A 'Half a Hike'!

 A 'half a hike'? Is that proper English? Or just Southern slang?

I drove out to the Pruitt Trailhead but instead of going down to Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, I parked in the regular parking lot and hiked the Florida Trail.

It was a glorious morning with temps in the 70s and a light breeze.

Out into the sunshine!

And when I got there, I was the only one there! (when I left there were 2 other vehicles with bike racks)
Since the two hurricanes blew through Florida, the birds have flown in!

All summer, I thought there were fewer birds but now they are everywhere in great numbers!

Not sure what this small bird is but I loved it's little feetsies! 

I walked behind some wild turkeys gobbling all the way....I mean THEY were gobbling, not me. I didn't even get a photo! But there were birds in every tree and the Swamp Sunflowers were in full bloom.

One of my best sightings was this female Blue Grosbeak.

She posed....

and posed 

and I was thrilled to get so close to her.

Another beautiful bird was this Northern Harrier.

I'm not sure what this wildflower is but it looks like a bouquet waiting to be placed in a vase!

But of course I'll leave it for the butterflies and bees!

Gulf Fritillary 

Dragonfly

Time to turn around at the FT sign!

We'll save the second half for next time!

I'm going to take a couple of weeks off to enjoy the season!

Are you seeing more birds where you live now too?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !