One of our favorite places to bird is the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in southwest Florida. It was the last place we visited just before the pandemic – Who knew~!?!?!
The Red-Shouldered Hawks were making a lot of noise overhead near the entrance, and the baby American Alligators were as quiet as can be back in the swamp ☺️.
But one of the best things about that last visit was this cool bumper sticker that I bought for my new car!!
Birder's Journey 
Love the baby Alligator shots BJ, amazing colour, and a great flight capture of the Hawk also. 🙂
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Thanks, AB Those gators look so cute when they’re little! 😬
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A wonderful place. I know it well.
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I’m looking forward to the next time we go, Berny!!
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Oh, yeah! Love the sticker!
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Yes, Amy!!! I was so excited to get that sticker. It still makes me smile every time I walk up to my car. 😊
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Hi Carol, Happy Hanukkah! I was at that location two years ago, it was fun. My favorite is the Red-shouldered Hawk, is a fantastic shot! 🙂
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Thanks so much HJ! Corkscrew Swamp is one of those places that looks and feels very different every time we go. So many changes, depending on the season. Such a special place.
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Looking forward to visiting there again – some day! I also want to check out the Sanibel Shell Museum because it now includes a live shell aquarium display.
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Oooh, I’m so glad you told me about that, Pam. We’ve been to the Shell Museum before – it’s really a unique and wonderful place! But I had no idea that they have a live shell aquarium. I always find it fascinating to see images of the mollusks who actually create and make these amazing structures as their homes.
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Magnificent captures. I bird 2~
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Love it, Cindy! I wonder if there is a bumper sticker that says that! 🦉
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Great baby gator! William
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He was a great little character, William, thanks! They can be so hard to spot in the dark water, and so many of them don’t even survive to this stage. 🐊
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I must give Corkscrew credit for helping to push me towards shooting nature/wildlife full time. It’s a wonderful place.
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I agree, Ted. There’s something very special about Corkscrew Swamp and its history. I love the variety of ecosystems along the boardwalk. What was it about this special place that influenced you in the direction of full-time nature photography?
For those who’ve never been – https://corkscrew.audubon.org/
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I think it was how much easier it was to find and photograph larger animals. Up north we would work a few Eagles, in sub zero, for hours to get a shot. In Corkscrew Barred Owls would push us out of the way to grab prey.
A 2 month shoot around Charleston convinced us to sell everything and head here. And today there will be a foot of snow in New England. 😂😂😂. In general a good choice.
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Seems like a great decision – I always enjoy your photos and Ellen’s!
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Thanks so much, feeling is mutual 😂😂
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Beautiful flight shot of the RSH and adorable baby gators, Carol! I have not been to CSS yet and it is high on my list for Florida. I hope I can visit there when we snowbird back south for the coming winter! 🙂
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BTW cute bumper sticker! There’s one I need to buy for my bumper, “I brake for birds”. 🙂
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☺️
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It’s a great place, as I’m sure you’ve heard! I’ve been away from blogging since July, so I don’t know …. have you traveled this winter?
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I have missed you and your posts. I hope all’s well! Yes, I was planning on going there literally in two days last March and they closed it because of the virus.
Yes, we’ve traveled some more. We were in Orange Beach, AL, for a scheduled month in Oct/Nov and Hurricane Eta was bee-lining for us so we evacuated after five days there. We headed to Port Charlotte in hopes of being safer and endured TS Zeta a week or so later that made landfall about 80 miles north of us. It was not fun rocking in a motorhome, lol. We went home as scheduled before Thanksgiving. Then decided to cancel the big family dinner and then subsequently our Christmas dinner gathering. Soooooo…..(I haven’t mentioned this yet in my blog), we left Maryland just before the northeast snow storm and just arrived back to Everglades City for the winter. Birds, palm trees, and warm breezes, yay! Although I am going to miss being home with the grandboys for Christmas (we will do lots of video chats), I am once again a happy camper! 🙂
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Thank you, Donna! You have been doing a lot of adventuring! Glad you’re back enjoying south Florida! – ☀️🐊🌴
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