Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and the traveling Tortoise

 

I set off to drive to the preserve in search of birds. 

Isn't the back leg kicked out cute? I think he was traveling faster than me! 

I told myself, I would just walk around and look.

But walking around turned into a nice long...hot hike!

And I did see a beautiful Red tailed Hawk.

His tail really glowed in the sun!

But the sighting of the day was this cute and very clean Gopher Tortoise.

This looks like a regular road but the gate is locked so you rarely see a work vehicle on the road.

But on this particular day, I looked up ahead and saw this tortoise on a mission.

You really need to stand still and let them pass so that they can get on their regular trail that leads to their burrow. If they feel threatened, they will get off and go through the weeds but that is not their easy path to their home.

So I stood still in the hot sun and took photos. 

And there he goes!

It's funny how the sun doesn't bother you as much when you are watching something interesting.

Now the road is overgrown with grass and that makes a soft surface to walk on.

The views out on the preserve are stunning.

And the wildflowers are abundant.

I love this morning glory.

And at the trailhead, I was joined by another Jeep!

Jeep parking only! Haha!

Halpata Tastanaki Preserve

Have a beautiful weekend! 

Take a drive even it you can't hike!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

A Quick trip to the Pruitt Trailhead!

 

Even a short hike can reap great results! 

When we drove in, the first bird I saw was perched on an old dead snag. So I rolled the window down and took a photo.

Mississippi Kite

We see Kites all through the summer months here in Florida.

Swallow-tailed Kite

Queen Butterfly

The stars of this little outing were the butterflies!

The Queen butterfly was exquisite!

And some of them were a duller brownish color. 

The Gulf Fritillary is always a pretty orange and common in North Central Florida.

And here are the maps for this little outing!

I love these unknown roads! I feel right at home here!

Happy September everyone!

 I am getting this post done early before Hurricane Idalia comes through. I'll update it to let everyone know how we fared. Hopefully it will just be a rain event for our area and we won't have any damage. I'm keeping everyone in the path of the storm in my prayers.

Update : We weathered the storm without any damage. You don't have to drive far to see a lot of damage though. We live about 30 miles, as the crow flies from Cedar Key. But we are fine and have clear skies and hot temps again! WHEW!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !  

The Roseate Spoonbill

 If I've said it once....I've said it a dozen times! 

The Roseate Spoonbill is my MOST favorite Florida bird.

We rarely see it in the wild so that makes it a thrill.

This was a day trip to the Gulf of Mexico and we parked and hiked to the observation platform at the end.

But we watched these birds flying overhead from the time we got out of our vehicle.

And it is such a unique bird. When I searched online to read more about it, I found this quote from the audubon website HERE. " Gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close is the Roseate Spoonbill."

We saw two of them and I think the one in flight is an adult and the one we watched eating is a juvenile.

They are so comical when they eat. They stand in the same spot and swing their head from side to side foraging in the shallow water. They have wide flat bills that sift the muck and uncover food.

We had a wonderful day on the coast and saw lots of beautiful birds! 

One more favorite!

Little Blue Heron

It's HOT so the hikes are shorter but it's still great to get outside.

Railroad vine also known as a beach morning glory

Are you enjoying some summertime outings?

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’.