ORMOND BEACH, FL - - A group of 10 pelicans gathered near the fish cleaning station on the pier near our house. They got scraps. Then the fisherman threw a large piece of fish skin/guts into the water. One pelican got lucky. Others were not happy....especially the one seen attacking the 'lucky' one (above and below) who snagged the guts. Not sure if either bird got hurt, but it wasn't from lack of trying.
ORMOND BEACH, FL - - It always pays to take a second, closer look through recent pics. These two are add-ons from our Homosassa Springs trip. The orange-y coloring of the flamingo (above) is a true representation...somehow pink wasn't the color of choice for any of the flamingos we saw. And are these guys loud when they get angry; then the cranes joined the chorus.
This Great Blue Heron stole the fish he's taking flight with from an unlucky cormorant. Sometimes, although in different locations, both Lydia and I see the same action at the same time. Usually only one person blogs the incident, but we both had really good shots. Click on the link to her blog for more on the story and pics of the unfortunate cormorant as well.
ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Pity the poor Crested Caracara. He's supposed to be a tough guy. He's a halk-like member of the falcon family. He's supposedly tough enough and mean enough that he scares vultures off their road kill meals. Right. This poor sap looks like he's wearing a Kmart special $4.99 wig or maybe trying out his version of the Donald Trump comb-over. Those vultures probably roll over laughing when Senor Caracara shows up for lunch.
HOMOSASSA SPRINGS, FL - - If you weighed 6,000 lbs. and were 49 years old like Lu The Hippo you wouldn't move too fast either. Lu was born on January 26, 1960 at the San Diego Zoo and has been a fixture in Homosassa since 1964 when the facility was more of an amusement-style park. In 1989 the park service bought the property, changed the name to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and began to focus exclusively on wildlife. I wonder what 49 'human time frame years' equals in 'hippo years.'
HOMOSASSA SPRINGS, FL - - Never try a stare-down contest with a Great Horned Owl. See the next post for the rest of the story.
HOMOSASSA SPRINGS, FL - - The Great Horned Owl is the largest of the American 'eared' owls. This guy, who has sanctuary in Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, would seem to have a good life.....but he can't leave. So he stares, he winks, and he waits.
TIERRA VERDE, FL - - Sometimes a different location makes a bird look really changed. We saw this Great Egret in breeding plumage perched on a limb back in the woods near Fort De Soto. Maybe he was practicing his pick up lines and 'hey babe' stance.
PASS-A-GRILLE, FL - - It pays to keep a sharp eye on everything when running through the Pelican Aeronautics pre-flight checklist. That way you can check to see if some goof ball is taking your picture.
PASS-A-GRILLE, FL - - Never let it be said that we don't go to the ends of the earth...or at least the end of the road...in search of unique photos.
LAKELAND, FL - - This Australian Black Swan - - who apparently doesn't know his southern hemisphere from his northern hemisphere but does know a friendly place like Lake Morton when he finds it - - sports the classic tuxedo look. The red bill and touch of white wing feathers adds to the look.
LAKELAND, FL - - The Peking duck looks right in white; no need to get all dressy. The Wood duck, however, is a bit more flamboyant. 
ORMOND BEACH, FL - - A great many of our favorite photo subjects have been in hiding lately...probably due to the cold spell. Today seemed like more of the same...and then we got lucky after heading to Cape Canaveral National Seashore. American White Pelicans (above) were scooping up lunch in Mosquito Lagoon with a cormorant staying close by and grabbing a piece of the action also. Terns swooped in on the goings-on and the lucky fellow below grabbed a prize. (I played a bit artsy with the final iteration of the pic.)
In nearby Port Orange this Osprey decided to take his fish lunch on top of a utility pole. It was almost like having a picnic table. Sometimes it doesn't work that way as regular readers of this blog may remember our Thanksgiving osprey shots of the bird holding a fish, clinging and balancing on the utility pole arm and trying to eat at the same time.
ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The usual suspects were hanging out at the 'fish cleaning area' waiting for something to happen. You can either keep waiting or (below) try to 'scare up' some action by blitzing a guy fishing...and waiting for a bite.
ORMOND BEACH, FL - - All in a day's wandering: my moon shot and Lydia's waders. We were trading cameras and the shot below ended up being downloaded into my computer.
ORMOND BEACH, FL - - We went back to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday. The clear, but cold (for Florida) weather had most of the 'usual suspects' hunkered down somewhere. A group roseate spoonbills (nicely pink) were on a lunch search, but too far away for good pics plus there were ducks galore. This Great Blue Heron didn't seem to mind to cold water.
