It feels very special to come upon something endemic to Florida.
This week we saw THREE things endemic to Florida.
Endemic meaning - Native to or limited to a certain region
The Florida Scrub Jay is found in 2 locations that we hike.
We can usually see some on a back loop of old Limerock Road from the 49th Ave Trailhead of the Florida Trails.
And we always see them when we hike Halpata Tastanaki Preserve from the SR 200 trailhead.
Photos taken at HTP
This is a good website HERE but there are others featuring the Florida Scrub Jay if you do a search.
Which bring us to the Longspurred Mint.
Dicerandra Cornutissima
A good website with info HERE.
It is only found in Marion County, FL and possibly Sumter County.
There are only 15 known occurrences remaining.
I found them blooming on the Florida Trails 49th Ave Trailhead. Photos taken of the plants on Bluebird of Happiness Hill near the hwy 484 trailhead.
They are just starting to bloom right now.
The Garberia is in full bloom all through the forest and it is endemic to Florida as well.
More info HERE.
How privileged I am to see these amazing things in the beautiful state of Florida.
We are still praying for everyone devastated by Hurricane Ian and I am still limiting my time on the computer to get some things done. The weather is gorgeous now so I am hiking more too.
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43 comments:
Glad to see your hiking venues not affected by flooding.
What gorgeous finds! The birds are amazing and I love that plant. So sad that there are only 15 spots of it left.
I hope and pray for the future of all those that lost so much during Hurricane Ian. It is just heartbreaking.
Have a wonderful weekend. xo Diana
Wonderful flora and fauna. I don't think my state has an equivalent. Glad the weather is beautiful and that hiking is excellent again. Keeping Florida in my prayers.
Beautiful bird photos, and lovely wildflowers!
Have a blessed day!
Beautiful photos, I like the Scrub Jay of Florida. I saw the hurricane Ian on the news.
Happy to hear you've had no major damage. Beautiful photos as always!
Have a wonderful weekend! : )
That Scrub Jay is sure a pretty bird. We have them up here in the mountains as well. I love his long feathered tail. I'm glad to hear that you are Ok from the storm, Diane. Have a fun weekend on your hikes. : )
~Sheri
Ok, the scrub jay took me to a zoom to see those are berries and not the bird's eyes. :)
Lovely to see these native Floridian birds and plants. Glad to hear you are out hiking in wonderful weather!
I love seeing the Scrub Jay again. We don't have them here where we live now, but we used to see them in the Ocala National Forest quite often. That's their natural habitat. And the wildflowers are gorgeous right now. Those are some beauties. Thank you for sharing with us. I love how God paints His creations with different colors every season, all for us to enjoy!!
Don't you love it when your photo catches the moment where the bird seed in the mouth shows? Great! And I love all those gorgeous blooms!
Beautiful photographs.
Pleased you are able to enjoy your hikes.
All the best Jan
Las plantas y aves se ven preciosas, me encanta ese sendero. Espero que todo vaya recuperándose. Un abrazo.
Your photos are all so wonderful, Diane! I loved seeing the jay with a seed or berry in its beak. I'm glad you did not have any hurricane damage. It was so deadly and devastating in some areas--so sad.
Love the scrub jays.
The Scrub Jay is beautiful! I love your photos. Thanks for the reminder to pray for those affected by Hurricane Ian.
Beautiful, Diane, and interesting about the bird and the flowers. xo
Diane - glad to hear you did not have major damage. I love your endemic species, especially the Longspurred Mint - so delicate and pretty.
Beautiful bird photos and beautiful wild flowers.
I like the Scrub Jay, I think it is also found here in the Netherlands.
Greetings Irma
Beautiful bird and wildflowers.
Hello Diane,
Beautiful captures of the Florida Scrub Jay. They are a treat to see.
The wildflowers are gorgeous, I really like the Longspurred Mint.
My prayers go out to all those affected by Hurricane Ian.
Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
Love your incredible captures of the Scrub Jay.
The wildflowers are beautiful!
Happy Saturday!
This is so interesting, thanks for sharing. We have scrub jays here too, the California kind.
Hello Diane :=)
The Scrub Jay is similar to the Jays with long tails in the south of Portugal. It's a beautiful bird, and the pink flowered plant is very pretty, and all your images are lovely.
Diane, I'm back again to tell you that I made a mistake in saying your Florida Scrub Jay was not unlike our Blue long tailed Jay, when in fact I was thinking of our Azure-winged Magpie. He He, it's just one of those days! :=)
The shots of the Scrub Jay are super. And I love the flowers.
The jay is beautiful. I didn't know it existed! Shame on me. The mint is fabulous. I hope it is able to hang on and spread more.
I enjoyed your photos, Diane, that Jay is a darling bird.
Amalia
xo
Good to see images other than the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Good finds Diane. I would love to see the The Florida Scrub Jay someday. I second your wishes for people caught up in The Hurricane. My son and family are visiting Disney right now where they arrived just as Ian left.
It's amazing that you got some rare species of birds and plants close by. I am impressed that you can recognize them!!
I have never seen a scrub jay and he is absolutely gorgeous it is amazing that you see them in that one place! FtThe flowers are just wonderful and the weather is absolutely perfect for going out and finding all these pretty things
Love, love, L❤️VE your jay!
Thanks Diane, for sharing this week.
~Anni @ I'd Rather B Birdin'
Thanks for sharing the information.
The Garberia is a very pretty flower.
Beautiful photos of the birds and wildflowers. Have a great week.
...they are gorgeous things that call Florida home. I hope that their habitats are protected.
I never seen Scrub Jay in our place...
beautiful
We spent a couple of hours once in search of the endemic scrub jay, and finally found one quite close to where we had parked — but we were delighted! I’ve been wondering about the huge number of people displaced from their homes after the hurricane. Katrina made so many refugees who were brought to other places: even to Michigan where I live, but I have not heard about such need for the Florida victims. I hope they are being given shelter and other help.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Oh gorgeous nature shots endemic to your area ~ always a delight ~ love it ~ Xo
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Lively photos! Thanks for sharing.
I still enjoyed seeing the scrub. Jay. And it's good to know that you are okay. Thanks for the beautiful flowers too! Have a beautiful week
Beautiful birds and flowers. The birds have berries in their mouth? Glad you are enjoying your hikes.
Finding a Florida Scrub Jay remains on my list! Although (from pictures) they still look to me exactly like our Oregon ones, which are fairly common up here. I still want to see one in Florida.
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