Summer sightings at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve

 I've taken a few short hikes this summer and loved every minute of my time in nature.

Do you see the little Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in my new banner?

The web is full of caterpillars so he appears to be getting ready for a feast!

When I drove onto the dirt road that runs along the preserve, I saw this in the field.

It looked like a couple of critters waiting to greet me!

But it was a pair of cute cactus plants!

There were so many Eastern Meadowlarks singing their beautiful song.

Some of them flew along beside me as I walked. 

There were a lot of Bobwhites calling each other but I didn't get photos of them.

I did see a nice flock of Red-winged Blackbirds though with some young ones in the flock.

This is one of the most beautiful butterflies I've ever seen and it lit on some frogfruit.

Checkered White Butterfly

And I will report that I wasn't just hanging around the house all this time goofing off like this critter.

This Raccoon was in our backyard for a few days, cleaning out our bird feeders.

We left them empty for a couple of days and I think he's moved on now.

I got a lot done around the house on my break. So when the weather improves, we'll be ready to go camping! 

What's new with you? What did I miss?

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Fun in the good ole summertime!

 It's hot. It's August. It's Florida! 

But let's tie the jeep to the hitching post at the 49th Ave trailhead and get out on the trails.

I chose a morning after a rain and the woods were still dripping wet and it felt cooler.

Or less hot!

And I saw all kinds of pretty birds.

Isn't this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher beautiful?

And I think this was a young one flying alongside the parent.

I was pleased to get them both in the photo.

I saw lots of wildflowers and some deer grazing.

Look at that tongue! He was eating something tasty!

A Black-and-white Warbler, Zebra Swallowtail and a Flicker.

A nice day to get out early and enjoy the beauty of nature.

And it will cool off one day soon. Right?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !  

Florida Fall featuring the 'Littles'!

 

We really don't have a problem seeing little things when we hike. We walk really slow! lol

Palm Warbler (thanks hubby for the photo!)

And we are constantly looking about!

Tiny wasp on Dotted Horsemint (it smells incredible, minty sweet!)

It's been perfect hiking weather here this past week and we even took one afternoon hike with it only in the 70s! 

So here's a few of the 'littles' we saw on the trails.

Grasshopper

Shiny beetle

Hover fly (hard to photograph but so much fun to see)

Probably a Hornet and not as neat to see!

And not little! For a wasp, it was huge! lol

A teeny tiny moth!

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

We're seeing a lot of these birds right now!

Feay's Palafox at top with honey bee, Cypress vine is the tiny red flower and a small purple morning glory.

Even this horse at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve was small!

Has your weather been nice too? Do you love getting outside in the Fall? The birds are returning to Florida so we've had some good sightings too! Lots of photos to sort through! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.   

The Queen Butterfly

 

The beholders eye sees the beauty.

A little twist to the usual quote.

But I'm going to start with beauty that we all agree on and end with what I think was the most beautiful sighting I had this week. This is not a butterfly we see often so it seemed fitting to see it this week in honor of Queen Elizabeth 11.

Queen Butterfly

We've had a lot of pop up showers lately and the wildflowers are blooming like crazy!

Long-Tailed Skipper

This Skipper was missing a bit of one of his tails but I loved the way the sunshine came onto him.

I don't remember ever seeing the Morning Glory on this trail but it was blooming when I hiked this week.

And I walked 'off trail' to get this wonderful photo of a Mockingbird! 

I thought it was a Cuckoo and walked through the tall wet grass to get a really good photo. Thank you very much! lol

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

And now onto what I thought was my most beautiful sighting this week.

The Yellow Orb Spider

I don't usually like spiders but this one is amazing!

A rainbow over the Gulf of Mexico this week.

And please keep leaving comments even when it gives an error message. It seems like they are all coming through so I don't understand why the message comes up.

 

Thank you SO much for your sweet comments! They really do make my day. And I won't even fuss if you tell me my amazing spider is not beautiful! hahaha!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.   

Critters AND Birds

I was driving over to the Pruitt Trailhead when I spotted this 'critter' on the side of the road.

Gopher Tortoise

There was a good place to pull over so I took a few pics.

I didn't want to get too close to him though and scare him back onto the street or have him stop and pull into his shell.

That's him behind my car in a gravel driveway of a business. I watched until I saw that he had gotten near the woods next door. 

I saw many of my usual birds and critters at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve (hike #96 for the year)

and it was a beautiful day to be out. (just a little on the HOT side of pleasant) But as I was finishing up my hike and in view of my car,

I heard a small group of trees tweeting. I recognized the Mockingbirds tune and the Cardinal too. 

But the other birds sounded like tweaty birds.

I took photos (most of them I couldn't even find the birds because of the leaves) and I was happy when I got home to see the nice variety.

This Black and White Warbler flew and I got a good look at all of his striping.

This Warbler is probably a female (not sure what).

The Northern Parula I recognized when I saw it. (sorry about the blurry photos, he wouldn't hold still! heehee)

And I got more than one photo of it.

Even a Blue-gray gnatcatcher.

Hope he was spending all his time catching bugs because they are buzzing around.

I did notice this web that had caterpillars in it so they might have all been feasting on them.

So it was a great day to be out in nature!

But isn't it always!!!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.