Spring in South Florida

Baby animals are born in the Spring, so they have the mild weather that follows to grow and prosper. Apparently this goes for reptiles and birds in Florida too even though it is mild year round. Florida Softshell Turtle

This very large turtle, with a shell about 20 inches long, climbed out of our lake and up the grassy hill to our porch the other day. I went out, took a picture, made it very upset, and frightened it away. Later we saw her lumbering along the sand outside of our porch, laying eggs, and burying them as she walked the length of our glassed-in porch. We hid from her view while she did this, not wanting to upset her again. Sadly, we won't be here to see the hatchlings emerge after an approximately 70-day gestation period. Baby Herons in a Nest

These Great Blue Herons look huge to me, but they are babies and do not have their mature color yet. I took this photo at Wakodahatchee Wetlands where my digital camera was dwarfed by the enormous telephoto lenses of birders galore. There were so many large water birds nesting on the hammocks (little islands) that it was hard to know where to look first. Great Egret Gathering Twigs for a Nest

While we stood on the boardwalk in the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, adult birds swooped overhead, back and forth, pulling twigs from long-needled pines to pad their nests. "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille."

This colorful Scarlet Macaw was a visitor to the wetlands. He wanted to get his owner's attention, and cleverly accomplished that by blocking her camera lens which was focused on some rare water birds.

What signs of Spring are you seeing where you live?