March 1985 - I went on a birding trip to Florida with a group and expert birder, leader Tom Hayman.
We landed in Tampa and drove down the coastline birding along the beaches to Sarasota, Venice, and Fort Myers.
Sanibel Island to "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge was our first major stop. I saw my favorite birds Roseate Spoonbill. It was a really windy day, we couldn't even keep our scopes steady so I had a very blurry photo of the spoonbills. Also saw Snowy Egret, Reddish Egret, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Louisiana Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Great White Heron and Green Heron to name a few.
In the '80s it was film cameras. So I got my pictures done on slides then later disk. So the quality is not very good.
The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
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| Red-bellied Turtle |
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| Purple Gallinule |
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| Great Egret |
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| Purple Gallinule |
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| Pygmy Rattlesnake |
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| Alligator |
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Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
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Very old Cypress Trees surround the swamp and Willow trees. The Wood Storks were nesting up in the trees. We saw White Ibis, Green Herons, Common Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Anhingas. There was a Barred Owl that swooped down right in front of me!
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| Red-bellied Turtles |
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| Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake coiled in long grass |
