Here where I live in Central Florida and where our homes border preserved wetlands. There's a retention pond (man made) just beyond our property I call the "bachelor pond." For years, a single great egret, a great blue heron, tri-colored heron, and an anhinga often frequent the pond with nary a mate. There are also Florida Sandhill Cranes who are having chicks now and are subject to many a pictures being taken. And ducks. Right now, there is only a pair of wood ducks, probably incubating ducklings, but there are sometimes hooded mergansers, my absolute favorite among the duck varieties. There is also a healthy flock of White Ibis. Last year, one in particular had a string tied too tightly just above the foot joint, but I could never help her. So, I would feed the flock but in a way where she would get the lion's share. Now, a year later, the foot has dropped off, and she limps around very well, but she and the flock come flying my way whenever they are around and I'm out back, so I always try to have something on hand to share with them when they visit. There is also a family of three crows who squawk so loudly when they come for a visit. One will actually try to talk when I ask him how he's doing. I so enjoy him. There is also one fish crow. I can tell the difference by their call, but they generally look the same. Squirrels are in abundance too, but that has to do mainly with me feeding birds for years. One has a nick out of one ear, so I've named him "Chip." He's a darling and is the only one who seems to say hello. There is one raccoon who visits my patio. Only one now. There used to be too many, but I suspect my gun-happy neighbor shot them all after he complained that they had eaten everything he grew in his garden. This one survivor comes around to see if there is any cat food left which I give to the one stray cat whose family left him behind. There are several of we neighbors who feed him, and he seems very happy to belong to such a large family. I'll post a picture soon of my backyard. It's particularly pretty right now as Spring has greened everything up so nicely now that we've had some rain.
