Natural Spring Waterfall
Waterfall photographed in Rainbow Springs State Park, Marion County, Fl.
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Waterfall photographed in Rainbow Springs State Park, Marion County, Fl.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Osprey in Flight
An osprey in flight over Everglades National Park.
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An osprey in flight over Everglades National Park.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Yellow Helmet Orchid (Polystachya concreta)
Close-up of a cluster of yellow helmet orchid flowers in an isolated pond in Collier County, Florida. These orchids are usually found in wetlands with lots of shade.
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Close-up of a cluster of yellow helmet orchid flowers in an isolated pond in Collier County, Florida. These orchids are usually found in wetlands with lots of shade.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Cardinal Flower
The cardinal flower is an extremely beautiful member of the lobelia family native to most of the United States (excluding the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies states, and the Dakotas) and Eastern Canada. It is primarily found in somewhat wet soils, near marshes, streams, rivers, floodplains etc. and is such a vibrant red that it is easily spotted from a distance. This particularly large plant stood about five foot tall, and even though I found it growing in a depression of a dried-up creek, it still stood tall in the forest near the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle on a very hot and sweltering summer day.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
The cardinal flower is an extremely beautiful member of the lobelia family native to most of the United States (excluding the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies states, and the Dakotas) and Eastern Canada. It is primarily found in somewhat wet soils, near marshes, streams, rivers, floodplains etc. and is such a vibrant red that it is easily spotted from a distance. This particularly large plant stood about five foot tall, and even though I found it growing in a depression of a dried-up creek, it still stood tall in the forest near the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle on a very hot and sweltering summer day.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Hooded Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia minor) - Wetland Native Carnivorous Plant https://www.floridanaturephotography.com/sarracenia-minor/
Florida Nature Photography
Hooded Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia minor) - Wetland Native Carnivorous Plant - Florida Nature Photography
Related posts: Profiles in Nature #3 – White-topped Pitcher Plant The Most Beautiful Carnivore in Florida Florida Nature Facts #97 – Pitcher Plants Florida Nature Facts #32 – Venus Flytrap
Lover's Key Sunset https://fineartamerica.com/featured/lovers-key-richard-leighton.html
Boathouse Sunset
Spectacular sunset over Lake June-in-Winter in Central Florida.
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Spectacular sunset over Lake June-in-Winter in Central Florida.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Peach-colored Fly Agaric (Amanita persicina)
Looking very much like it's cousin, the infamous fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), the peach-colored fly agaric (Amanita persicina) looks virtually the same, except for instead of the vibrant red color with scaly cap it has a somewhat softer, light orange, or peach hue. Found only in the Southeastern United States stretching up to coastal New England, this forest fungus develops these beautiful large mushrooms in the fall and winter. This one was in the process of emerging from the soil on a November morning in Pensacola, Florida on the side of a nature trail.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Looking very much like it's cousin, the infamous fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), the peach-colored fly agaric (Amanita persicina) looks virtually the same, except for instead of the vibrant red color with scaly cap it has a somewhat softer, light orange, or peach hue. Found only in the Southeastern United States stretching up to coastal New England, this forest fungus develops these beautiful large mushrooms in the fall and winter. This one was in the process of emerging from the soil on a November morning in Pensacola, Florida on the side of a nature trail.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Anhinga
Also known as the snakebird, the anhinga is a common fish-eating bird found along the coasts and interior of Florida. This one was in wait in a wild cocoplum while hunting near the Sweetwater Strand near Naples, Florida.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Also known as the snakebird, the anhinga is a common fish-eating bird found along the coasts and interior of Florida. This one was in wait in a wild cocoplum while hunting near the Sweetwater Strand near Naples, Florida.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Sand Dunes of St. Joseph's Peninsula https://www.floridanaturephotography.com/sand-dunes-of-st-josephs-peninsula/
Florida Nature Photography
Sand Dunes of St. Joseph's Peninsula - Florida Nature Photography
The sand dunes of the St. Joseph Peninsula of Florida's "Forgotten Coast" are a mostly untouched northern shoreline of the Florida Panhandle.
