Hot! Hot! It was so darn hot in the office (Air Condition broken) and I had bees in my butt – so I grabbed my gear and headed to Gatorland. Pretty unambitious – since I knew that the park is quiet this time of year, I decided to just walk and look – and as always there – the rewards were coming. Got pretty good pics of the Year around Staff (those birds who just don’t leave G’land at all. Of course – stopping for lunch at Pearls Smokehouse and having my Espresso at Sam’s has turned into a ritual over the time.

So let’s start to check what I didn’t see – anymore, or not yet. Since the begin of the breeding season both Green Heron and Black Crowned Night Heron have disappeared. They are both pretty secretive and pretty much by themselves, so that I wait for them to soon come back – now that the coast is clear again!
Wandered off are all Cattle Egrets+ Kids, Roseate Spoonbills, Tri Colored Herons, Little Blue Herons. So I don’t expect to see any of them until early next year, other than the occasional loner.

Speaking of it, while taking a break to cool off (yeah – it’s cool outside compared to inside) I saw a flock of about 15 -20 Cattle Egrets hurrying to shelter from an approaching heavy thunderstorm, who is showing it’s ugly face on the horizon.

Back to Gatorland – taking stock, while my 1st full year there is drawing to a close – it appears that more Snowys stayed compared to last year. Some young Wood Storks also seem to have decided to stay. Only two Great White Egret nests are still being maintained with 5 chicks – but the numbers of Great White Egrets seem to be steady aside from that.

Common Moorhen numbers have increased about a handfull one year olds add to the community. New arrivals are peacocks. Lenny (the resident and wild peacock male) has 5 offsprings – 4 “regular” ones and one white – or better cr?me colored male. It’s going to be interesting how that will pan out. But speaking of it – I haven’t seen the 2nd Peacock hen for quite a while.

A family of Racoons is making the area unsafe and are in the crosshairs of Animal Control, since they do endanger the birds on the premises. But as long as they are they – I took some pics…

A pic was also taken of me. I called Ilona in the Netherlands, to let her know that we can exchange some winks via Gatorland’s webcam – and she shot this one. <<<SMILE>>>

While roaming around I come to realize, that the human species consists primarily of morons. While that of course is not always true, I am in awe (not the good one, though) of how blind and inconsiderate many people are.
Blind because they can stand in front of something beautiful without noticing it. For example I spotted a orange Sulphur, my first ever and went to a flower display, where this beautiful and pretty big Butterfly flattered around. Of course I took some pics and some people got up and asked me what I was shooting. Despite it being quite obvious – me following the Butterflies every move – it was big, too! Of course my answer was that I was chasing the “Hyacint OxyMORON“, which in return was taken at face value, thank you!
For being inconsiderate – I often see parents just standing by when their kids are chasing after animals, who dare come close to walkways etc. Not a word – just uninterested glances. A bit frustrating… Same people get up on a picket line to prevent Seals from being slaughtered.

All in all however – a good day – and see for yourself?

[Gallery not found]

Having an entire day – and one that was beautiful as can be, I was challenged to find a good destination. Several came to mind – but (while checking out an alternative route) I opted to make a quick stop at Gatorland. While beautiful – right now it’s pretty quiet there – all the migrant birds have left for a couple of months, just to return for a new mating, nesting and breeding season.
Since my pal Tim was not on site – I lingered around for a while, but then decided to head towards the Atlantic and to visit the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL.

A 90 min ride, using the Old Melbourne Highway, I got a little dis-encouraged, after spotting a “Zoo straight ahead” sign and driving for 10-15 mins with no Zoo in sight – so I asked for directions. I was very close – just about 2 lights away. However – I found that a little more signage would have been beneficial.

Free parking at the Zoo and a modest admission price of $ 10.50 got me in.

The Zoo isn’t a huge one, and also doesn’t appear to want to make that appearance, which is appreciated. Carved into a jungle of palms and saw palmetto are the exhibits, lead by shady boardwalks and never having a typical Zoo atmosphere.

5 major sections + 2 Kayaking activities represent the Zoo’s exhibits:

1. Expedition Africa:
   Probably the crownjewel – featuring a unique, elevated platform, which enables you get face to face with giraffes and even feed them. Pretty cool! A massive and breathtakingly huge White Rhino, Common Eland, Ground Hornbill, Impala, Klipspringer and a Stanley Crane round up the group. There are more, but I list only those I saw.
2. Australia-Asia
   Kangaroos, Wallabies, Fruitbats, Cassawaries, Kookaburras, Emu ’s, Dingo’s and Parrots make this exhibit a hoot.
3. Wild Florida
   Next to American Gators and Crocodiles, Birds of Prey, the wetlands do feature native wildlife
4. La Selva
   Jaguars, Monkeys, Great Anteaters, Macaws and more
5. Paws on
   No comment yet – it’s under renovation

All in all a good place to be – good bounty to have for a photographer! – But see for yourself in the Gallery.

[Show as slideshow]

1234►