Nature In Your Face

These birds were trying to steal the bread. They managed to tear holes in the bag and get some out lol.

Just getting close to a seagull in the morning.

This morning we watched helplessly from the bank as our buddy Cracker the Greater Egret aka Great White Heron, chased Jack, a smaller, younger version of himself, across the river and knocked him into the water. Then our murder-bird proceeded to try and drown the younger bird! In the end, the smaller greater egret was drying himself in the brush at the river's edge. He was able to slosh-swim his way over. Ames Park (my go-to place for bird drama) Ormond Beach October 8th 2021

Just some morning pollination going on...

Flowers and more beauty! This is my morning haunt. Paradise Found!!!

This alligator was hanging out by the pier that morning when I arrived. He's not very friendly, and slipped beneath the water each time he noticed my camera.

Nuthin...Just sitting here watching a wild American White Ibis taking a birdbath in the pond. Sorry for the shakiness, my Nikon P1000 is one heavy ass camera and I often forget my tripod.

My best friend was feeding the seagulls some bread, when this brown pelican flew in to see what all the commotion was about. He even tried a piece of the bread, but quickly spit it out again. He was hoping for something more fishy, me thinks...

A beautiful little seaturtle swimming along the seawall looking for isopods and sea grass in the river to munch on.

I found a dead fish someone had discarded after filleting. I like photographing and recording dead things. It's like keeping their memory alive in a sense.

I couldn't believe how big this manatee was when I finally seen her in the water...

So this little guy just appeared out of the perfect camouflaged situation... I almost didn't even notice him sitting there in the water's edge! I have never seen this bird before, so will have something to go home and research. A strange and beautiful little thing, just relaxing in the pool.

What a surprise! A pair of yellow-crowned night herons graced me with their presence one morning not too long ago. I just love nature's surprises to me.

A vain mallard duck preening his feathers in a reflecting pond.

Yet another morning with a huge manatee in the river

A big girl, this beautiful manatee slid beneath the pier and headed north in the river one morning not too long ago. Who needs seaworld when you live in Ormond Beach, Florida?

A gorgeous little bird, the Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, hunts for lizards, insects and small fish and amphibians at the water's edge.

Meet my giant African Pixie frog, Chicken Chicken Boom Boom. I call him Boomer for short. He is simply amazeballs.

My baby African Sulcata tortoise cruising along, exploring my garden table. It's a literal tortoise paradise, everything growing in it is edible to him.

Just a beautiful Lady Bug on a sunflower leaf in my garden

another little visitor to my garden

This is my new baby Minerva. She's my dream snake and after wishing for a pied for a decade...I've finally gotten her. Yay!

We caught this dynamic duo battling it out until one of them ran up the river bank, then they were both gone. Drama happens.

So I was videoing the morning birds when I noticed this Brown Pelican, and began a short video of him. He was wrestling with the filleted bony remains of a fish that some ignorant fisherman threw back into the water, under the pier. Upon watching the pelican, I noticed a red bobber and fishing line, entwined around his left wing and leg. I observed that the poor bird couldn't fly or dive, and how hungry the poor thing must be, to wrestle with bones that could very well puncture his esophagus. That would end his life, if the starvation didn't. So, I took my video and had my best friend call a local bird rescue. They came out and captured the animal, cleaned him up, untangled him, checked him out, fed him and released him back right there. Now, he flies around us in the mornings to say HI.