We drove out to the Gulf Coast AGAIN this week and hiked the Withlacoochee Bay Trail!
Remember, this isn't the sandy beaches that people walk on and pick up seashells.
These beaches are lined with oyster shells and vegetation....
and Oystercatchers!
It's only 30 miles from our house and fast becoming our favorite place to go. We drive past Halpata Tastanaki Perserve AND Blue Run Park to get there though so we feel the pull to stop and hike there too.
But that will be for another day.
We timed our arrival to coincide with low tide.
That way there are more exposed sandbars.....
Pelicans and Cormorants
Great White Egret
Little Blue Heron
At the end of the day when I was writing in our hiking journal....
the cormorants won the day. We saw at least 100 Cormorants!
I always end up with a few mystery birds so I'll ask for help with this one.
My first thought was Red Tailed Hawk for this bird,
until he landed. Is he a dark morph or a juvenile?
He sure looked amazing with the sun shining through his feathers.
I hope you are able to get out and enjoy nature this weekend.
We'll be 'out and about', cameras at hand enjoying Florida in February!
45 comments:
...the hawk with its wings spread is the winner for me.
Lovely place and great photos.
It would be a long drive for me. Maybe some day...
What a great place with lots of dramatic birds! That you drive past one of your favorites to continue on for this location says a lot. But then, you have many wonderful places to visit.
Great photos!
Sorry I am no help with the hawk ID, but I love the wing-spread photo!
Cormorants are always interesting to see - funny-looking birds on land, but they sure are at home in the water.
Have a blessed day!
Nice pictures. How nice you have such a nice place to walk with so much to see so close to your home. I've been enjoying watching the birds here around the marshy areas, but at home I just walk through the neighborhoods and or go to the city parks, so not as much to see there. I agree, believe the unidentified bird is a hawk.
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The cormorant in the sand looks like he has a friend. Beautiful photos. Sorry. I have no ID on the hawk.
Hello,
This place looks great and it is nice that it is not far from home.
I would love seeing the Pelicans and the Oystercatchers. The Herons and egrets are beautiful, great shots of the Hawk and the Cormorants. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thanks for leaving me a comment.
double wow on the hawk with spread wings. I love the shots of the sandbars and there residents. just the sandbars make me feel happy. good job going at low tide
Fantastic photos and it sure is a gorgeous weekend here in Florida to get out and about - enjoy!
What a beautiful place you found to walk and such divine photos of nature critters ~ Wonderful! Xo
Wishing you lots of laughter in your day,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
wow! I love to visit this place to watch birds. Beautiful photos...
wonderful captures on the withlacoochee bay, it looks like a great place for hiking and taking pictures. and if nothing else, the name is super cool!! great timing in getting to see the sandbars, i always enjoy seeing pelicans as i don't see them here!!
i'm not sure about the hawk but i am sure someone will be able to help you out!! have a wonderful weekend, happy hiking!!
I get the impression you're birdwatchers. What a wonderful shoreline to explore!
These are lovely photos. So nice seeing greenery, and birdies.
Beautiful images of all those are birds. Thanks.
Hello Diane, :=) What a super place to visit, and see all those birds at low tide. It isn't far for you to travel, and worth every bit the effort to see the wild and beautiful coast line, and it's wild life. Beautiful pictures!:=)
What a nice warm walk that was that you took us on! Just what I needed on this cold day!
I so enjoy your bird photos! Unfortunately I can't help identify the hawk. It's a beauty, though.
What a beautiful area.
So many wonderful pictures from your hike.
I like the birds all lined up,
Beautiful photos, I love them all. Your header is spectacular, what a great shot of the eagle. Have a great weekend
That bird in the air is a really fantastic pic. Just lovely!
That shot of the bird in the air is fantastic!! Really great work - evenif you weren't sure what it was.
It looks a great place to visit and you had some wonderful sightings and great photographs.
All the best Jan
Oh that's just fabulous thanks for sharing these
Beautifully captured!
Love the water birds! So pretty.
The hawk photo is just like it came out of a NATURE magazine. Perfection Diane.
We birders enjoy your post. Thanks for taking time from your day to link in with us at I'd Rather be Birdin'. And happy day ahead!
30 miles would be a long drive for me. But I can see why this is a favourite place to go with such a great variety of water birds. I can't help with that hawk. Maybe better if I was on the spot rather than here in England on a drab Sunday morning.
Beautiful views! I like the bird sightings.
What a beautiful place to go for a hike! And watch the oyster eaters.
/Irene
I love this post, so many great pictures. Lately, I've missed the ocean so much so I really enjoyed your photos. I will be out in nature today, since I live right in the middle of it. Sadly because of the drought there are very few animals around. My back yard used to be covered in cottontail and Jack rabbis, lots of coyotes, birds of all kinds, and fascinating insects. Now there's nothing. But Faith and I will still walk and play on our land.
Hello Diane! First of all, I love your current header with the eagle photo. Excellent! Thank you for taking us along on your adventure to Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Got to love that name! :-) I enjoyed all your photos. Wonderful variety of birds! The pic of the (probably) Red Tailed Hawk landing is amazing! Those last two photos make me wish I could be there with you guys. Excellent post. Wishing you a happy week ahead. John PS Speaking of eagles, don’t miss the video in my latest post. I think you will enjoy it.
Great sightings! Cormorants are so interesting. I don't see them often but they intrigue me. And that egret is a stunner!
Yet another wonderful post which evokes so many memories of fishing and exploring that area!
Those exposed sand and oyster bars really make me want fresh fish for dinner.
Terrific birds sure cooperated nicely for you.
I agree with you about your hawk. The dark and speckled back plumage, profile and wing pattern indicate Red-tailed Hawk. The brownish tail with fine banding plus no dark trailing edge feathers on the wings point to an immature bird.
Thank you for sharing your slice of paradise!
Oh yes, thank you for this lovely post and the incredible photos it's so good to see beautiful places and a bit less of snow and cold and wind and all this Minnesota stuff, currently hitting where I live.
Mi marido y yo también salimos a pasear y a fotografiar de todo. Me encantó tu reportaje. Besos.
What a beautiful area to explore, Diane. Shore birds are so varied and interesting. I do like oystercatchers with their red legs. Glad someone verified your Red-tailed Hawk question. The light through the feathers is spectacular!
I enjoyed the sunshine and the birds! Happy Valentine's Day!
Amalia
xo
Beautiful beautiful sunny scenes! Great hike, I loved it. Great shots of the birds, my favorite one is the great white egret, very peaceful scene. Happy valentines day my friend, hope you have a happy and blessed one! Hugs!
nice to see many of my favorites in your post. The cormorants will probably soon come back to my place. Hopefully, last year was not as many as there used to be.
I absolutely love that photo of all the cormorants lined up in a row. Awesome! I love your bird photos. You have so many beautiful ones. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
A great place to visit for bird watching. Interesting birds.
Oh, I love the picture of the Oystercatchers. The Pelican is such an unusual and beautiful bird. Wow, you saw so many Cormorants on this day out. Such a cute picture of them all lined up. Looks like some of them are talking with each other. It's always a joy to see the White Egret too. The white birds are always so graceful and very special.
~Sheri
Great assortment of bird photos. Did I mention to you that we had a Pink Flamingo here in Connecticut (maybe last summer?). It made quite a stir with bird lovers here. The bird experts say sometimes one strays this far north, but it's very unusual. I wish I had seen it!
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