Osprey nest by the pavilion. The Osprey was actively working on the nest and we watched it for a little while as it perfected its nest. Check out the Into the Wild page of Donten Photography for photos of today's wildlife.

Venice, Florida: The Venice Audubon Rookery is becoming a popular spot as the nests are very active. There are many of species of birds that have nested on the island and many of the eggs have hatched, making it very busy around the lake.  On today’s visit we photographed: Anhinga  Black-crowned Night Heron  Double-crested Cormorant  Great Egret  Great Blue Heron  Northern Mockingbird  Palm Warbler  Red-winged Blackbird  Snowy Egret  White Ibis  The Venice Audubon Rookery is located in the rear of the South County Administration Complex. It features a large lake with a roosting island in the center of the lake. A gravel trail leads around the lake with several benches available to sit and watch the activity.  Click on the photo to view photos from the Venice Audubon Rookery .

Boca Grande, Florida: Another beautiful weekend means another trip to the beach and today we decided to head out to Boca Grande and Gasparilla Island State Park. The crystal clear and calm waters made for a great afternoon at the beach and a great opportunity to watch the shore birds. There was a lot of activity as a large group of willets spent a good bit of the day flying around the beach. I also saw my first magnificent frigate bird as it flew over the beach heading south. Today we photographed: Laughing Gull  Magnificent Frigatebird  Osprey  Royal Tern  Willet  Gasparilla Island State Park is located on the barrier island of Boca Grande. It features several miles of beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Click on the photo above to view photos from Gasparilla Island State Park .

Nokomis, Florida: Our day of watching wildlife continues as we headed to the Pinelands Reserve. Like past trips to the Pinelands, we were treated with great opportunities that included a one that I have not yet photographed, the Eastern Meadowlark. There were even a few baby Sandhill Cranes walking around with their momma. On today’s trip, we photographed: American Alligator  American Kestrel  Belted Kingfisher  Black Vulture  Double-crested Cormorant  Eastern Meadowlark  Great Blue Heron  Great White Egret  Little Blue Heron  Mottled Duck  Red-shouldered Hawk  Sandhill Crane  Turkey Vulture  White Ibis  White-tail Deer  Wood Stork  Pinelands Reserve is located around the Central County Landfill Complex off Knights Trail Road in Nokomis. If you are planning on visiting, you need to stop at the administration building to check-in and get a map of the property. There is always a dive...

Englewood, Florida: Any day at the beach quickly turns into an opportunity to watch wildlife and airplanes, two of my favorite photography subjects. It was a very quiet day at the beach, despite the spectacular weather. The beach was only visited by the usual shorebirds. Today we saw: Brown Pelican  Laughing Gull  Osprey   Willet  It was pretty quiet on the aircraft as well, just a couple single engine planes flying the coast. Even without a lot of subjects to photograph, it was a great day for the beach. The water was clear and is starting to warm up while the beaches are starting to thin out as winter residents are starting to head home.

Boca Grande, Florida: We took a leisurely Sunday drive to Boca Grande to spend a couple hours at the beach at Gasparilla Island State Park. We headed out to the lighthouse and set up at the point. The shorebirds were plentiful. I had a great time watching a snowy egret digging for sandfleas along the surfline. Here is a collection of what we saw: Anhinga  Brown Pelican  Double-crested  Cormorant  Franklin's Gull  Laughing Gull  Osprey  Ring-billed Gull  Royal Tern  Snowy Egret  Gasparilla Island State Park is a Florida State Park located in Boca Grande, Florida. It features several miles of beachfront with multiple access points. Each beach access provides a different experience. There is a $3 per car admission fee to the park payable via an honor box at each parking lot. The park is located on a barrier island which has a $6 fee for crossing the privately owned and maintained bridge. Click on the photo above...

Sarasota, Florida:  We took an late morning/early afternoon trip through Myakka River State Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon to do some wildlife photography.  With the recent rains, the river level was high and the trails were a bit muddy so we decided to stick to the park driveway for our photography. It didn't take long to encounter wildlife on our drive.  As soon as we cleared the campground area, we encounter a female white-tailed deer in the field and some black-bellied whistling ducks along the water line. Our first stop on the drive was at the bridge over the Myakka River.  This is always a great place to see gators and birds by the water.  But the high levels of the river kept things pretty quite.  There were only a couple gators and birds. We drove the rest of the way through the park on the way to the birdwalk.  The drive was unusually quiet, not much activity at all. At the birdwalk we encountered a bit of activity but still relati...