Every Day is a Gift!
For this week’s Bird Weekly Challenge Lisa has asked us to show flocks of birds. The above image is of a flock of Roseate Spoonbills on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Thanks you Lisa. for this challenge. Her original post is Bird Weekly Challenge #14 – Flocks
It’s been five years since I spotted a Roseate Spoonbill where I live in coastal Georgia. Yesterday this pink beauty swooped down into the creek and kept me entertained for a short while.
Seeing this magnificent bird made me smile this week. What made you smile?
Shared with Trent’s Weekly Smile.
Several years ago, Henry and I were sitting on our back deck when a big pink bird flew over the marsh and landed in the creek. Like any good bird photographer I grabbed my camera and went out to investigate.
There were two Roseate Spoonbills searching for food in the creek bed. Until that sighting I had never seen one of these magnificent birds in our area.
There was another Roseate Spoonbill in the creek for a few days the next year. Sadly, they haven’t been back since then.
One winter a few years ago a Snowy Owl was spotted on top of one of the condominium buildings at the beach. Of course I grabbed my camera and went in search of this bird rarely seen in coastal Georgia. I set up my tripod with other excited birders and snapped away. He was pretty far off but I managed to get this shot. Can you see his yellow eyes?
Thanks you Lisa. for this challenge. Her original post is Bird Weekly Challenge #10 – Rare bird for your area
We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.
On this day ten years ago, December 5, 2009, we were camped in the Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park. We spent the day exploring the national park around Flamingo.
After entering Everglades National Park, the drive to the Flamingo Campground is another 38 miles through the park. Flamingo is the southernmost place in the mainland of the U.S. (The southernmost point in the U.S. is farther south in Key West.)
I wandered from our campsite in the morning to nearby Eco Pond where many wading birds were gathered.
Later in the day we went for a boat ride on a big pontoon boat in Florida Bay. There were some White Pelicans on a sandbar close to the boat. There were also hundreds of White Pelicans on a sand bar too far away to take pictures. As we headed back to the dock the rain started coming down.
The Flamingo area of Everglades National Park is far from civilization and a wonderful place for bird watching and seeing other wildlife. In addition to the birds visitors can observe alligators and crocodiles in the wild. During certain times of year there may even be manatees in the water.
We enjoyed our stay so much we returned in 2012.
The next stop on our winter RV journey was Saint Augustine, Florida. We had a beautiful campsite in Anastasia State Park to call home for a few days. The weather was lousy most of the time but we picked a perfect sunny day to do some sightseeing.
At the top of my to do list was visit the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm Wading Bird Rookery. During nesting season wading birds come to nest in the trees in the Native Swamp at the Alligator Farm. The birds who nest here are wild and can come and go as they please. Although it was a little early in the nesting season there were a lot of great egrets and roseate spoonbills wearing their breeding plumage and some pairs were starting to build their nests.
The trees surround a swamp area filled with alligators. A boardwalk winds around the swamp giving visitors close up views of the alligators in the water and the birds in the trees.
The Great Egrets showed off their breeding plumage and pairs worked on their nests.
The Roseate Spoonbills were my favorite.
Coming up next, more about our St. Augustine adventure including other critters at the Alligator Farm.
