Beaches and Coasts

Lakes and Rivers

Forests

Inland

Everglades

Panoramas

Black and White

Florida is world-renowned for its beautiful landscapes. With over 1350 miles of coastline from the Atlantic Ocean to the Florida Keys to the northern Gulf of Mexico, there are an incredible number of unique and beautiful habitats, especially in the Florida Everglades. We also have thousands of islands, lakes and rivers (many of those are spring-fed) and of course our unique forest habitats from Central and Northern Florida down to our oak and scrub pinelands. The following galleries have a little bit of everything that the best of Sunshine State landscapes have to offer.

Brushfoots

Gossamer Wings

Swallowtails

Skippers

Sulphurs and Whites

Moths

Did you know that Florida is home to over 1,320 species of butterflies and moths? That number is still growing with careful and painstaking research, more new species are being discovered all the time!

Anhingas, Cormorants

Birds of Prey

Carrion Birds

Coots, Rails

Cranes, Limpkins

Ducks, Geese

Egrets, Herons

Gulls, Terns

Shorebirds

Songbirds

Spoonbills, Storks

Woodpeckers

When it comes to birds, the Sunshine State is fantastically rich in species diversity. The geography of Florida’s Peninsula creates a natural migratory route for millions of birds each year as they head south over the Caribbean towards Central and South America (and back). While some species are found all around the world, we are lucky to have 196 species of birds that live and breed in Florida.

Deer

Pigs

Rabbits and Hares

Manatees

Squirrels

Raccoons

Armadillos

We mammals have come a long way since the time of the dinosaurs. Since those times, we’ve conquered the land, sea and air. Florida has at least 99 species of mammals living, breeding and thriving today.

Crustaceans

Dragonflies

Grasshoppers, Locusts

Spiders

Snails, Mollusks

Other Invertebrates

96% of all currently living animal lifeforms alive today are invertebrates. Included are all the insects, arachnids, worms, crabs, shellfish, starfish, corals, and more! One thing they all have in common? No backbone.

Alligators, Crocodiles

Lizards

Snakes

Turtles, Tortoises

Long before the first dinosaur walked the earth, reptiles ruled the world. 65 million years after the last dinosaur drew its final breath, North America’s modern crocodiles, alligators, snakes, lizards, and turtles and tortoises are still keeping our Florida natural history alive!

Tree Frogs

Toads

Did you know the word “amphibian” means “two lives”? All amphibians start their lives in the underwater, but after they go through a series of metamorphosis stages to adulthood, most trade gills for lungs and live the rest of their lives out of the water. Florida is home to 33 native and non-native species of frogs and toads, and many more species of salamanders, newts and sirens!

Arethuseae

Calypsoeae

Cranichideae

Cymbidieae

Epidendreae

Malaxideae

Maxillarieae

Neottieae

Orchideae

Pogoniinae

Polystachyeae

Triphoreae

Vandeae

Vanilleae

One of the largest families in the plant kingdom with nearly 28 thousand species around the globe, orchids are also one of the most popular and most sought-after flowering plants in history. In Victorian times, entire foreign expeditions were sent around the world at great personal risk led by fearless (and often ruthless) orchid hunters to acquire the next new unknown exotic species from the most distant corner of the Earth. Luckily for us, Florida is rich with unique native species found nowhere else in the world!

Wildflowers by Color

Wildflowers by Family

By far our largest collection of galleries, these wildflower image sets are arranged by both color and by taxonomic family for use as a casual identification tool or field guide, or for more thorough scientific research for deeper understanding.

Pitcher Plants

Venus Flytraps

Bladderworts

Butterworts

Sundews

Sometimes called insectivorous plants, these amazing plants have adapted to a life in places where the soil is so poor in nutrients, that they’ve gained the ability to grow by trapping their food with modified leaves. By taking root in a harsh habitat, they have eliminated most of their competition from other plants.

Bromeliads

Mushrooms

Plants

Saprophytes

This last and final collection of galleries include all the non-wildflower images such as our native trees, ferns, palms, fruits and berries, cacti, saprophytes, mosses, bromeliads and more!

Song Sparrow

by | Feb 23, 2011

Last week during a regular trip to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, I was enjoying a day off while scouting out new places to go hiking, etc. rather than looking for more subjects to photograph for work when one of those maddening little birds that I can never get a clear shot of landed beautifully, perched on the dried seedpods of last summer’s wildflowers that this part of North Florida is known for. I knew it was a sparrow, but wasn’t sure of the species. Many thanks to Dan Irizarry for helping me with identifying this one as a song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) and properly proving my (savannah sparrow) guess wrong.

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

A song sparrow perches on the seedpods last summer’s wildflowers on a late winter morning in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on North Florida’s Gulf Coast.

One of the most beautiful things about being a nature photographer is that you will always be the student. No matter how many years you spend in the field and how many field guides you memorize and scientific papers you read – every day in the field is a constant reminder of just how much you don’t know! That will always make every day an adventure!

Sharing and commenting via the social media links below will help me greatly, and is much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

ALL IMAGES AVAILABLE FOR PRINT OR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD!
 

Related posts:

Sandwich Tern! The Forgotten Coast – Unforgettable Florida The American Lotus + A Trick for Better Nature Photography Foggy Dawn and the Burning Sun

6 Comments

  1. bonnie whicher
    bonnie whicher on February 23, 2011 at 1:21 pm

    Wow
    What was the setting on your camera and what kind of lens did you use?
    Love the colours
    Absolutely gorgeous my friend!!

    Reply
  2. Rich Leighton
    Rich Leighton on February 23, 2011 at 1:27 pm

    Thanks Bonnie 🙂 I shot fast – about 1/1000th sec at about f4.5. ISO was around 800, I think….

    Reply
  3. Coral
    Coral on February 23, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    Beautiful photo. I love nature shots you get to so many great things out there.

    Reply
  4. Luci Wies
    Luci Wies on February 24, 2011 at 11:13 am

    This looks like a perfect nature painting – so perfect in colour and design. Nice work!
    LW

    Reply
  5. Maxciriloy
    Maxciriloy on May 4, 2011 at 10:08 am

    Beautiful picks. I like to go natural resorts…

    Reply
  6. Peter
    Peter on June 4, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    beautiful shot!

    Reply

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