A quick trip down south

On October 17, 2024December 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Vacation7 Comments

Over 4th of July weekend Brett and I (along with his sister and brother-in-law) went down to Fort Lauderdale to visit some of his relatives. Everywhere we went we saw iguanas. They were literally everywhere. In parking lots, along the streets, around our hotel and in any park we stopped at for a quick walk. They were different shades of green, some were brown and blue, some were beige and orange. I think I saw more iguanas than squirrels. Most were pretty skittish.

Above is a quick video of one leaving the sidewalk and taking off into the grass as I walked towards it. They are very fast.

I saw a lot of these. I think it’s a curly tailed lizard, either a Bahama or Caymen.

I think this is a cuban knight anole. This was the only one I saw and he was pretty small, more like the size of our lizards back home.

A brown and tan one walking across the parking lot where we were having lunch.

We were able to make a quick stop at the beach. It was hot though and we didn’t stay long. With the ports nearby there were so many cruise ships and container ships out on the horizon.

The view from Brett’s aunt and uncle’s retirement home. We could see rain out on the beach. Looking right we could see Hollywood Beach and looking left we could see downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Driving home across Alligator Alley (I75), we hit a lot of rain.

The sun came out as we crossed over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Heartbreak in the backyard

On June 29, 2017June 29, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals7 Comments

I was watering some hanging plants right before dark in the backyard when I noticed this face peeking out of my neighbor’s dead palm tree. The house next door had been empty for at least 2 years. I think the lady that lived there was now in a nursing home. This was the first time I had seen a screech owl in our neighborhood.

Over the next two weeks I was able to catch the above. He (or she) would stick his head out right before dark. In the last two shots, he woke up earlier during the late afternoon. I would sneak around the backyard and hide behind a short palm tree to get pictures. I didn’t want to scare him away.

After 3 weeks of peeking out the side window right before dark every night, I came home from work and saw that the dead palm tree was gone. I ran outside and realized my neighbor’s entire backyard had been gutted and cleaned up. I was heartbroken. After 2 years it gets cleaned up now??? Then I heard a peep and saw the owl sitting in a palm tree that was still standing next door. He was looking at me like “Where’d my bed go?” I would assume he was sleeping when someone came in and started to saw the tree down. He must have flown out in panic. I can only hope he didn’t have eggs in there yet. I had not heard any baby noises yet. I stood there in the backyard crushed that my new friend had lost it’s home. I never saw him again after these shots were taken. I’m sure he moved on. I don’t know if it’s too late to put up a nest box in our yard.

Other critters in the backyard.

I was able to catch the sunset in the backyard while I was trying to get shots of the owl. One night I caught this rainbow driving into my neighborhood.

SkyWatch Friday

A perfect view

On November 17, 2016November 17, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Vacation2 Comments

The view of the pool area near our room.

The view from our room.

The view from my beach chair.

The view from the front door.

The view of the critters that come out at night. We would see them coming back from dinner each night. I’ve never seen lizards this color before, especially with glowing red eyes.