Can you guess what I saw today?  I so, so wish that I had a decent photo, but this is all I got. A dark blob in the water with a big mermaid tail.

It was a manatee. The strange warm water mammal that frequents these Florida waters. You can see it a lot better in the photo below (which I have borrowed from wikipedia). They are lovely creatures, very gentle vegetarians.

Unfortunately they get hurt by boat propellers in the Keys, and there are signs up everywhere to “look out for manatees” as they like to eat the vegetation from around the piers.

It didn’t stay around long, coming up for only a couple of breaths of air and then ambled along the seabed about 5ft down before disappearing into the depths.

Yesterday was a very ospreyey (is that a word?) day. When the osprey woke me up with it’s loud screeching in the morning it must have been a sign that I would get my closest view of ospreys just a few hours later.

It’s still very windy here (although still in the 80’s) and I decided to go to Marathon (our nearest proper town) to do a bit of food shopping (can’t live without croissants and jellybeans – not eaten together you understand!). Opposite the entrance to Publix (the supermarket) is Crane Point, a 63 acre natural history museum and nature centre.

You might remember that I wrote about Crane Point when I was here in November. I try to visit it at least once when we visit the Keys and last time I was shocked by its run-down state and worried that it might be sold off for housing.

Large Yellow Butterfly

Happily they have secured some more funding, taken on some experienced naturalist trained staff, and the place looks sooooooo much better. It now looks like someone actually cares about it again and they seem to be putting on lots of education events for kids in the area. Really good news. I must admit I was worried!

Unknown Insect – Strange upwardly pointing tail…

One of the main attractions (if you can call them that) at Crane Point, are the spiders. Thousands of Golden Orb spiders. Their golden webs span the nature trails, and you have to duck if you don’t want a mouthful of sticky web with a spider attached.

Golden Orb Spider – disentangling a leaf

This one was very delicately getting rid of a stray bit of leaf that had blown into it’s web. It’s amazing what they can do with those long hairy legs (about 6cm long).

My little brown bird friend

Walking (and ducking) along the 1.5 mile nature trail (with absolutely no one else about – no one seems to like walking in the Keys!) I was accompanied by this little brown and yellow bird (about the size of an English blackbird). Who flew from bush to bush as I walked along, cocking his head from side to side and hanging upside-down on twigs (just to amuse me I think!).

Another view of my little bird friend

I’m hoping someone will know what he was (I certainly can’t find him in my bird book).

I could hear the osprey before I could see it. I knew there was an artificial nesting pole at the end of the trail and had been desperately hoping that it would have an osprey nest. It did, so I wasn’t disappointed.

First I spotted one youngster.

Then another. Both very well grown and healthy.

They called incessantly to their parents, who were circling overhead, but they didn’t get fed. I think that Mum and Dad had decided that the kids were big enough to do their own fish catching and were keeping them hungry.

There was a lot of wing flapping and hopping about.

These youngsters won’t be in the nest much longer – me thinks.

It was a complete pleasure to sit and watch/listen to them. Through my binoculars I could see every feather and watch every movement. A total privilege.

There you see TBR I said I’d get you some better osprey pictures!

For more osprey pictures (and other wildlife), go to my Florida pictures on flickr

“What a wonderful way to wake up” you might think “woken by the soft mewing of an osprey” How cruel reality is sometimes…

It was quite cloudy this morning, so I’d stayed in bed for an extra half hours kip. Dozing peacefully while the waves lapped against the house pillars beneath me. Suddenly my dreams were interrupted by this awful screeching noise. On and on it went. Screech, screech, screech. Eventually I sat up in bed to see what it was – thinking it was one of the terns or seagulls but no, it was a very persistent osprey.

Backwards and forwards it went on the breeze, quite high up in the sky but determined to wake every inhabitant of the island. I’ve never heard one make such a din. Usually, when you see a pair, they mew softly to each other. I’m not sure what was up with this one. I watched him for about 10 minutes, just gliding around (making a din) until eventually he landed out of sight. He didn’t seem to be distressed. Just wanted to test his vocal capabilities.

Still, you can’t really complain can you!

NB: Sorry about the awful pics. My excuse, well it was a long way up in the sky, I was using full 20x optical zoom, in poor light on a £99 camera. I’m still hoping for better pics of ospreys before I leave – promise TBR!

