Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary, Florida, Dec 2009

The Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary on Florida’s Captiva Island is host to 1000′s of species of endangered animals, habitat, birds, and insects. A truley magical place.

The best time to visit the park is when the tides are changing as the water birds come out to feed in the open flats. It’s a great place, just watch for alligators at the end of the park!

There are always nesting Ospreys and now there are a pair of Bald Eagles as permanent residents. On this day I was lucky enough to see some lovely Roseate Spoonbills.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Dec 2009

All content on this Blog Copyright (c) 2009 VISION Photo (Brita Brookes)

Just back from a good holiday visit to Florida where I had the chance to walk through the Audubon Corkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary east of Naples, Florida.

The best time to walk through is the early morning and I had the opportunity to see some brand new Florida Black Bear claw scratch marks on the cypress trees there.

The plant life at this sanctuary is beyond imagination and reminds one a little of the Hobbit Movies series. 16 types of Florida Bromeiliads can be found in this Sanctuary including the well known yet endangered species of Spanish Moss.

There was a curious and endangered species Big Cypress Red Fox Squirrel watching me as well.

The birdlife at the Sanctuary is amazing- while there I heard Sandhill cranes, Saw Bald Eagles, Red Shouldered hawks, Crowned Night herons, Great white herons, Anhingas, Warblers, Buntings, and many many more rare birds. Here’s a few from the tour.