Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Life on the Wild Side

I've been land based for over three weeks now, but I thought my loyal readers (you know who you are) would be interested in some of the different wild life we encountered this winter while boating around the Bahamas.  When I got my new laptop computer, some of my blogging techniques changed and my photos became embedded in small sizes.  I have recently learned how to fix that so now you can feel free to click on them and they will get bigger and easier to appreciate.  Enjoy!

Harvested Conch...Deno's cracked conch salad was fabulous!


Nurse Sharks' feeding frenzy.

The elusive Sea Turtle...always a treat to spot one up close.

Plovers...Nelson's favourite chase at the beach!

Wild pigs at Big Major's Spot.

They swim right up to the dingy, begging for food.

They can become quite aggressive if you haven't got anything delicious to share!

These Peacocks strutted freely around Chubb Cay.  The male refused to display his finery for us.

The ubiquitous Banaquit.  A friendly nectar eater that will feed from your hand if you are patient.

The Great Blue Heron sat on the pilings by our boat morning and evening every day we were at Sunset Bay Marina in Florida.
Because it was all part of the same trip, he gets included here, even though he isn't from the Bahamas.

These little lizards are everywhere in the islands.  
The ones with the blue tails poison small dogs that are silly enough to eat them!

Iguanas are found on several different islands in the Exumas.  Colonies of over 100 look for handouts from tourists and fight over the food in a startling fashion.  
They look so prehistoric.

Nelson had doggy friends in the cruising community.
Here the two beach bums are looking wet and dirty...fun times.

Little Miss Penny, a 9 month, PREGNANT Shitzu made herself right at home when she visited aboard Steadfast.

Then there were the ones that got away or that I didn't have a camera to capture...
the 36 year old cruising Scarlet Macaw parrot,
the Saw-tooth Shark at Atlantis,
and the Queen Angel Fish swimming wild on the reefs.

Since I've been back in Canada, I've witnessed a live birth of a baby goat on a farm in BC, saw a herd of Elk grazing downtown Canmore, Alberta and photographed my Grand #3 playing with a Hedge Hog.  The wild side of life is always interesting to us city dwellers.

Did you or your pets meet any new species in your travels this year?

10 comments:

MunirGhiasuddin said...

Good luck to miss penny, I hope that she stays away from the blue lizard.

Rochelle@AFamilyofLooneys said...

Great photos! I will have to show the photo of the sea turtle to my little girl. She would love it.

Teena in Toronto said...

Your pictures are awesome :)

Unknown said...

These pictures are amazing. I'm in awe, and totally jealous of your Winter boating experiences.

Veronica Lee said...

Love the photos as always, Rosemary!

BTW - The bell sound that was driving you nuts came from the wind chime thingy on the top right corner of my blog!!

Sush said...

You must really miss all that sea life and wild critters when you are away from the sea! Lovely!

Anonymous said...

The wild pigs are funny and adorable! I just stumbled on your site tonight and love the photos!

HeartsMakeFamilies said...

Gorgeous photos. I saw the shitzu and instantly thought of my sister who has several of them such a fun time you will have when Miss Penny gives birth.

Unfortunately, my Sheltie is getting too old for us to travel and I can't take the Newfy. Not many places will allow the Newfy.

I wish I could travel like you do.

Tami said...

Amazing! Thanks for sharing. Lots of species there that I may never see in person.

Nothing nearly so exotic in our world, but we have had a turkey and pheasants in our front yard - within 20 feet of the front door - and Dave caught an ugly, mean snapping turtle at the pond.

At night we're serenaded to sleep by the hundreds of frogs at the pond and the howls of coyotes (hopefully not as near the house as they sound).

It's not exotic, but it's still amazing to watch. Thanks for sharing your fantastic photos.

Anonymous said...

Wow, as per your usual, great wildlife photos.