Category: Park

I have been to Tree Tops Park many times over the past 15 years and just recently started to walk the nature trails. I did so on the suggestion of the Audubon Society and so far, it has been a pleasant surprise. During the week of April 21-25 I was at the park 4 times and took several photographs of butterflies, dragonflies and birds. Here are some of the better images from that week.

I visited an office near U.S. 1 and State Road 84, stopped by Wendy’s on S.R. 84 for a Cod Fillet sandwich and decided to spend part of my lunch time at Secret Woods Park.

This park is on S.R. 84 just west of I-95. It opened in September 1978 and is Broward County’s first nature center. It covers 57 acres on which you will find laurel oak trees, sabal palms and other varieties of palms, white mangroves, wild coffee, leather ferns, strangler figs, cocoplum, white stopper and pond apple trees.

After leaving the parking lot and walking a few feet towards the park office, I turned right (south) to the butterfly area. I saw 4 types of butterflies, dragonfly and land crabs. I saw a blue land crab possibly a fiddler crab and waited patiently to get a good photograph. Here are some of the images taken at the park on Wednesday April 16th:

My first trip to Miami MetroZoo was about a year before Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida in August 1992. The hurricane devastated the zoo and left it closed for months. One of its main attractions “Wings of Asia”was torn apart but miraculously most of its exotic birds were captured. According to an article in the LA Times

“Of 300 birds, including hornbills, Asian pheasants, fairy bluebirds and other rare specimens, zookeepers managed to capture 200 using rudimentary mesh cages with trap doors.”

Today the zoo renamed ZooMiami, is bigger and better that it was before “Andrew.” I have been there about 4 times since and enjoyed every minute except blistering nineties temperatures one July. Since then I have decided I will only visit during winter. (My last visit was on January 1 2014.)

Here are some of the better pictures I took while at ZooMiami.

A family of giant elands

A gorilla resting

African Elephant distinguished from Asian Elephant by larger ears and tusks

I have visited Tree Tops Park many times over the past 15 years and have never gone on the nature trail until Monday March 31. My first nature tour was rewarded with a sighting of a green heron, turtles and a wading bird. I even met a couple from New Jersey who was out bird watching.

I saw a green heron that sat patiently as I took about 20 pictures. Interestingly I returned to the park 4 days later and found a green heron close to where I spotted the first one. Was it the same bird? Is that its home base?

The first image was taken Monday March 31st and the second was taken Friday April 4th.

I was at Tree Tops Park yesterday and left with a few good pictures. Here are a few: