Everglades 2005

	What can be so tough about finding a few pinkish birds? I mean its Florida Right? Well much to my dismay during 3 days of trudging through fabulous sunshine the best we could find was a partially pink bird. Oh well maybe next time.

	The gregarious White Ibis. This guy was at the Audubon Corkscrew Sanctuary north of Naples. The blue eyes really add that South Florida touch

	If you are looking for red instead of pink there seemed to be an abundance of Pileated Woodpeckers. Add the Florida sun highlighting the Mohawk and WOW

	One of the many great things about bird watching in the Everglades in winter is there are so many great unusual birds just hanging out, such as the shy Limpkin and elusive Black Crowned Night Heron.

	No visit to the Everglades Would be complete with out a visit from an alligator or two. It was sort of freaking me out though. The guy on the right was giving me the evil eye. He was only 8 to 10 feet away on a walking path. No rails or any obstacles just that omnipresent Florida lethargy holding him(her?) back.

	Even though I was looking for birds there are many other super cool critters dashing about. I love they way they watch you.

	Camo is cool too.

	You would think there was only one log in the whole swamp. With the shorter days it is hard to maintain the perfect winter tan. I guess having the best sunning spot is critical.

	So typical for me. I am looking at the pretty flower going ew ah! and later find out they are the scourge of the landscape. There must be a metaphorical life lesson in that.

	It was fun while walking to see these giant wood storks gracefully swoop overhead. It added that pterodactyl feeling this primordial place had.

	One of the pleasures of traveling south to bird watch is the comfort of seeing the birds you are familiar with in their winter habitat. During the spring and fall we watch Double Crested Cormorants migrate through. We do not however see too many Anhinga.

	Basically Just Cool. Green Heron and Gallinule.

	It is often possible to get quite close to some very interesting critters.

	From the Gulf to the swamp anything you could want.

	Overall a fabulous visit. The Everglades has got to be one of the best national parks for reminding you of the wild diversity of natures creatures. But there are privately managed areas to see also. The Audubon Corkscrew Sanctuary is where many of these photos were taken. We visited in mid November. I was amazed to find out two things. 1. It can still be very warm. 2. There are no stinging insects. Is that cool or what? You can indiscriminately trek though miles of jungle like trails without getting chomped. The area was "Whacked by Wilma". Hurricane Wilma tore trough the Naples and the Everglades just a few weeks before . There was much evidence to the fury and strength of this storm. Lots of downed trees and piles of debris stacked everywhere. The Everglades national park has 6 entrances. Several were only opened the day before these pictures were taken. How these tiny creatures and fragile birds can survive is amazing.