Black Ibis in Florida

We took a day trip to Canaveral National Seashore and saw a field of black birds.

Hundreds or possibly thousands of what appear to be

solid black Ibis!

Of course I couldn’t wait to look at my photos and then do a google search.

We thought it might be a rare sighting and it WAS!

Of course there was nowhere to pull over for better photos but I cropped and sharpened these photos. We knew what we had seen but just couldn’t believe it.

When I did a google search I found a question and answer forum on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website HERE. It was interesting to read that there have been a few sightings here in Florida but always just one or two birds at a time.

The field had just been cut and they were eating all day. We saw them in the morning on the way to the beach and again on the way home in the late afternoon. I’m sure they were migrating! What an amazing sight and one we won’t ever forget!

Looking for fences, I saw something incredible!

I’m joining Tex for the

Good Fences party and

 Wild Bird Wednesday!

What a day at the Ocean means to me….

source

Thanks hubby for taking the sailboat photos!

All photos unaltered…

it really was this beautiful!

I’m joining Beautiful Sunday,

Mosaic Monday,

and Amaze me Monday!

Enjoy your day my friends!

On the way to the beach…

We passed by the ranch again and I got some ‘fly by’ photos.

(the gate is in my post last week…HERE)

It was neat seeing the cows in the field this time.

And the weather was beautiful for a day at the beach.

Do you think this is a ‘friendly’ fence?

 

It separates the public beach from Canaveral National Seashore. And yes, I have a bag of shells….more than ONE bag! lol

Our highs are around 80 all this week and the breeze was over the water, keeping it cool and comfortable.

(waterlogue app for IPAD)

Thanks Tex for the Good Fences party!

Are you enjoying some pretty Spring weather, too?

Trip to the Prairie and a GIVEAWAY!!!

Today is the LAST DAY to enter the Eco Natural Soap GIVEAWAY!

Go to the original post HERE to ENTER!!!

We drove over to Payne’s Prairie to hike the trails and see the wildlife there on Mother’s Day.

Hiking boots in Florida? My TEVAs! lol

(I had my Don’t bug me insect repellant on!!!)

It was exciting to see the wild horses. You have to get off the beaten trail to get a photo of them! (thanks hubby)

And even though this is a beautiful spot for a picnic,

 

watch your step!

We saw this ‘cute’ little baby alligator down below the boardwalk.

What we didn’t see….was Mama Gator, but I’m sure she was close by!

Did you have a nice Sunday, too?

Please enter the GIVEAWAY HERE!

Traveling in Florida this Spring

We had fun taking some day trips and short vacations this past month and I thought I would share some of the sights we’ve seen driving up and down the road.

I thought you might like to sit in the front seat with me and see the sights!

You just never know where we might end up…

or what we might see.

And a lot of it could be labeled ‘Only in Florida’!

Do you have any vacation plans for May?

I’m always ready to travel!

I’m joining

Beautiful Sunday,

Sunny Simple Sunday,

Mosaic Monday,

Amaze me Monday,

and Sundays in my City!

Is there somewhere in Florida you would like to visit?

I hope this doesn’t sound too ‘fishy’…

or mushy!

But I DO love all of my sweet blog buddies!

And I love living in Florida!

These were taken at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.

This is not one of my best photos but it gives you an idea of where we were to take these photos.

We walked down steps and viewed them through the glass.

They were swimming in the Spring headwaters.

 

Amazing!

I’m joining

Beautiful Sunday,

Sunny Simple Sunday,

Mosaic Monday,

Amaze me Monday,

and Sundays in my City!

Florida in just One Day

We love to pack a picnic lunch and drive to a favorite beach.

One day last week we drove to Canaveral National Seashore and spent the day on the beach.

And some of the sights we saw were surprising.

There were TONS of seashells this time and aren’t the bottle caps that hubby found cute?

But don’t you love the ‘unexpected’ when you travel?

While we drove home, I made a list of some of the things we had seen that includes an eagle, wild turkeys, sandhill cranes and brown pelicans, a hawk and several osprey, dolphins, a small airplane doing stunts over the ocean and the Met Life Blimp!!

How amazing!

We drive by this ‘Ranch’ every time we go to the beach but this time hubby pulled over for me to get a proper photo! (more commonly called a horse farm here in Florida)

It was a GLORIOUS day!

I’m joining

Beautiful Sunday,

Sunny Simple Sunday,

Mosaic Monday,

Amaze me Monday,

and Sundays in my City!

Visiting Manatee Springs State Park

This is such a beautiful park to visit any time of the year but in the winter months you have a chance to see Manatee come up into the Springs to swim in the warmer temps. We were afraid that we would be too late to see any Manatee but knew we would enjoy the Park anyway.

Luck was with us!

We saw 6 Manatee all swimming together in an area close enough to get a good look. They are mammals and come up to breathe so everyone was excited every time one came up to the surface.

We called this one Silver back because he was keeping his back out of the water and it looked silver.

Wikipedia has an excellent article on Manatees and this photo to give you an idea of what you are seeing through the water.

image source

The whole area was flooded, compared to past visits.

But most of the boardwalks were open to view turtles, fish and water birds.

Manatee Springs is on the Suwannee River and the views of the river are spectacular!

Are you looking forward to visiting your State Parks this Spring and Summer?