Wildlife

 We spent January and February in SW Florida again in a condo with a lanai overlooking  a small lake the size of a football field.  With nothing to do because of the COVID restrictions, we spent most of our time on the Lanai watching the lake, the fountain in the middle of it, and the wildlife.

Birds we recognized were:  ducks, anhingas, herons (baby blue and great), egrets (medium and great), kingfisher, osprey, mockingbird, woodpecker, vultures (circling overhead), and one of our favorites--ibis, with their beak curved downward, pecking at the grass..

Other than birds we saw rabbits, squirrels, turtles, and best of all, two lake otters that came out of the lake on the bank just 20 feet from where we were sitting.  No snakes, unlike last year.

Our best wildlife experience was watching eagles on a 24/7 camera in Ft. Myers 30 miles north of us.  We watched two eggs hatch in the middle of January, and we’ve seen them develop into healthy eagles, now 5 ½ weeks old.  They eat whatever their parents bring them including fish (occasionally still alive), small mammals, birds, and un-identified roadkill.  Some of it is pretty gross. An unusual development occurred this year.  Both babies got an eye infection.  They were removed from the next for about a week, treated, and then returned.  Their parents accepted their return immediately.  The website is:  https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/eagle-feed.html

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com