OK, not quite a monster. This iguana was actually about 2ft long. He’s one of the growing population of unwanted pet iguanas released into the Florida Keys by their owners. They love the weather, the habitat and the food and their numbers have risen dramatically in the last few years as these one-time pets mate and reproduce.

Iguana, originally uploaded by Nature Watch Corfe Mullen.

Unfortunately the native wildlife is finding it hard to live with them as the iguanas munch their way through the local fruits, flowers, buds, leaves and young stems plus the occasional birds egg, insects and small vertebrates. On some Keys they are being rounded up and shipped out.

Don’t worry this photo has been “messed” with. They don’t actually have a ghostly glow around them but believe me that “don’t mess with me” look is oh so very real!

On Tuesday I made a bad mistake. It wasn’t one of my better ideas in fact it was a pretty awful one. I know, I thought, while Andrew goes fishing I will WALK to Long Key State Park. It only takes about 10 mins in the car so it won’t take me long. How wrong can one person be????

The morning had started well. I’d got up at 6.30am, the Ruddy Turnstones had turned up at five to seven twittering for food at the back door. They always make me laugh when they run after each other. Each one scared that the other is going to get “the” morsel that is so much better than any other morsel on offer. Instead of flying they run and waddle at the same time.

After a relaxing morning spent watching the wildlife around the house, Andrew headed off fishing with Ronnie our fishing guide and I strode off to Long Key.

I can see Long Key from the sitting room window. That’s half the trouble. Between us and Long Key is a 3 mile bridge.  No problem I managed that easily, then realised it was another 2 miles to the State Park entrance. OK, bit tired now and getting thirsty. I’d only brought two drinks with me and had already gone through one and it’s now 80 degrees.

I make it to the State Park (the lovely Ranger on the gate lets me in for free…. God I must have looked knackered) and I wander around the Nature Trail.

I find this fascinating Horseshoe Crab shell. The crab is long dead but it’s shell remains washed up on the beach. Here is an exerpt from Wikipedia that tells you a bit more about them:

Horseshoe crabs are stem group chelicerates,[16] thus distant relatives of spiders. They were traditionally grouped with the extinct eurypterids (sea scorpions) as the Merostomata. They may have evolved in the shallow seas of the Paleozoic Era (570-248 million years ago) with other primitive arthropods like the trilobites.

The four species of horseshoe crab are the only remaining members of the Xiphosura, one of the oldest classes of marine arthropods. Horseshoe crabs are often referred to as living fossils, as they have changed little in the last 445 million years.

Related to spiders eh! Who would have thought it…

Here is the whole shell (tail and all). It was about 2ft in length from head to tail. I wish I could have taken it home but I don’t think security would have let me through Heathrow (or out of Miami) with it in my bag. Shame though.

I sat down for a bit of a rest on a bench. Literally only for 2 minutes and I think that’s when it happened. I was bitten. No idea what by, how big it was, whether it was spider or fly but whatever it was it was vicious. Within no time I had a rash as big as a side plate on the front of my thigh and another on my ankle – and boy did it sting!

Anyway, nothing for it but to carry on. It was late afternoon by now and the birds were starting to call from the top of the mangroves. Trouble is I couldn’t see them. Then this fella came into view and sang his little heart out. A Northern Cardinal. I’ve seen snippets of them before – you’d think they’d be easy to see (being bright red) but they are incredibly adept at hiding!

OK, that was enough for one day. I frightened a big black snake from it’s slumber on the path (and it shot away into the mangroves) and I headed for home.

At 8pm I arrived back at our house. Tired, aching, stinging, thirsty and hungry. Now I know how those Ruddy Turnstones feel at 7am in the morning!

Down on Grassy Key (the next Key down) there are some weird shallow fresh water lagoons edged by mangrove. I think they were dug out for aggregate when they were building the railway or road way back. They make a great habitat for birds and insects.

Big Eyed Dragonfly

I’ve named this the big eyed dragonfly. Not sure what its real name is but it really should win prizes for the size of those eyes. I came across about twenty of these on a couple of mangrove bushes maybe newly hatched (?).  They were only small and rested quite low to the ground (making them very hard to focus on) but those eyes just blew me away.

Tricoloured Heron next to mangrove roots

Fresh water is hard to come by on the Keys. There are no springs or natural fresh water for them to drink (everything for humans is pumped in along massive pipes). So birds tend to make a beeline for these lagoons what ever the season.

This tricoloured heron is a new one on me. I haven’t seen one before.

Last year a group of spoonbills set up home there, and it was great watching them waving their heads around in the silt for food (without a single twitcher in sight) – even they are rare here.

Semipalmated Plovers disguised as rocks

At the moment it’s the dry time of the year and the lagoons are loads smaller and it’s slightly easier to get nearer to the birds. However I nearly walked straight into this flock of semipalmated plovers above. They blended in with the rock so well they were nearly invisible. If they hadn’t squawked I wouldn’t have seen them.

Black Necked Stilt

I’ve never seen a Stilt before, so I was quite chuffed when I got home and found that the birds with the never-ending legs were just that, stilts (I guess I should have known, doh!). There were quite a few of them at the lagoon, so I will try and go back for another look before I leave. Those legs are just amazing – it makes you wonder how they keep upright.

Prickly Pear Flower

In November the prickly pear cactus (which grows wild here) were just that “prickly” and had red “pears”. They are now in full flower. A beautiful tissue thin yellow flower, so full of pollen and nectar that the insects never stop diving in. For some reason I didn’t think the flowers would be this good. Always nice to be surprised…

Sadly the insects were quicker than my photography, so no insects – I will try harder next time!

It’s my third day on Conch Key. Thankfully nothing much has changed since our last visit in November. It’s warmer but just as breezy! I decided it was time I checked out Long Key State Park (my local wildlife reserve on the next island across 3-mile bridge).

Long Key State Park is a little gem. Only a couple of quid to get in for the whole day, hardly any people but a beautifully kept nature trail through the tropical hammock (Florida woodland) and along the mangrove shoreline. Most of the time I have it to myself and yesterday was no exception.

In November the reserve was teaming with mozzies and consequently dragonflies. Yesterday I definitely had to work harder for my wildlife but it was just as enjoyable – and no mozzies!

One thing I DIDN’T see in November were these Large South Florida Grasshoppers. They were bouncing around everywhere this time. At about three inches long they definitely live up to their name, and have a bounce to disarm anyone. Every time I got close to one it jumped about 20ft (no exageration) and was gone.

They remind me of Russian gymnasts with their long, strong legs and streamers trailing behind.

Talking of bugs, this is a proper bug for you(above). I’ve no idea what it is (I’ve tried to find it but failed miserably). Long legs, horned back and long antenna. Any ideas anyone? I’ve named it Fred until I can give it a proper name…

To the birds. A good day for birds saw two that I hadn’t seen before.

First a Grey Catbird. It took a while to ID this but Andrew came up trumps with the Bird ID book. A very secretive bird. Bigger than a blackbird and smaller than a jay. Apparently it mews like a cat at times. It wasn’t mewing yesterday but if I hear it you will be the first to know.

Now something that would look at home in an English country garden. It’s called a Wood Thrush. A very poised bird – looks like it’s posing for the camera all the time – doing the things that thrushes do in the leaves and undergrowth.

Lastly an Osprey. I could hear it way before I saw it. Mewing high in the sky (no it wasn’t the Catbird!). I turned a corner and there it was perched on a dead tree. Unfortunately it took one look at me and decided to scarper. Hopefully I will be able to get some better pics of these lovely birds while I’m here.

That’s it for today. The wind is still howling but the sun is out and I’m just planning where to go today. Curry Hammock or Crane Point???

Back in the Florida Keys on Conch Key . This laughing gull welcomed us with his policeman’s laugh all afternoon…

Laughing Gull, originally uploaded by Nature Watch Corfe Mullen.

I love collective nouns they can be so deliciously descriptive, and when I visited the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Centre (see their blog) at Tavernier (about a 35 min drive away from Conch Key) I needed several “nouns” to describe the humongous number of “wild” birds that collect there at 3.30pm every day.

Snowy Egret Staring Match…

I knew it was going to be a great day when I got out the car at the centre, looked up and saw (and heard) two Red Bellied Woodpeckers at the top of a telegraph pole. They natty away happily to each other as they fly from post to tree to post – you can easily follow them around but I had other birds to see.

