The Wandering Disciple

Planes line up on taxiway Foxtrot at Southwest Florida International Airport during the seasonal afternoon rush. Scenes like this are common throughout the holiday season as passengers travel to and from their holiday destinations. Southwest Florida International Airport is the second busiest single runway airport in the nation, connecting over 9 million travelers with destinations in the United States, Canada and Germany. (Photo: December 27, 2019)

The historic courthouse sits in the center of town, forming the town square. Old towns were built around the courthouse, like the center of the the spokes on a wheel. This courthouse is the Hernando County Courthouse located in Brooksville, Florida. It was built in 1913 by William Augustus Edwards and is considered the crown of Brooksville. (Photo: December 28, 2019)

Lu keeps an eye on the crowd at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. Lu, a hippopotamus, is the only animal of the park that is not native to the State of Florida. But he has been a resident of the park since 1964 and became an honorary citizen of Florida in 1991. Lu is the oldest hippo in North America and turns 60 in 2020. (Photo: December 28, 2019)

A black-crowned night heron stares into the marsh with intense concentration waiting to ambush its prey. The heron can be found standing still waiting to ambush unexpecting prey like small fish, frogs or lizards. But the heron is also very resourceful and is one of the few species of birds that bait fish. They have been known to throw edible buoyant items into the water within striking distance and wait for a fish to come and grab a bite to eat, then the heron snags the fish out of the water for a meal. (Photo: December 28, 2019)

Fort Myers, Florida: The last full week of spotting for 2019 was a busy one.  Southwest Florida International Airport was hopping with flight traffic this week as travelers tried to reach their destinations in time for Christmas.  This week saw some bigger aircraft visit RSW including Air Canada Rouge bringing a 767 for this service.  Here is a look at what I saw during a busy week at the airport: 1711 – HC-130 Hercules (US Coast Guard)  09-00646 – MC-12 Liberty (US Army)  C-FMZD – Embraer 190 (Air Canada)  C-FNAJ – Embraer 190 (Air Canada)  C-GEOU – Boeing 767-300 (Air Canada Rouge)  C-GWSZ – Boeing 737-800 (WestJet/Disney Magic)  N60ES – Cessna Citation X  N119US – Airbus A320 (American Airlines)  N163AA – Airbus A321 (American Airlines)  N191GH – Raytheon Hawker 800  N278WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N303DN – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N308FR – Airbus A320 (Frontier Airlines)...

An osprey soars over the north shore of Lake Apopka. Osprey's are known as the fish hawk for their hunting preference. They can be seen soaring over lakes and streams before diving down and clutching a fish in their talons. The osprey is the second most distributed raptor behind the Peregrine Falcon and can be found in temperate climates on all continents except Antarctica. (Photo: December 25, 2019)

Hiding in plain sight, an American Alligator lays along the banks of the marsh. Alligators are masters of disguise and can camouflage themselves, blending in with their surrounding making it easier to stalk their prey or just catch a nap. Catching a nap is what this big gator is doing along the Wildlife Drive on the north shore of Lake Apopka outside Orlando. (Photo: December 25, 2019)