Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Part 2

Lee had some amazing photos, starting with the butterflies in the butterfly garden. Some of these are frequently in the butterfly garden at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Those of you from the Academy will recognize the Zebra Longwing Butterfly, which is the black and white one.

We saw a Painted Bunting, the first time for both of us.  The male is red, blue and green.  The female is mostly green and a greenish yellow.  I first learned of the Painted Bunting about a hundred years ago, when I placed its sticker in one of those little books of stickers (if you are old enough to remember those).  It really made an impression on me, and I have always wanted to see the real thing.  Finally!

He's hard to see, but he is there!

The male seemed more secretive than the female.  He was much more cautious about coming out to the feeder.  There were two females at the feeder, although only one is shown here.  See the male in the back, the blue head and red breast?

Lee's closeup of the alligator (Lee was farther away than it may seem, fortunately!)

The Little Blue Heron on the hunt (the same one that posed so nicely on the railing for me)

Here is a test question, to make sure you have been paying attention.  Which Egret flops and lunges and flaps when foraging??  The behavior gives it away, even if you can't see the coloring.  It's the Reddish Egret.

The White Ibis

Lee caught this series of a Great Egret swallowing a fish - can you see the strange angles in his neck?  That's the fish going down.

This might be one of my favorite photos ever, although the Great Egret might not appreciate it - he doesn't look quite so regal here!  I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help it.

Can you ever take too many photos of the Great Egret?  I love the top left photo.

And one last one, although there are more.  It was hard to be selective:

Oh, I forgot a couple more.  First, the Tri-colored Heron:

And the Limpkin:

It's hard to go wrong when the subjects perform so well.