All of the photos below were taken from standing in my backyard, except for a couple of an eagle that were taken in a large wildlife management area.

This Mama duck and 11 babies were moving swiftly down the lake as one unit.

Oooh! Look, Mama, Squirrel, no gator, oh nevermind, it was just a fish!

Maybe it was a squirrel, little dude!

Or, it could have been a gator!

The next two photos were taken on a very bright day. The lake was perfectly still and the glare off of the water was extreme. It gave these photos sort of a surreal look.

The swallow-tailed kites are back and are beautiful as they ride the air currents, using their forked tail as a rudder. I tend to forget they are raptors. As hawks will do, they grab and eat the young hatchlings of other birds. These swallow-tailed kites were being chased by mockingbirds and black birds, probably grackles. It wasn’t until I downloaded the photos from my camera that I saw why the other birds were so upset.

Being dive-bombed by a mockingbird!

And there it was, the hatchling. Unfortunately, that’s life in the wild.

Sometimes, you just need to give a boot your buddy . . .

But, be careful or you may be giving a piggy back ride next.

These photos of an almost mature eagle were taken at the Yucca Pens wildlife preserve. This was the only wildlife we saw, but it was worthwhile!

One night we heard the boom of fireworks. I grabbed my camera and hurried outside, so I had to take the following photos without a tripod from my backyard. It turns out that the fireworks were at Jet Blue Park. It was the Red Sox Foundation’s annual party for their sponsors before spring training started. Front row seat to some pretty nice fireworks!