TX - FL Trip ~ February 6, 2010

I was supposed to getting on an 8:00 AM flight from Fort Lauderdale to Philadelphia, but the Mid-Atlantic was getting nailed by a major snowstorm and my flight departure time was rescheduled for 3:30 PM. Since Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge was about a half-hour away, I decided to spend the morning there. What I didn't realize was that there was an "Everglades Day" festival going on there. Tents full of displays and demonstrations were set up for the visitors. It just so happened that one of the people that was scheduled to speak at the time I was there was Kenn Kaufman, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got to meet him beforehand.

Nearby, a Red-shouldered Hawk of the pale 'Florida' race was unconcerned by the visitors watching it as it caught a lizard.

An Anhinga perched on a snag, waiting for its wings to dry.

A Little Blue Heron stalked something in one of the impoundments.

A pair of Mottled Ducks swam nearby.

A Tricolored Heron was also there.

A Pileated Woodpecker hung on a telephone pole along the main road.

I left there, headed for the airport, and dropped off my rental car. Little did I know that my delayed flight back to Pennsylvania was cancelled because the Philadelphia Airport was completely shut down. One U.S. Airways representative managed to get me on a flight to their hub in Charlotte, North Carolina. Unfortunately, that connecting flight to Philadelphia was also cancelled, so I ended up spending the night in the Charlotte airport.

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