The Swans Of Lakeland-Black Ones

The big white ones aren't the only swans in Lakeland. They also have quite a few of these black ones. They are slightly smaller, slightly nicer and they come from Australia. Gotta love those bright red beaks, too.

It's best to let sleeping swans lie. You wouldn't like them when they're angry.

There seemed to be more nesting black ones than white ones. Or maybe my pictures just came out better with the black ones.

I even got a decent picture of both parents working on this nest. One sitting on the eggs, the other bird gathering more nesting material. Or maybe he's just neatening up the same old nesting material. It's hard sometimes to tell what's going through a bird's brain.

The Swans Of Lakeland-White Ones

Did you know that the official mascot for the city of Lakeland (here in Florida) is the swan? Yep, and they keep Lake Morton near the public library well-stocked with them. I shot a few of them on Easter, so here they are. It's tough to get a picture of this many together without getting some other random bird in the shot. I cropped a duck out of the bottom of this one, but you wouldn't know it if I didn't tell you.

I'm used to shooting big birds sometimes, but these guys are huge! The bodies are probably almost two feet long, and those necks add another foot or two.  If I remember the story correctly, the original swans were a gift from the then-new Queen Elizabeth II to Lakeland in the fifties.  I doubt if any of those original birds are still around (they would be really old, and they never look both ways before crossing the street), but I think these are their direct descendants.

And did I mention they are mean? Get too close and they will strike at you.  Refuse to give them the piece of bread in your hand and they will peck your eyes out!  I've never been hit by one, but I would imagine it hurts.

It's nesting season, and many of them were sitting on nests like this. One parent would be sitting on the nest, and the other would be nearby, keeping pesky photographers away and dragging more debris near the nest so the sitter could form it into a larger nest.

A Bad Egg?

On my trip around a lake in Lakeland on Easter (while hunting ducks), I saw many of the swans had built large nests and were sitting on them already. But I stumbled across one nest that had no swan on or even near it. But at the center of the nest was a single, large, slightly bluish egg the size of your fist. I don't know if mommy and daddy swan had just wandered off for a moment or if they'd given up on the idea of parenthood. I don't know how long an egg like this can survive without the warmth of the parent to keep it alive. The temperature outside was pretty warm, but somehow I think there's more to it than just ambient temperature. But anyway, here's a picture of a swan egg. You aren't likely to see that on too many blogs!

Another Good Wallpaper

Here's another nice shot from the plant show last Saturday that will make a nice desktop wallpaper on your computer. This was my original choice of a plant to buy, but then I found the green and purple succulent, so this plant gets to live for a while longer.

Green And Purple

I didn't show you this odd succulent from the plant show last Saturday yet. I'd never seen anything quite like this before, or at least with this unique coloration. I think it's some sort of jade plant, but for some reason the older green leaves turn to purple. I liked it so much I had to buy one for Mom. I'm sure she'll do better than I would at keeping it alive and flourishing. I have a balcony full of dead plants. :(

Sneaky Snake

I spotted this little black snake at Mom & Dad's house on Easter. I got off a couple of shots from up above, but as I was repositioning to get a better shot than this, he disappeared. I have no idea where he went, but he must have gone there awful fast. I looked away for an instant and he was gone. So that's why you only get this shot of his head.

Two Children

I drove past the local eagle nest two nights ago and spotted the two babies out in a good spot, much better than the last time I spotted them out of the nest together. So I stopped and shot some pictures for you. And to give you an idea of how far they were from home, below is a shot that shows the two eaglets on the left, and their nest on the right. Mommy and daddy were nowhere to be seen, unfortunately. I've also spotted these guys on the big cell tower across from work, which is several miles from their nest, so they're starting to get around. It won't be long before they head off North for the summer.

One Crazy Looking Duck!

I spotted this crazy looking duck at Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL, over the weekend. I'd seen them before, but never gotten any decent pictures. I think these are pretty good, except for the fence he's sitting on, but you can't have everything. Check out that green helmet of feathers on the top of his head, and my book refers to those white lines on his face as dual chinstraps. I guess they're there to hold the helmet in place when he flies. And fly he did when I got within 20 feet of him. Out into the water he went, where I guess he felt safer.

Once out in the water, he started making his weird, squeaky quack. And he'd extend his neck each time, like he was making the noise through some sort of stretching. Compare the length of his neck above and below, and you'll see how it changes. The book called this Florida's most colorful duck, and I'll have to agree with them. This puts my poor blue-winged guys to shame.

Another Shuttle Launch

Did you see the shuttle Discovery launch this morning? I didn't try to go over this time, but I was able to glimpse it outside my condo in the pre-dawn hour. When I got to work, the sun was just coming up and it lit up the smoke trail from the early launch. Those high-altitude winds do some weird things to what starts out as a fairly straight line.

Happy Easter!

Here's a whole flotilla of Easter happiness for you. Hope you had a good one!

Jetting

Last post for the day, I promise. I always wonder when I fly if my plane is leaving a contrail like this. Perhaps if the plane had a rear-facing window, I could look and see. Better yet, a glass-bottomed plane (like the boats) so that I could look straight down and see where I'm going. And would it be asking too much if they could keep those windows on the airplanes clean? It's tough to take pictures out of them when they're all spotted, streaky and scratched. Anyhow, I'll be jetting off to DC at the end of next week, so stay tuned for more pictures from our Nation's capitol, including the Cherry Blossom Festival!

More Of The Same

Here are a few shots of the bald eagle nest at Robinson Preserve up in Bradenton, FL. I've shown you this nest and the eagle once before, and these shots really aren't any better than the earlier ones. I'd walked by the nest earlier in the evening when the light was much better, but there was no bird to be seen. Later, on the other side of the park, from the top of the observation tower, I looked back at the nest and saw that the eagle had landed (so to speak...). The shot above is the view from atop the tower.

So I hurried on down the trail and back to the closest approach to the nest. The shot above is one I took on the way. As you can see by the orange glow, it was getting pretty close to sundown and the park's closing time. I didn't want to get locked in!

This was shot from the end of the trail that's closest to the nest. And the eagle just happened to be sitting on a branch that made him almost disappear against the trunk of the tree. Oh, well, at least you can sorta see that he's looking straight at me. I think...

Quack...Quack

I believe these are the same species of duck I showed you last week (or was it earlier this week), with the blue colors under the wings. Only on these guys, you can see a little bit of the blue as they are standing there at the waters edge. I remember thinking the blue was much clearer when I was taking the picture, but it doesn't show up too well.

Three Colors

I had some pretty good luck bird hunting at Robinson Preserve this evening. I had hoped to spot some Roseate Spoonbills, but other than a pair flying off in the distance, I didn't get any of those. But I did get a nice shot of this tricolored heron. I don't think these guys are rare, but you don't see too many of them around. And they're a little skittish. You can see that he's got an eye focused pretty closely on me, in case I make any sudden threatening moves.

Is It Just Me?

Is it just me, or do these brown seed pods cracked open to reveal the gray seeds inside look like some sort of googly-eyed clam from some cartoon? Must just be me... So, what are these the seeds of? I should know this. To Google! Nickernut? Nickerbean? Well, something like that.

Nothing For Dinner

And this fully-grown white ibis evidently had nothing for dinner. However, judging by his red face, he was very embarrassed about something. Not sure what...

Crab Dinner

This immature White Ibis had himself a little fiddler crab for dinner tonight. Mmmm, good!

Here Lizard, Lizard, Lizard

I saw this guy hanging out among the flowers on a palm tree outside the plant festival I went to this morning. I had been just going to take a picture of the bloom, but when I saw him in there, I knew that was the shot. I wish the foliage was a little denser, but it's still a pretty good shot.

Yellow

I went to an exotic plant festival this morning for a few minutes, where I shot this water lily. I think of all the flowers I shot, this was the most spectacular. Click on the picture above for the full-sized version, then save that as your desktop wallpaper. You'll love it!

Talkin' 'Bout Last Night

OK, how many of you made it out to see The Vodkanauts perform The Wall last night? Not many, I'm guessing. From the looks of the State Theatre crowd last night, it may not have even sold out. And the crowd that was there was oddly sedate for a rock show. Everyone sat down for the whole show, even though it was general admission. And the dance floor was deserted, but that may come as no surprise to those familiar with the works of Pink Floyd. But it was still a great show, and I really enjoyed it. It changed just a little from the rehearsal the night before, the music was the same, but they added a backup singer, and there were more visuals on the screen. And the megaphone worked much better. So, what have I got for you? Just a couple of quick pictures before I head out of the house this morning. The shot above is the two lead singers for the evening. Jonathan, on the left, did most of the Gilmore vocals, and the guy on the right did the Waters stuff. What is his name? He's not a normal Vodkanaut... Brian, I think that's his name.

This is Mark, the lead guitarist. You can't see it here, but the back of his guitar says Beatles on it. I was going to give him a hard time about it, but I decided against it. Not that I don't like the Beatles, but it's a Floyd show...

This is the other guitarist, another non-Vodkanaut. He had some pretty good chops. I can't find his name anywhere. Sorry...

And this is Jonathan with the keyboard player, Ryan, who sat way back in the back and was hard to get a picture of. I, personally, am hoping they do Dark Side of the Moon in it's entirety next, but I'm not holding my breath.  Great show guys!

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

For those of you who might be near Saint Petersburg tonight, be sure you come out to The Vodkanauts show. As I mentioned last week, they are performing Pink Floyd's The Wall in it's entirety at The State Theater on Central Ave. I was lucky enough to get to attend a rehearsal last night, and I have to say I was impressed. Even for a rehearsal, with all of it's stopping and starting, it's missed cues, it's flubbed notes, and multiple issues with a megaphone, it was quite the show.

I shot a little over 2000 pictures. I like to get my money's worth, and since I had the access, a rented lens, and a lot of enthusiasum, I went all out. I don't want to share too many shots here, especially since I don't want to ruin any of the surprises in the show. Trust me when I say it's worth your time and $15 to come out.

I didn't mention, but the performers are actually The Vodknauts and Friends. Some of the folks you'll see up on stage are just helping out for this show, and aren't regular members of the band. But they do a really good job of blending in and making it feel like a cohesive group. All the guys in the band were super nice to me and I have to admit it was really cool to be the only guy in the whole theater who was just there to enjoy the show. I'll be there tonight, but I'm sure I won't have the access I had during rehearsals.

Oops, there's that pesky megaphone!

Metal Animals

I shot these big steel animals at an art fair in downtown Sarasota a few weeks ago. I meant to share them then, but things get away from me sometimes. Not only are they brightly colored, they are also animated! The heads on most of them bob up and down in the breeze.

Some of them are so large and heavy, I was a little scared to stand next to them as they moved. I would imagine that even though it's only the breeze making them move, the momentum they gather would pack quite the wallop.

Everyone loves a cow, especially a cow with purple spots.

They had quite the menagerie out in the street. I didn't have a wide enough lens to shoot most of them, especially with all the people milling about and blocking my shots. But I think you get the idea. That elephant in the back of this picture was the scariest one. Those tusks moved up and down with the head, and they were sharp. No one stood too close to that guy.  Took me a while to find this artist on Google, but I found him.  Fred Prescott is his name.