Turtles Sunning Themselves
May 12, 2013
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Thursday, July 04, 2013
The Cottonmouth
The Cottonmouth Snake
May 12, 2013
We spent most of May at our vacation home in sunny Florida. As is customary, I go for a golf cart ride around our resort after dinner. There are many interconnecting small lakes and ponds so there is an abundance of wildlife. One evening, my husband and I decided to take the ride together. A few roads from our house we spotted a snake. I'm not fond of snakes by any stretch of the imagination especially any larger than about six inches long. I immediately knew this was a poisonous snake but wanted a picture anyway. Let me tell you, it was hard for me to get a picture because I was shaking, hoping we would not spook it enough that it would strike. The picture was taken from inside the golf cart about twelve feet away from the almost four foot long cottonmouth snake. Needless to say we gave this snake the respect it deserved, took our pictures then scurried off looking for more photo opportunities!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Turtles!
Turtles Sunning Themselves
May 12, 2013
My camera is always close by. Since moving into town almost two years ago, I have had less photo opportunities for wildlife. It's not that I don't have photo opportunities, just not as many involving wildlife. However, there are endless photo opportunities for wildlife at our vacation home. During our spring visit to our vacation home, The water levels were the lowest we have ever seen them drawing wildlife out from their hiding spots. We spotted several turtles sunning themselves on the banks of the many ponds in our community. Normally, we only spot one or two so this was a rather nice surprise!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Gators at our Vacation Home
Small Gator Sunning Himself
December 9, 2011
Our vacation home is located in a beautiful park-like setting, gated resort with two award winning golf courses. There are many natural and man made bodies of water that attract a wide variety of waterfowl and wildlife. One of the most commonly seen is the alligator. In most cases the gators will not bother humans unless they are provoked. It is possible to get fairly close to them especially on the golf courses but it is very important to remember these are wild animals that will not hesitate to attack if they feel threatened or are provoked. Problems do arise if someone has been feeding a gator then the park has to remove it for the safety of the community. Homeowners and most of their guests know not to feed the gators but some like us rent our vacation home out when we aren't using it so occasionally a renter will feed a gator. There are signs posted to not feed the gators and we included the same instructions in the informational binder we leave out for our renters.
I personally have a healthy respect for gators much the same as I do for other wildlife. I love taking pictures of the gators from the safety of our golf cart or car. I don't go close to the edge of the water either. Quite often a gator is resting just below the surface of the water with only his eyes showing. When I go for my daily walks I stay in areas that don't come close to the water either. Other than that I enjoy the gators and always look forward to a photo opportunity with them as the subject.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2012
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Winter Wonderland
Mute Swan Visit
February 21, 2011
The swans visit daily even during the winter months as long as there is a bit of open water. I managed to get this photo the morning of our last large snowstorm so it was a winter wonderland! Later that day the ice had filled in the open water so there was little more than enough for a few ducks.
Garden Gnome
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wordless Wednesday - Hyena at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
Hyena at Busch Gardens
December 16, 2010
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wordless Wednesday - White Rhino at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
White Rhino
December 16, 2010
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
White Tiger at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
White Tiger
December 22, 2010
We have only seen tigers in captivity but they still very impressive creatures. The tiger den at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida features a massive wrap-around view area. There is a smaller viewing area that you can climb up were tigers are lounging. This gorgeous white tiger was anxious to have his feelings heard. He came up close to the viewing area a few times while letting out a loud roar. Isn't he magnificant?
Garden Gnome
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tortoise at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
Tortoise
December 22, 2010
I can recall reading the story of the tortoise and the hare during my earlier childhood years. Back then I understood that a tortoise was a type of turtle or so I thought when I was young when my only dealings with turtles was the one in the aquarium in my classroom and the dealings we had with the snapping turtle. There is a difference even though both critters are in the Testudinidae family. A turtle has a flatter, steamlined shell because it is a water dwelling Sauropsida. Tortoises are turtles in the Testudinidae family but in the Class Reptilia, They have a higher, dome shaped shell because tortoises dwell on land. Tortoises unlike turtles are not kept as pets. They have a live span of 80 to 150 years, almost five times that of a turtle. Suffice to say they are both slow moving critters hence the moral behind the tortoise and the hare.
