My husband and I are visiting relatives in Florida. They do not live in the Amazon. They do not live in the Everglades. They live in a community that backs onto a golf course, a block or two from the beach.
We usually sit in the “Florida room” and talk about family stuff, what’s going on in their community, politics and the like. The subject of flora and fauna in their yard doesn’t come up. Except, oh look, there’s a duck.
Until yesterday afternoon.
I glanced up at a tree in the yard and thought holy shit is that an eagle in the tree? How is that possible? I’ve never see an eagle in “the wild,” although calling a community like this “the wild” is stretching it. I walked up to the tree slowly, afraid to freak the eagle out, which would then freak me out.
I was so excited.
It flew away and that was breathtaking. I grabbed my phone to take a video but it was too late. The wing span was amazing and the white and black wings flapping slowly, but with incredible strength, blew me away.
Within about 5 minutes, the eagle returned to the tree.
And then there were two.
Eagle #1 was joined by another. While the one eagle is a resident of the neighborhood, my relatives had never seen a second one.
As I was craning my neck to watch every movement of these fabulous birds, my uncle started to talk about the fauna of their little yard and the lagoon behind it. The word “storks” got my attention. A few weeks ago, they looked out of their kitchen window and there were a number of storks standing on the back lawn. My cousins walked outside and the storks didn’t fly away.
I live in rural-ish New York. We get deer, fox, coyotes, even minks and bears on occasion. But storks? I’m not 100% sure that storks are even real.
Then my uncle said that a couple of weeks ago he moved a planter on the patio and hidden under it was a mother snake with about 6 little baby snakes slithering around her. Medusa! Everyone laughed, and I realized I said it out loud. My uncle got the pool skimmer thing, scooped up the snakes and introduced them to the lagoon. I guess eagles don’t eat snakes. I would have been running screaming from the premises. I was very impressed with how calm my uncle was.
My cousin said “Oh, and remember the turtle in the pool?” I’m imagining a Dr. Seuss book and then realized that there really had been a large turtle in the pool. Too heavy for my cousin to lift. Plus he was too busy chasing it around the edge of the pool. I would have paid to see that. A couple of men who were working on the neighbor’s lawn jumped in the pool and threw the pool net, scoopy thing around it. While it was caught in the net and protesting in a violent, yet slow, turtley way, they carried the turtle to the lagoon.
Note to self: Buy my uncle a new pool net/skimmer. On second thought, buy two.
And then there was the “gator.” You know you’re in Florida when the word “gator” doesn’t start with “alli.” I forget where on the lawn the gator was, but it wasn’t in the pool. My aunt called the fish and game people and they came and took the gator away. Phew.
Who would have believed in this upscale community in northern Florida, while overlooking the golf course, we discussed wild birds, giant turtles, nests of snakes and alligators.
The eagles have landed.
saneteachers 
Positively wild! we only have sheep around the suburbs here 🙂
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It’s crazy. So beautiful.
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I would be very impressed there too! I would also hide in the house as the thought of snakes makes me quake. Scared cat that I am!
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Oddly enough I have never seen a cat there. Such a bizarre set of experiences. But the eagles are so beautiful.
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Oddly enough I have never seen a cat there. Such a bizarre set of experiences. But the eagles are so beautiful.
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Awesome!
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I remember as a Cub Scout in Florida, how our scout leader would tell us to beware near the water, that gators might be lurking under the surface. But, Eagles! Very cool to see them—as I have no fear of being carried away to their nest. 😀
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I looked eagles up in a bird book today. Florida has more Bald Eagles than any other of the 48 contiguous states.
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For some reason I never suspected Florida as being home to so many Bald Eagles.
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Me either. I was shocked.
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All sorts of critters in Florida. Friend in Fla photographs wildlife and it is amazing.
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I agree. Just surprising to see it in a place where professional golfers play. Not off the beaten path at all.
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Where I live in Michigan, I see and Eagle once or twice a year. I don’t know if I would want to see them enough to lose that excitement that I get. I almost end up in the ditch if I see one when I’m driving 🙂
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It occurred to me that I might sit in that yard just watching those eagles forever.
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I have eagles in my trees, but I don’t know that I have ever seen a stork. Thanks for the laugh!
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haha At first I thought of a pelican and said oh no that’s wrong. Then I remembered what a stork is.
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They are real, they just don’t bring human babies! I can’t say I have seen a pelican in the wild either. There have been large numbers of eagles found dead here in Maryland and in Pennsylvania recently. I am glad there are some in other states.
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I looked up eagles in a bird book and they said the Florida has more bald eagles than any of the other contiguous states. Why are they dying?
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It’s a mystery. 8 found dead in a field. Several sick in another with at least one dead. They are nursing some back to health. It is possible that they ate poisoned rodents, but they are not sure what happened.
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That’s awful. I hope the wildlife department gets a handle on it. And I hope it isn’t because of humans.
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I LIKE IT 🙂
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Absolutely the best! Seeing wild life literally at your door step 🙂
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And in the least likely place to see it.
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Absolutely true! Enjoy your holidays Barb 😊
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Thank you!
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Hmm, they said the second eagle doesn’t live around there? Maybe it was hoping you would offer to carpool. That would be a great sequel to your 3 days in a car post! When I went to school out around Niagara Falls we once saw a giant turkey outside our window! Might’ve been two of them. They were massive.
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We have wild turkeys where we live. I’m not sure they are quite as big as yours were. But you’re right about the sequel. Good idea. 3 days in a car + 2 eagles = ???
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When you put the seatbelt on the eagles, please film it!
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Birds of a feather….
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…don’t scratch the leather?
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Haha
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One of the things I like best about Florida is the wildlife! I’ve never seen an eagle there, just ospreys. (I’m jealous!) But I have seen the “gators”, manatees, iguanas, snakes, little brown rabbits with short ears and tons of birds. And of course my favorite when I’m near the water: dolphins!
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The eagles are truly beautiful. I’m still trying to envision a yard full of storms. I keep getting a mental image of plastic flamingos.
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Hmm…maybe I wouldn’t want to live in Florida after all. The eagles would be a treat (I’ve seen a few around here–and I agree, they are so majestic), but the snakes and gators would do me in. Especially the snakes. Did I mention I don’t like snakes?…
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If I understand you correctly, you don’t like snakes? If I know a snake is not poisonous, and I see it by a wall, then it doesn’t bother me. But to see a bunch of them all on top of each other? I’d still be running up the highway screaming like a crazy person.
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I don’t know what it is, but they creep me out beyond belief. Even just one.
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That’s how I am with mice.
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Yeah … I’m not too fond of them either.
Thank you for the RT on Twitter. I’ve not been on social media much the last few days. Feels like years in people time.
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Your welcome. It was so worth the retweet.
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Such a sad thing, those bombings, and they’re becoming far too frequent.
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Horrific.
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