Osprey with Fresh Mullet https://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-osprey-rich-leighton.html
Arrow-shaped Orbweaver (Micrathena sagittata)
Very cool-looking and unusual as far as your average orbweaver spider goes, the arrow-shaped orbweaver has a very bizarre and trianglular-shaped spiky abdomen. Harmless to humans, they can be found across most of the eastern half of the United States, the southern tip of Ontario and almost all of Mexico. This one was found in rural North-Central Florida along the banks of the Suwannee River.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Very cool-looking and unusual as far as your average orbweaver spider goes, the arrow-shaped orbweaver has a very bizarre and trianglular-shaped spiky abdomen. Harmless to humans, they can be found across most of the eastern half of the United States, the southern tip of Ontario and almost all of Mexico. This one was found in rural North-Central Florida along the banks of the Suwannee River.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Christmas Lichen (Herpothallon rubrocinctum)
Starting off as a grey-to-greenish lichen from the humid subtropical and tropical swamps of the American Southeast and southwards, the Christmas lichen develops an unusual and surprisingly bright pigment that becomes red or hot pink on the bark or dead wood of water-loving trees such as bald cypress. This patch was found on a cypress tree growing in the Corkscrew Swamp in Southwest Florida between Naples and Fort Myers.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Starting off as a grey-to-greenish lichen from the humid subtropical and tropical swamps of the American Southeast and southwards, the Christmas lichen develops an unusual and surprisingly bright pigment that becomes red or hot pink on the bark or dead wood of water-loving trees such as bald cypress. This patch was found on a cypress tree growing in the Corkscrew Swamp in Southwest Florida between Naples and Fort Myers.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Florida Nature Featured Gallery: Lizards!
Probably the most interesting and variable of all the world's living reptiles, Florida is a haven for lizards, both native an non-native. With true 15 native species and at least 34 exotic species, these incredibly variable reptiles can be found in every habitat in Florida, with our most of our native species found in the drier, upland scrubs and and pine flatwoods, and the more coastal and subtropical habitats being overrun with exotic species - usually escapees from the pet trade, which not only compete with native lizards, but can often be incredibly destructive, such as the green iguana from Central and South America.
Visit gallery: https://leightonphotography.photoshelter.com/gallery/Lizards/G00001XZiPXPpBS8/C0000xExHPpTDsJI
Probably the most interesting and variable of all the world's living reptiles, Florida is a haven for lizards, both native an non-native. With true 15 native species and at least 34 exotic species, these incredibly variable reptiles can be found in every habitat in Florida, with our most of our native species found in the drier, upland scrubs and and pine flatwoods, and the more coastal and subtropical habitats being overrun with exotic species - usually escapees from the pet trade, which not only compete with native lizards, but can often be incredibly destructive, such as the green iguana from Central and South America.
Visit gallery: https://leightonphotography.photoshelter.com/gallery/Lizards/G00001XZiPXPpBS8/C0000xExHPpTDsJI
In a Flash of Pink – Roseate Spoonbill! https://www.floridanaturephotography.com/in-a-flash-of-pink-roseate-spoonbill/
Florida Nature Photography
In a Flash of Pink – Roseate Spoonbill! - Florida Nature Photography
Anyone who has ever tried to walk through mangroves tracking a roseate spoonbill – never mind with a backpack full of photography gear and holding a camera – knows that it is not easy.
Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii)
Side view of the ghost orchid. The five to six inch spur is a long hollow tube that contains the nectar which draws the giant silk moth. This unique moth has a six inch tongue that while reaching the bottom of the spur to feed, some pollen from the flower's anther will stick to the head of the moth, and then get transfered to the next ghost orchid it feeds on. While visiting several flowers during the course of a night - it unknowingly pollinates these flowers to produce the next generation of ghosts. Without this special moth, we would have no ghost orchids.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Side view of the ghost orchid. The five to six inch spur is a long hollow tube that contains the nectar which draws the giant silk moth. This unique moth has a six inch tongue that while reaching the bottom of the spur to feed, some pollen from the flower's anther will stick to the head of the moth, and then get transfered to the next ghost orchid it feeds on. While visiting several flowers during the course of a night - it unknowingly pollinates these flowers to produce the next generation of ghosts. Without this special moth, we would have no ghost orchids.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Sun Halo over the Gulf of Mexico https://fineartamerica.com/featured/sun-halo-over-the-gulf-of-mexico-richard-leighton.html
Juvenile American Alligator
A well-fed juvenile American alligator enjoys a sun-warmed log in the Corkscrew Swamp near Naples, Florida.
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A well-fed juvenile American alligator enjoys a sun-warmed log in the Corkscrew Swamp near Naples, Florida.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
Green Heron
The beautiful and multi-hued green heron in the Florida Everglades National Park.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com
The beautiful and multi-hued green heron in the Florida Everglades National Park.
See more at: www.floridanaturephotography.com