The Wandering Disciple

Even the orangutans are ready for a holiday treat as we near Thanksgiving weekend. ZooTampa is thankful for their orangutans and their new baby born into the zoo this month. The zoo is home to a large troop of Bornean Orangutans and they can be seen showing of for zoo guests each and every day. (Photo: November 21, 2020)

Fort Myers, Florida: Thanksgiving week saw an increase in flight traffic into Southwest Florida International Airport.  The airport saw more activity and larger aircraft as people embarked on holiday travel. In addition to the increased holiday traffic, there was also an increase in sports charters as Florida Gulf Coast University was hosting a holiday NCAA basketball tournament at nearby Alico Arena and Hertz Arena.  Here is a look at what I saw this week at RSW. C-FGKH – Airbus A320 (Air Canada)  N104UW – Airbus A320 (American Airlines)  N105HQ – Embraer 175 (Republic Airways/American Eagle)  N255WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N268WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N346JB – Embraer 190 (JetBlue Airways)  N358PW – Boeing 737-800 (American Airlines)  N443WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines/Spirit of Hope)  N561JB – Airbus A320 (JetBlue Airways)  N580JB - Airbus A320 (JetBlue Airways)  N583NW – Boeing...

When traffic along the Cades Cove loop comes to a complete stop you can be pretty sure a bear has been spotted.  The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home over 1,500 black bears and Cades Cove is a great place to see them.  The park is one of the largest protected habitats for the bears and they are plentiful in the park with an average of 2 bears per square mile of the park.  Just remember if you encounter a black bear on your trip through the mountains, be sure to keep a safe distance between you and the bear while enjoying the moment of catching one of these amazing animals in the wild. (Photo: June 4, 2018)

This week saw the collection grow by twenty departments. The collection continues to be from Florida but I have begun to reach out to departments outside the sunshine state. I also received my first law enforcement patch this week. I am still considering adding LEO patches but it seems like that may be tougher due to security protocols and the fact I no longer work for a law enforcement agency.  Here is a look at the patches collected this week:  Broward County (FL) Sheriff’s Office  Delray Beach (FL) Fire Rescue  Dunedin (FL) Fire Rescue  Gainesville (FL) Fire Rescue  Lafayette County (FL) Fire Department  Lakeland (FL) Fire Rescue  Leon County (FL) EMS  Navarre Beach (FL) Fire Rescue  North Okaloosa (FL) Fire Rescue  Ocala (FL) Fire Rescue  Orange County (FL) Fire Rescue  Sanford (FL) Fire Department  South Pasadena (FL) Fire Department  Southern Manatee (FL) Fire Rescue  St Augustine (FL) Fire Departme...

This pair of Eastern Meadowlark do a pretty good job of blending in with the grasses despite having a bright yellow chest. Found in the grasslands of the eastern US, the Eastern Meadowlark spends its time on the ground, foraging for food and nesting. Despite being called a lark, the Eastern Meadowlark is part of the blackbird family. (Photo: November 20, 2020)

Tampa, Florida: A quick stop at Tampa International Airport resulted in some unique surprises. I almost skipped the airport because I did not see anything interesting on the flight radar. However it must have been having an issue and I was surprised with not one but two special livery Alaska Airlines almost back to back. First up was the Honoring Those Who Service livery followed a few minutes later with the Toy Story 4 livery. Add that to the Utah Air National Guard KC-135 on the FBO ramp and it was a rewarding quick visit.  Here is a look at what we saw today at TPA:   60-0316 - KC-135 Stratotanker (Utah Air National Guard)  N262UP - McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (UPS)  N287WN - Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N289CT - Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N329NB - Airbus A319 (Delta Air Lines)  N402UP - Boeing 757-200 (UPS)  N420UP - Boeing 757-200 (UPS)  N570AS - Boeing 737-800 (Alaska Airlines/Honoring Those Who Serve)  N584NW - ...

Sarasota, Florida: It’s been a while since I have been back to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. While my career took me to RSW, SRQ will always be a special place for me when it comes to spotting as it is where I began my spotting hobby. While I still oversee the SRQ Spotters page on Facebook, it has been way too long since I have been on the flight line at SRQ. So on Saturday as I was in town grabbing a bite to eat on the way to Tampa, we decided to take it to go and eat along the fence at SRQ.  While it was pretty quiet, it was still nice to be back. Here is a look at what we saw today at SRQ:  N163BF - Eurcocopter EC-135 (AirLife)  N515QS - Cessna Citation Latitude  N24736 - Boeing 737-700 (United Airlines)  Click on the photo above to view these and the rest of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport photo gallery.