The Mini Golf Spot There is Great, But Be Careful! (Miami: apartments, neighborhood)

[lartinos]

The wildlife is really something there, I went to mini golf place right where you take the bridge before going over to Punta Gorda and I've never seen so many lizards in my life, it was really cool as they had sorts of colors on them too. I will go back to that mini golf spot because I had fun but be careful because the birds protect their nests! They have two courses and the first thing they tell is to go on one of courses at your own risk because one of the female birds protects her nest. I chose to not go on that one but apparently there is one more than one bird protecting it's nest, lol. I think I was on around the 17th hole but I am not totally sure when I took my shot and walked near the end of the course to wait for my fiance' to take her shot. I happened to be standing next to this low lying tree next me to me when "BUZZ" a bird must have gotten centimeters away from my ear as it flew by so fast i didn't even really see much. It took me a second to realize what had happened, I will go back because it is fun but I will stay away from the trees!

[melodychristl]

Lartinos and I are from NY and were down in Port Charlotte to look at apartments. We are hoping to move to Lakes of Tuscana as we really fell in love with the place. We had such a great time visiting the Port Charlotte-Punta Gorda area and can't wait to hopefully move there!

[City__Datarer]

Yes, the area is very nice; glad you had such a great visit.

Great story about the bird!

Reminded me of something I saw once:

Having grown up a city kid not observing much nature, I was surprised one day (as an adult) to see a bird that seemed to be teasing a predator (dancing around it, staying just barely out of reach, tweeting loudly at it).

I can't remember now what animal she was buzzing (probably a cat), but I can still remember how striking this game she seemed to be playing was.

When I commented to my friend I was walking with about the "crazy" behavior of that bird, he said she was protecting the nest.

So that instinct is strong; she was definitely risking her life and going against all individual survival instincts. Pretty amazing to see.

[dcp528]

This month I got to see a bald eagle on Kings Hwy between Veterans and Rampart. The eagle was sitting on a street light post. Wish I could have stopped to take a picture but I was going too fast.... Next time.

I love seeing wildlife. Hopefully I won't get as close as OP did.

[Restrain]

There were a bunch of eagles on the highway between Orlando and Port Charlotte.

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by dcp528

This month I got to see a bald eagle on Kings Hwy between Veterans and Rampart.

Bald eagles are a daily sighting down here. They're all over. Not quite as common as Osprey, but pretty common.

[dcp528]

Originally Posted by Harbor Hopper

Bald eagles are a daily sighting down here. They're all over. Not quite as common as Osprey, but pretty common.

In upstate New York, where I am from, they are not common in my area. Red tail hawks, falcons, turkey vultures, wild turkey and herons are the common ones. And the lovely Canadian geese ( I really dislike those birds). So to see a bald eagle, was a nice surprise. I will be looking for the Osprey since I googled to see a pic! Another beautiful bird!

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by City__Datarer

Yes, the area is very nice; glad you had such a great visit.

Great story about the bird!

Reminded me of something I saw once:

Having grown up a city kid not observing much nature, I was surprised one day (as an adult) to see a bird that seemed to be teasing a predator (dancing around it, staying just barely out of reach, tweeting loudly at it).

I can't remember now what animal she was buzzing (probably a cat), but I can still remember how striking this game she seemed to be playing was.

When I commented to my friend I was walking with about the "crazy" behavior of that bird, he said she was protecting the nest.

So that instinct is strong; she was definitely risking her life and going against all individual survival instincts. Pretty amazing to see.

I've commented on one of my favorite bird stories on CD before, but I'll mention it again. Seems an alligator cruising his way down the middle of our canal had gotten too close for comfort to a blue jay's nest- or so we figured, as we heard the racket, a bird's loud alarm signal, a blue jay swooped down behind the alligator and whacked him on the head. The jay flew back around for a second pass, and whacked the gator on the head one more time, for good measure, then flew off. From what we could tell, the alligator wasn't fazed by those bird whacks at all. And we also had to be impressed at how the jay knew not to swoop down at the alligator from the front- to avoid those snapping jaws.

My other bird story happened in Miami- in a more urban setting, at least relatively. There was a stray (we think) cat who used our planters and garden for a litterbox, sprayed our cars, and killed I don't know how many birds in the neighborhood. One morning, as DH and I came out the front door, heading off for work, there was the cat, right in the act of pooping, one more time, in one of the planters near the door. DH and I both chased the cat, but it wasn't scared of us and wouldn't run very far, just out of reach as he stopped and dared us to do whatever, then the chase would begin again. Then, out of nowhere, it seems, we got some help from three mockingbirds, who also began chasing the cat- apparently the cat was more scared of those birds than he was of us, because he ran like he!! when they chased him- completely out of the yard and out of sight.

[melodychristl]

Originally Posted by dcp528

In upstate New York, where I am from, they are not common in my area. Red tail hawks, falcons, turkey vultures, wild turkey and herons are the common ones. And the lovely Canadian geese ( I really dislike those birds). So to see a bald eagle, was a nice surprise. I will be looking for the Osprey since I googled to see a pic! Another beautiful bird!

We currently live Upstate in the Catskills and see tons of wildlife in our backyard. Deer of course, wild turkeys, otters (or beavers I'm not sure), wolves, and we even saw two different kinds of bob cats! Looking forward to seeing different kinds of wild life in Florida!

[born01930]

What is nice is much of the wildlife here is not afraid of people. I have wild rabbits that just stare at me when I walk in the yard, the scrub jays take food from your hand, the shrikes nab bugs right at your feet. The alligator is the one that is shiest as it swims away as soon as it sees me...not that I am complaining.