Rufous-sided Towhee and Bobwhites

There are so many Towhees on the trails here in Florida but they are extremely hard to photograph. They usually stay on the ground in the underbrush. 

So I was happy to have my new camera when this one flew up into the tree and started preening.

I knew it must be a young one.....

and when I searched for a positive ID.....

I found out it was a Female Juvenile Rufous-sided Towhee.

Also called an Eastern Towhee.

Scratch scratch scratch!!!

It was entertaining to watch! And just when I thought the hike couldn't get any better, I looked up ahead and saw 2 birds on the edge of the trail.

One Bobwhite was trying to coax either a female or a young one across the road.

Come on....

it's safe now!

Run Run Run!!! 

(there's something REALLY BIG ahead, with a pink cap)

Not many Earthstars left but I found one to take with my new camera.

All pics taken on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, what I usually refer to as the Florida Trails.

I hope you've had something in nature to entertain you this week. Have your seen any new birds where you live?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

Extraordinary Insects

I tend to post photos of the amazing birds I see and the beautiful wildflowers!

And sometimes the insects get left out! And we do see some really odd insects here. (Red Wasp above)

One of the reasons I thought about doing this post was because of what happened to me a few days ago. I hiked on the Florida Trails from the Pruitt trailhead. It's about 15 miles from my house. As I was driving home, I noticed a deer fly was on my driver's side window....right in my view. I drove down a hwy going 55 (OK...I drive a BMW...I was going a little over! lol) And then through the slow twists and turns of the neighborhood where we live and guess what! I called my hubby to meet me in the driveway with a fly swatter! The fly was STILL hanging on to my window when I got home. SWAT! lol Thanks hubby! They can really bite a hunk out of you as we say in the South.

So here are some oddities I've seen the past couple of weeks. 

Robber Fly also known as Assassin Fly that eats all kinds of other insects. 

It was big, around 2 inches long.

And I still see this Robber Fly that we remember is called a bee killer because it preys on honey bees.

They look like little miniature bumble bees but they are flies.

We saw the biggest wasp looking insect that I thought was a hornet.

It turned out to be a Cicada Killer Wasp and was over 2 inches long. Not good pics but good enough for an ID!

And now I've sunk to a new low and I'm showing you wild animal 'poop' on the trail.

Can you see it's covered in dung beetles? How do they all know to come and congregate here? Social media?

And then there are the caterpillars in the webs along the trail.

And thanks to my blog buddy from It's All About Purple I learned this Gulf Fritillary Butterfly is emerging from it's chrysallis. I couldn't figure out what was going on here. There are 2 butterflies in the photo. Thanks Debbie for your help.

A pretty pic of a harmless wasp to end this creepy crawly post! 

Thanks for staying on the trail while we get past killer wasps and assassin insects (and dung)!
 Where's the bug spray? 
Watch where you walk!!!

We can all be thankful we survived this hike AND this post!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and I like Thursdays HERE!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE.

Hiking in the Sunshine State

You know...it really hasn't been that bad this summer. I always tell myself if I get too hot, I can just turn around and go back home. I've tried to hike in the evenings but the wind dies down and it feels 'close' and even more humid. I would rather be out in the sunshine and the trails I hike have shady areas along the way too. I've hiked 3 times this week. I keep a hiking journal and I use my Apple Watch for some of the info and then fill in what I've seen along the way. This week Hike #89 was 82 degrees with 81% humidity, Hike #90 was 83 degrees with 86% humidity, Hike #91 was 81 degrees with 89% humidity. The humidity is what makes it feel HOT but I had a nice breeze on 2 of these hikes. And there's always so much to see that it beats staying at home by a long shot!

We started our hike at Pruitt Trailhead by seeing this beautiful Blue Grosbeak.

He has been a regular in this area this summer.

When we got near a big live oak tree we heard quite a chatter in the branches.

I got a couple of close ups and determined it was full of Grackles.

A bird we've only seen once before at Pruitt.

And while we stood near the tree,

they started to fly....

more....

until we were seeing hundreds of them in the sky! 

Felt a little like the old Alfred Hitchcock movie, 'The Birds' with all the chatter!

No, this isn't a bird! But when we were looking in the sky we saw a hang glider too!

We ended the hike with 2 of the most beautiful Sandhill Cranes.

Have you seen lots of birds this week too? 

Enjoy your weekend!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’. 

An Earthstar Sighting!

Have you sighted an Earthstar this week? 

I sighted more than one! 

Astraeus hygrometricus commonly known as the Earthstar. 

I found a good article about them HERE.

I spotted these little jewels along the Florida Trails right after they had mowed along the sides of the trails. I don't know if that uncovered them but they caught my eye.

I went back the very next day to hike and take a few more pics.

I needed enough for a mosaic! lol

I was pulling away some blades of grass for a better photo so you can see how small they are by the size of my finger. 

And I picked this one up. A blade of grass was growing through it so I was able to pick it up without handling it. I don't touch things in the forest but I have learned now these mushrooms are not harmful. The info said they are inedible because they are bitter. 

It was fun to see something so unusual on my hikes this week.

They are very beautiful and unique.

Have you ever seen an Earthstar before?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I'm linking with All Seasons at the Jesh Studio too!

A Colorful Spring!

OK....here's your warning! Read the beginning and then skip to the end if you don't want to see something scary! This will be your only warning! lol If you don't skip to the bottom and you get scared, don't blame me! 

We see a lot of beautiful birds here in Florida!

We watched a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers building a nest awhile back.

One was pecking a deep hole into an old tree.  Look at the tail feathers on this one!!!

The other one pecked around an old stump nearby.

They didn't care that we walked by and took pics. They had a job to do!

But when you hike in the woods as often as we do, you are bound to see something scary. And we saw the scariest thing to date when we hiked this week. 

A Coral Snake.

They have the second strongest venom of any snake in the world (the black mamba has the most deadly venom).

And this wasn't a little baby snake...it was about 3 ft in length. 

It was rustling in the leaves along the side of the trail. My hubby was in the lead and saw it first and turned to caution me to stop. He walked back toward me since the snake was heading...in my direction...and stayed between me and the snake in case it tried to turn and cross in front of me. He had on long pants and boots. I got over to the other side of the trail as much as I could and it slithered past. I can still feel my heart quicken when I write this. It was scary! Does it mean I won't go back in the woods again. Of course not. I believe there are dangers in every part of our lives and this one did not threaten us. I liked what my hubby said when we were back home, safe and sound. He said he felt privileged to see something so rare in the wild and to have survived to tell the story. I've been scared a few times on our hikes but I still love the forest and know that it is worth any danger that it holds. 

And even though it is deadly, according to National Geographic no deaths from coral snake bites have been reported in the U.S. since an antivenom was released in 1967.

So that's the scary hiking story I warned you about! 

Let's finish with another pretty bird with a colorful head!

Pileated Woodpecker

Most of our hiking trails are closed now. How are things going in your part of the world? Stay safe and healthy!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.