A 'Half a Hike'!

 A 'half a hike'? Is that proper English? Or just Southern slang?

I drove out to the Pruitt Trailhead but instead of going down to Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, I parked in the regular parking lot and hiked the Florida Trail.

It was a glorious morning with temps in the 70s and a light breeze.

Out into the sunshine!

And when I got there, I was the only one there! (when I left there were 2 other vehicles with bike racks)
Since the two hurricanes blew through Florida, the birds have flown in!

All summer, I thought there were fewer birds but now they are everywhere in great numbers!

Not sure what this small bird is but I loved it's little feetsies! 

I walked behind some wild turkeys gobbling all the way....I mean THEY were gobbling, not me. I didn't even get a photo! But there were birds in every tree and the Swamp Sunflowers were in full bloom.

One of my best sightings was this female Blue Grosbeak.

She posed....

and posed 

and I was thrilled to get so close to her.

Another beautiful bird was this Northern Harrier.

I'm not sure what this wildflower is but it looks like a bouquet waiting to be placed in a vase!

But of course I'll leave it for the butterflies and bees!

Gulf Fritillary 

Dragonfly

Time to turn around at the FT sign!

We'll save the second half for next time!

I'm going to take a couple of weeks off to enjoy the season!

Are you seeing more birds where you live now too?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !

Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway - Sharp-shinned Hawk

 

It's fun to look back at previous posts to find out when you first learned about a particular bird or critter.

The first time I saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk (and properly identified it) was in 2019. The post was HERE.

And it was only about 2 miles from the one I saw this week!

Maybe less as the crow flies...or in this case the hawk!

I saw it at the very beginning of my hike and was lucky that it landed nearby. It's a small hawk and stands very upright.

It was breezy that day and he has a few ruffled feathers!

The Sumac is still blooming and I saw what I thought was a big wasp on one flower head.

But now I think it's a Trichopoda fly. There were other tiny wasps on the blooms too.

I saw a Northern Harrier, but in this photo he is high in the sky and impossible to pick out!

I noticed a couple of new markings on the paved part of the trail.

The heart was showing the turn for the trail I hike through the woods.

A collage of the Sumac blooms

Any monsters in the deep forest you ask?

Just a couple!

Thanks for joining me for another hot and humid hike along the Greenway.

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !