Big Birds

We took a spur-of-the-moment ride back out to Corkscrew Swamp yesterday, because we heard that a couple of fairly rare bird species were gathering there.

Like true old-fart birdwatchers, we sat on a bench on the boardwalk for hours just enjoying the wildlife show.

The amusingly pink-footed woodstork, and the perfectly named "roseate spoonbill" were particularly interesting. The spoonbills are 32 inches tall and one of the very few pink birds in the US.

The woodstorks are even larger, at 40".

The showy egret is neither rare nor large, but very pretty!

Shark Valley

On Tuesday, Colin and Eileen took us back to the oddly named "Shark Valley" section of the Everglades National Park.
Colin rode his bicycle around the 15-mile paved loop while the rest of us opted to take the tram.








At the mid-point of the loop, we climbed the lookout tower ramp - similar to the one in the Smokies on the NC/TN state lines - except the view was much, much different!
(The little person is Eileen.)

Colin and John could see for miles and miles across the "sawgrass prairie."

In the area below us, we saw alligators, turtles, fish and about a dozen kinds of birds, including nesting pairs of herons feeding their young.

"Wicked"

We thoroughly enjoyed our foray into Ft. Myers to the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Theatre to see "Wicked." The play is a prequel to the familiar, standard "Wizard of Oz," and tells the story of Glinda "the Good," and Elphaba "the Wicked Witch of the West" from birth to boarding school (as roommates) and on up to the part where Dorothy's Kansas house falls on Nessarose, the "other" witch.
Lots of great costumes, interesting special effects (rather low tech but appropriate for the venue) and of course fun music.
We started the evening with dinner out with Cliff and Marilyn, then the musical, then home again before midnite. Lovely old-folks-style outing.

Side note: I had blogged this earlier, but just realized it went under Sheela's blog page instead of my own. No idea how I got those two blogs rearranged on my main page, but so it goes for me!

Music

Lest you think we have sunk to new lows of inactivity and brain stimulation while we are down here in the warm sunshine, I thought I would bring you up to date on our music listening enjoyment.

Since we have been here we have seen (and heard): Karl Cole's six-keyboard concert; Andy Wahlberg's "harp-guitar" concert; The Townsmen Orchestra playing Glenn Miller's big-band sounds; Sue Garton on her four-octave hand bells, the Harry James orchestra, as well as an outdoor concert in the park downtown and of course the previously mentioned Ricky Scaggs blue-grass concert.

Mom went with us to most of these, of course.

However, she begged off on going with us to see the live theater version of "Wicked," so we have scheduled ourselves to go see that after she and Peter have flown back to NY.

We have had as guests our friends Bill and Donna from TN for a week or so; my cousin Cliff, his wife Marilyn and their daughter Jan (all temporarily in nearby Ft. Myers) for a fun-filled day in the Swamp, our friends Eileen and Colin (temporarily staying in a mutual friends' house right here in our neighborhood) and of course Mom and now Peter.

So. although I haven't blogged much, it's not as though we haven't been active!

Anhinga Eye

I did manage to catch one fellow in a good pose, though. This anhinga had just emerged from his swim beneath the pond lettuce. We had never noticed that they had such wonderfully made-up eyes!

A family outing

Pete is visiting, and we all took a trip up to the Audobon Wildlife Sanctuary at nearby Corkscrew Swamp.

Mom allowed us to take advantage of the loaner wheelchair so she could join us on our two and a half mile stroll to see the birds and animals.

Actually, she couldn't really see much, but she enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine, and we all described to her in detail what we were finding.

"Tails of Corkscrew Swamp"

While we were traversing the swamp along the lovely boardwalk, we were treated with the sights and sounds of swamp life.

Unfortunately for me, the photo opportunities were mostly limited to the back sides of the animals!

Correction

No mangroves on this trail. Seems like they are everywhere else we go, though!