Red Bellied Woodpeckers

The Centre was set up “quite by accident in 1984, when a veterinarian asked a woodcarver to help with some injured birds”. Since then it has grown and grown and now covers a large area with “habitats” (cages) holding the birds that are too injured ever to be released and those that are in “rehab”.

A Little Black & White Warbler

Seeing the birds in the cages breaks my heart, so I didn’t take ANY photos of them.

What I was really looking forward to seeing were the wild birds that seem to be attracted by the other birds and are happy to pose for photos at very close quarters. So ALL the photos here are of wild birds.

A Velvety Blue Jay

I’ve seen Blue Jays from a distance but to see one about 20ft away was great. They tip their heads on the side just like our English Jays. A really cheeky bird with the most beautiful coloured wing and tail feathers and naughty glint in it’s eye!

White Ibis Rippled Reflections

Although the White Ibis can be seen all over the Keys it was nice to see a whole load of them (actually I’ve just looked it up and it’s a “crowd”) wandering around the mangroves acting as if they really didn’t have a care in the world.

Paddling Snowy Egret

The same can be said of this Snowy Egret above with his enormous green feet and gorgeous plumage (which in the past was much used in hats for ladies!). No chance of that now (thank God). Not a hat in sight!

A Pair of White Ibis

The injured birds are fed in their cages at about 3pm and it’s around then that the wild birds start to congregate. These two White Ibis above were some of the first to fly in and took a special interest in what was going on below.

Snowy Egret Clean up

While they wait the birds use the time to have a general clean up. How they do it on one leg I have no idea but I guess if I had claws like that I’d be able to do it too. I love the white against the blue, blue sky.

Great Egret’s fighting for the best spots

Then the Great Egret’s started to gather. There were obviously favoured landing spots in the mangroves and several fights were breaking out as they jostled for the best spots legs and wings going in all directions.

A lot of the birds who have been rehabilitated and set free come back to the centre at 3.30pm for some free fish (and they must bring their mates). The Brown Pelicans are probably the most numerous. I can really say I’ve never been so near to this many hungry pelicans and this many “hooky” beaks.

I’m told that the Brown Pelican was nearly wiped out in Florida by DDT chemicals in the 1970/80’s – happily they now seem to be making a good recovery.  As I stood on the beach waiting for the carers to come out with the fish I was trodden on, hit with wings and generally jostled by “pods” of them.

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING was getting in the way of these pelicans and their free food!

It turns into a mass of feathers and sharp beaks as the fish fly. I wanted to get some pictures but I must admit that having been bitten/beaked by a Brown Pelican before (don’t ask!) I wasn’t keen to be bitten again, so I kept my fingers well away from the action.

As the chaos died down I turned away from the beach and spotted all these Egrets making their way back into the mangrove. I know this is out of focus (on purpose I promise) I just wanted to try and get a feeling of the movement. Anyway, I like it – I think it looks kind of like a painting (I must have been having an “arty” moment Mum!).

Turkey Vultures overhead

Walking back to the car I looked up and saw hundreds of Turkey Vultures gliding overhead looking for some free leftovers. Not much chance of that but it was good to see them close up. You usually only see them high, high up in the sky flying on the thermals.

Now don’t tell me this isn’t a prehistoric looking bird. See ya beaky!

Good news! The little “twit” (otherwise known as a Ruddy Turnstone) that we rescued the other day has been totally “untied” and “unknoted” by Susie from the pink string that was twined around his legs and feet, and is now back on our pier, as you can see below.

I think Susie released him on the other side of the island and he flew straight back round to us and came running (well hobbling) up the pier looking for food and water and practically straight in the back door. I’m convinced he came to say “thanks”.

Yesterday he was still standing on just one leg when he was resting but was happily using both legs when looking for food and water.

He was getting a few funny looks from his mates but the main thing is that he’s now able to eat and drink without completely falling over on his face, and can walk.

His left hand leg/foot must still be pretty sore (which is why he’s keeping the weight off it) but I’m sure that within a few days he should be back to normal.

By the end of yesterday I even managed to catch a shot of him standing on both feet!

A happy ending…