• Great Blue Herons are wading birds that live around the lakes and marshes
• Their nests are platforms of sticks built high in trees
• Both the male and female incubate the three to seven eggs and care for the young

Serene is a beautiful study in blue. The stately Great Blue Heron appears frozen in a typical pose watching for a meal of fish or frogs. Typically they wade slowly in shallow water, sometimes shading the water surface with outspread wings. The heron thrusts its head forward quickly, grasps the prey in its long, straight mandibles, and swallows it whole.

These Herons live around lakes and marshes in Florida. The nests are platforms of sticks built high in trees. Both male and female incubate the three to seven eggs and care for the downy young.

Purple Martins seem to glide in the background. These are the largest swallows, measuring seven to eight and one half inches. They nest in deserted Wood Pecker holes. Early settlers encouraged these beneficial birds by erecting martin houses or hanging clusters of hollow gourds in trees.

Resurrection fern is growing on the tree stump. This fern dries up and looks dead in the dry season. The rainy season finds it a beautiful lush green.