Not long after the trip to St. Augustine's rookery, friend Karen and I took a trip up north to Jacksonville and Amelia Island, as it turned out…there are several birding sites along the way and we made several stops to check things out. Overall I'm sorry to say I was disappointed, but we did get an eyeful of nature…
Just no male painted buntings like I was hoping...
My favorite shot of the day was this laughing gull at Huguenot Memorial Park…
(Just look at that saucy red lipstick!)
A gulf fritillary …. uh, somewhere…
We saw this cottontail on the trail to Boneyard Beach on Big Talbot Island...
The beach had a lot of "driftwood"…more like dead trees, hence the name…not a common sight in FL…
(Decided to do this shot in B&W, didn't like the colors)….
Seeing jellyfish washed ashore isn't so rare, however…but then again, seeing one in one piece isn't so common, for me at least…
Also saw this interesting hollow tree….
On a path to Amelia Island Beach, we encountered this baby gopher tortoise…it was marching along, stopping briefly to eat along the way...
Meanwhile, closer to home…near Flagler Beach, we saw this pileated woodpecker near the boardwalk that goes to the Intra Coastal Waterway…might be the same one I saw last time I was there...
I'd never noticed fiddler crabs before, below the boardwalk in the marsh muck…Karen pointed them out to me. Don't think I'd ever seen a fiddler crab before! (If memory serves me right, which is highly debatable, I'm sorry to say.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Back at home, the avian nursery work has been in full swing…this pops was gathering grub around my hydrangea bush...
Mayme I canph stuff oneph phore fug in myph mouph...
Hi Jann.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't get to see your target species but you did capture a wide selection of wildlife. Interesting that we are both publishing Fritillary species from different sides of the world.
The hollow tree made me think of a very large 'yawn' and I nearly died laughing at the final caption.
Thanks Frank…we berd nerds know this is the (big) risk we take every time we head out with a camera in hand and feathers on the brain….
DeleteSomething is terribly wrong with that Gull. Great photos and a bummer about the dips, but a great post for we the no-risk audience ; )
ReplyDeleteIt sure looks like it, eh?! LOL Thanks Laurence. :)
DeleteThe picture of the Cardinal in your hydrangea bush almost looks like a watercolor painting...Beautiful picture!
ReplyDeleteThanks Janice! I can see what you mean, that photo does have a watercolor quality to it. :)
DeleteWow so nice are great.............
ReplyDeleteJacksonville Videography