This big fellow was sunning very near the road, so I carefully stepped from the car and snapped.

I inched my zoomy lens closer, but I stepped a little closer too. I quickly decided that I was going to have to keep it fresh in my mind that these are massively huge creatures capable of biting off my arm – or more – and there was no fence between me and them. A little scary because I easily forget my distance when looking through my lens.  Check out his teeth!  And I think that eye is following me!

So, this is my alligator macro. I still have all my fingers and toes and this really is close enough, don’t you think?

Macro Monday is easy to play, snap a macro (or any close-up) photo, post it on your blog and come back here and sign MckLinky.  Don’t forget to visit each other. 

I think this is a Tern, in my little book I thought it looked like the Least Tern, but the book shows it being in Florida in the summer (not winter) and that it’s endangered – so I really am not sure.  I love its little scissortail, lol.

It’s a petite little thing, whatever it is.

Seems I keep using the gulls for a size comparison, but there were a lot of gulls everywhere so they make convenient rulers.  I love shorebirds!

As we were walking along the beach we stumbled, almost literally, across this feeding flyer. I think you can tell he’s pretty small if you look at the size of shells against him.

As is typical of many of the birds I came across in Florida, I was clueless as to his name. I thought he looked a lot like a killdeer so I was assuming he was in the plover family.

Well I finally put an identity to him. He’s a Ruddy Turnstone, aka Rock Plover. According to my bird book they can be very tolerant of humans when feeding and that was the case here.

I was astonished at how close I was allowed to get!

Bye!

I like crabs as long as I know where they are, not so sure of them when I stumble upon them though.

This one didn’t bother me at all, but this isn’t exactly how I found it though.

Yep, this is how I found it. Haden turned it over for me. lol

Macro Monday is easy to play, snap a macro (or any close-up) photo, post it on your blog and come back here and sign MckLinky.  Don’t forget to visit each other. 

I think I need to spend more time on the beach. ;0) I love how his eye is closed here. It seems dreamy.

So, I think he’s too big to be a Spotted Sandpiper but I’m not really sure what he is. Any ideas?

Have a closer look.

Slightly smaller than a gull, but not as small as a sandpiper.

I think he’s cute no matter what he is.

Tiny Sandpiper.

Remarkable how similar their colors are and structure, almost look like a mom and a babe but I don’t think they are.

Some sort of Tern?