Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Wildlife at WP Franklin Campground, Alva, Florida

Wednesday, October 26, 2016


You may have noticed from my blog on October 4,2016, we ended up at WP Franklin Campground after fleeing hurricane Matthew.  Well, here we are again for three days of relaxing along the Caloosahatchee River (part of the Okeechobee Waterway connecting Florida's East and West Coast). We enjoy watching the yachts going through the locks, and being greeted by some of the local wildlife. Ah...I'm talking about animals, not people!

WP Franklin Campground was built adjacent to the lock and dam  and sits on an island that juts into the river.  The campground was laid out so each site is on the water and, being only a dozen miles from Fort Myers, makes this a very popular campground.  The local area is chock full of horse and cattle ranches.


Here's Kitty and Kallie relaxing  after having lunch.


Kallie likes to lay by the water and watch the variety of birds that make this area their home.  She really gets excited when Mullet start jumping out of the water.  They jump into the air and then belly flop back into the water.

Since we arrived mid day, we didn't have many close encounters with wild life today.  But, this gator swam by as dusk was upon us, and got our hearts pumping.  Fortunately, he decided not to check out our campsite and kept moving away.

I didn't have a tape measure handy, but I'm guessing he was about eight feet long.  If he would have decided to spend the night on our campsite, we wouldn't have argued with this guy!

Shortly after I snapped the picture above, the gator disappeared below the water, and I got this beautiful sunset shot!


Friday, October 28, 2016

This morning we were greeted by a loud screech from two bald eagles.  They are sitting atop a tree across the river from our campsite, and getting a clear camera shot at that distance was difficult even with a zoom lens.  I believe the male is on the top branch and female is just below and a little to the right.


We saw this pair last time we were here and were glad to see they were back to greet us.

 This tricolored heron liked getting his picture taken and I was happy to accommodate him.



After standing perfectly still for several minutes taking pictures of the tricolored heron, I looked up and saw this turkey vulture circling just above my head.  I must have been standing still so long he thought I was dead!

This Live Oak Tree leaning out over the water has a bird house in it.  Even birds like a home with a water view!

This Double-Crested Cormorant stopped by to say Hi!

Our trip ends with another gorgeous Florida sunset! 


Well, that's all for now.  We'll be heading home in the morning.

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