Pictured is one of the smaller tortoises at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. This was a rather small one compared to the size of some of the older ones. No wonder they move so slow carrying that heavy house on their back!
Garden Gnome
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Giraffe at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
Giraffe at Busch Gardens
December 22, 2010
Giraffes are one of my favourite critters. I'm not sure why unless it was the influence of Jerome on the Friendly Giant. Giraffes are simply amazing. The look off balance and yet they are so tall and graceful. Did you know each giraffe is unique in it's coat pattern as well? 'Tis true!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Grey Back Gorilla at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida
Grey Back Gorilla
December 22, 2010
Our first visit to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Flordia was on December 16, 2010 with our friend and his young daughter. When our kids (ours & significant other) arrived we made it a point to take them to Busch Gardens as well. I love that place! Anyway we went to Busch Gardens with the kids and while I did take as many pictures as the first time, I won't bore you with all of them.
This absolutely stunning grey back gorilla looked a bit perturbed with all the attention. They say that they are very close to humans so it would be rather interesting to get his thoughts on the whole being on display issue. It's quite clear that this poor being is not impressed with the attention! He looks exactly how I feel when dealing with telemarketers, spammers and online trolls/stalkers ;)
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Hippopotamus at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
Hippopotamus Swimming
December 16, 2010
The exhibits at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida are very impressive! Several of them allow you to see what is going on both above on the water's surface as well as below in the water. Pictured is a hippopotamus swimming below the water's surface. I never understood why cartoons often depict hippos as ballerinas but now I know. Hippos appear quite graceful moving along on their toes across the bottom. It was an amazing sight!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Albino Wallaby at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
Albino Wallaby
December 16, 2010
The kangaroo and wallaby exhibit at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida is home to a rare albino wallaby. Albino means lacking normal pigmentation so the coat appears white while the skin appears pinkish even though it is white. What gives the pinkish tone is the blood below the skin. This is the same reason why the eyes appear red. Albinism is a rare, autosomal recessive trait. In the wild, albino animals seldom survive because the lack the necessary colouration to avoid predation. As a result of their reduced fecundity, albinos seldom live long enough to produce offspring however the gene that causes albinism remains in the general population as a recessive only to be expressed on the very rare occasion. Thanks to Busch Gardens this little guy should have a relatively normal lifespan!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Kangaroos at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
Kangaroos Lazing in the Sun
December 16, 2010
Busch Gardens has a large number of wildlife exhibits. Our first stop was the kangaroo and wallaby exhibit. You can buy a cup of feed to feed them through the low wood fence. If you put the food in your palm or hold the container where the can see it, both the kangaroos and wallabies will come to eat the offerings. Kangaroos and wallabies are both marsupials but wallabies are considerably smaller than kangaroos. They were quite docile, lazing in the sun.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Monday, October 11, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving! The Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey
September 23, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
We spotted a flock of wild turkeys a few days ago. I thought it was rather fittingpicture given that today is our Thanksgiving. I managed to get this close-up picture on one of them. Wild turkeys are quite large birds but impressive looking birds! What do you think?
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Alligator Walk
I am fascinated by wildlife and always have been which means I like taking pictures and videos of wildlife any chance I can get. I thought this was a rather good video of a smaller video I spotted at our vacation home. He is not as big as the largest ones we saw but still a good size. It's scary to think that one night I actually walked along an alligator infested road [I'm seriously not kidding here and it was after midnight] and lived to tell about it but that is another story!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Gator
The Gator
September 17, 2010
Yes, this gator is very much real! We spotted him up on land in the side yard of a house bordering the exit road out of the park. There is a large pond just to the lower left hand side of the picture just out of the camera's view. The day before we could see his head just barely above the surface of the water. He is a good size gator but not the largest one in the park. Gators wander from pond to pond so they are a fairly common sight within the park. Isn't he impressive?
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
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