Florida is well known as the sunshine state but today – Tuesday – the first of our 16 night trip, you. wouldn't know it.  It was wet and cool and cloudy. The temperature was struggling to reach 70 Fahrenheit and the roadside puddles were deep!  But Wednesday was different and we had a nice sunny morning and really  gorgeous weather.  It was time to go and make a start and take some pictures. One of my favourite and convenient wildlife venues here is the John U Lloyd State Park. It happens to be under the flight path of the new south runway at Ft Lauderdale Airport which is a new development and this  has had a big impact in my opinion, but that aside, this is an amazing wilderness, a natural habitat well preserved and protected.  This has always been a good place for Ospreys and at first when I got there this morning I thought I wasn't going to see one because they were absent from the usual spots.  I wandered down a sandy track amongst the Sea Grape bushes and light scrub and it was quiet with no sign or sight of a bird until I suddenly disturbed a small bird from the ground that disappeared in to the undergrowth.  I knew immediately that it was a Common Ground Dove, a bird that I have always struggled to get a photo of. I stopped still and hoped that if I was quiet it may come out again and that's exactly what happened.  It was always obscured just a little by vegetation and unfortunately it was spooked when I moved slightly to try for a better photograph.  It flew away strongly this time so I knew that my chance was gone.

Moving down to the other end of the park was much more rewarding.  At first I didn't see them, I was distracted by an Osprey on the radar tower at the mouth of Port Everglades  but  a small flock of tiny waders were on the sand right there in front of me.  There were Semipalmated Plover, Sanderling and three or four Least Sandpiper. I was taking photographs of them when suddenly they erupted from the sand and I quickly saw why.  A bird of prey, probably a Merlin had come to try to take one, right there in front of me and only 10 feet from me.

Least Sandpiper.

Semipalmated Plover. 

I watched one of the small waders taking evading action from the predator and then, with the wader safe, the bird of prey disappeared in the other direction.  An exciting little episode and the Osprey was still there.  Eventually it  dived and caught a fish but yet  again I failed to get a good shot of the plunge which is something I have tried for on every trip here to South Florida.

A successful hunt, a fish in the talons of this magnificent Osprey.

Iguanas come in various colours and shades.

Just before I left home I had been to Brixham Breakwater and photographed Ruddy Turnstone and commented here that I was sure I would see them in Florida.  One of the first species seen was a Turnstone and here is a  "Florida" bird  to compare with the European version.

Do you like Parrots?  I certainly do and its great to see wild albeit feral populations of parrots feeding and breeding naturally.  In Florida there are numerous feral populations and one of the most common is the nest building Monk Parakeet aka Quaker Parakeet.  They build nests rather than use nest holes and  are communal breeders and therefore always seen in small community flocks.  I watched some  feeding  on seeds on a playing field yesterday afternoon and really enjoyed how beautiful they were even though they are not a particular favourite of the local Floridians as they can be messy and very noisy.

 All in all, quite a good day without really looking, several interesting species and several interesting observations and a good start to the trip.