Beautiful Birds of Florida

 

We always check the tide chart before we drive out to the Gulf of Mexico and on this particular day, the lowest tide was at noon. 

Perfect! All of these sandbars will be covered with water when the tide comes in.

But for now....

a glimpse at how many birds are out there!

The Pelicans seem to be having a conversation.

Or is it an argument? lol

We drive along the canal on a dirt road for 4 miles before we reach the Gulf.

Great White Egret, Snowy Egret and Tri-colored Heron

And we had never seen so many birds along the banks of the canal and in the water.

I think this is a Bonaparte's Gull.

Hubby was driving and some of these were taken from inside the truck!

Snowy Egret and Tri-colored Heron

And then some of my favs!

A Stork fishing for his dinner!

He looked a bit comical with all his twists and turns!

Just one more before we have to walk away!

We saw a wonderful variety of shorebirds! 

And now to share my favorite photo of the day!

Great Blue Heron

It was hard to pick a favorite!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE !  

A Day on the Gulf Coast

 

We are enjoying the Spring weather and spending time on our favorite trails and preserves.

The nice thing about living in North Central Florida is the proximity to the Gulf Coast. It takes us about 40 minutes to drive to the Gulf Coast on back country roads with very little traffic. The 'real' Florida!

The temps were in the 70s when we started our day and 85 degrees when we drove home at about 4 pm.

It was perfect for a walk on the boardwalk at Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve. More info HERE. 

As I've written before, this is a beautiful preserve that most people drive right by. The dirt road is narrow and may not look as inviting as other trailheads. But of course we love it!

The highlight of the day was the Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage.

Do you see the white feathers coming out of the back of his head and the white feathers on his rump?

At first we thought we were seeing something 'new' but the long neck, small head and large beak is the description of a Tricolored Heron.

A few 'ruffled' feathers!

Something else we rarely see are the huge Blue Crabs.

They were almost as big as a dinner plate!

Small colorful crabs were in the wet sand.

It was a beautiful day at the preserve and we had it all to ourselves. I always hope others will discover these hidden treasures. We love the peace and quiet but there's always room for more nature lovers!

Do you have a peaceful place to spend some time this weekend? ENJOY!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.  

  Mosaic Monday HERE and I like Thursdays HERE !  

Withlacoochee Bay Trail, buggy but beautiful!

 We've been anxious to drive back over to the Gulf Coast, weather permitting. It's been hot and humid and pop up showers are hard to predict. (and they usually come from the warm Gulf waters) 

So when we saw it would be low tide, we took a drive.

More chance of seeing shorebirds when there are exposed sandbars at low tide.

And the water was glassy and the views were amazing!

But there were deer flies buzzing all around. We didn't get a single bug bite but they were annoying to say the least!

Do you see the one that photobombed this photo? He was right on the lens of the camera for crying out loud!

But it was a good day for sightings!

Osprey

Tricolored Heron and Great White Egret.

Are you following me?

The Heron just wanted to hang out with the Egret! 

And here's proof that the earth is FLAT!

Don't go out too far and fall off! lol

This Swallowtail Kite might take a photo of you and post it on his blog! hahahaha! Straight out of camera with his catch of the day!

He has his camera focused right on YOU!!!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.  

The Dolphin, a small-toothed cetacean

 

This will probably be the easiest post I've ever written. I could add one photo and one photo only. But of course you know I can't do that! 

We DID have an amazing encounter with a Dolphin on our drive over to the Withlacoochee Bay Trail on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

We were standing on an observation platform looking out over some shallow water and saw a Dolphin swimming our way. 

For starters, we can see the dorsal fin of Dolphins swimming out in the deeper waters. That's not unusual. But to have one swim right in front of us is most unusual and very exciting. 

Can you see the water coming out of his blow hole?

And then to have it splishing and splashing, fishing for it's lunch was something to watch!

Fish were flying out of the water, hoping to live another day! lol

It was an incredible display to be so close to with our cameras clicking away.

And to share a Tricolored Heron that we spotted from the top of the tall tower I bravely climbed (more on that in the previous post).

He was a beauty!

I'll finish with a cropped photo of the Dolphin coming out of the water to give us a smile! 

Amazing! We were very thankful to witness something so special!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.  

"Cute Dog Day" at Blue Run Park!

 We see a lot of dogs on our hikes at Blue Run Park. 

And over the years we see some of the same ones and we try to remember some of their names. (it helps when I write them down in my hiking journal) 

I've met this young man with his big therapy dog and we have something in common with them! 

They drive a RED Jeep! heehee!

The weather was gorgeous and everyone was enjoying a nice day.

These are West Highland Terriers!

I sure would love one of these!

And we spotted this beautiful Tricolored Heron out in the swamp too.

We don't see them as often and it was especially colorful.

We also saw a River Otter which was special but didn't get a good photo! What a sighting though!!!

We saw a Limpkin and heard his mournful call too. 

We could stay here ALL day, couldn't you?

But it's time to go home now! See you next time! 

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.