Early Morning Surprise

I was hoping to spot a variety of birds waking up and feeding at dawn today, but I came across a most unexpected creature — a deer. I would expect to see a deer near my Pennsylvania home, but not so much in Florida.

First light of day paints a pastel scene in a Florida meadow. 

When I first spotted a tan mammal through the morning mist, I quickly set up my tripod and peered through my 600mm lens, expecting to find a rare Florida Panther. No such luck.  I did, however, find a number of interesting birds and enjoyed the quiet of the morning with a few naturalists — no crowds, no loud people. It was very peaceful. Like this image.

Jesus Christ Lizard

This week I discovered a brand new species in South Florida, one I had never seen before. It’s the basilisk lizard, nicknamed the Jesus Christ Lizard, because it can walk (that is, run) on water. If you want to see, just google it or watch here on you tube.

It’s body is rather large like a snake, and this one on the tree outside my condominium was bright green. It can run five feet per second, but luckily this one held still until I could snap a few iPhotos. You can see it is very long.

 

I think it’s pretty funny, as long as it stays outside my condo. When you come in, please close the door quickly!