I had planned on doing an easy post this week.
Barred Owl
After all, Mr. and Mrs. House Finch have a baby they are feeding at the feeder every day! How cute is that!
House Finch
And 2 ducks walked through the backyard contemplating a round of golf.
There are even Swallow-tailed Kites swooping over the neighborhood.
Swallow-tailed Kites
But then....we drove out to the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and hiked from the Pruitt Trailhead.
Barred Owl (my first photo that day)
And we had amazing sightings at the beginning and the end and somewhere in the middle.
We haven't seen a Barred Owl in a few months so this was the most exciting sighting of the day.
He was in the dark woods so it was hard to get sharp photos.
AND he kept moving around.
Of course if he hadn't moved, I would never have seen him.
Lots of Great White Egrets, Sandhill Cranes, Warblers, Hawks, Bluebirds and songs of the Eastern Meadowlark to make the hike extra special.
And then....we saw a little bump in the trail ahead.
It was a small Gopher Tortoise.
Even smaller than the one we saw a couple of weeks ago that I called a baby.
This one was about 6 inches across and I know enough about tortoises to know it's not really a baby. (my hubby's size 13 boot)
But it was small and adorable and not the least bit afraid of us.
It just kept on moving at a pretty fast pace while we stood close by and talked to it. Oh and yes, we spoke baby talk to it even though we knew it wasn't really a baby! lol
Have you seen changes where you live and sights and sounds of Spring this week?
