Sunrise and Scallops

I've continued to stroll the beach at sunrise this past week, arriving a few minutes before the sun breaks above the horizon. Each sunrise I've witnessed, since starting my weekly beach-combing, has been unique and breath-taking. Getting up so early and driving for about 30 minutes would be worth it if I didn't find a single sea treasure on the shore, just to see the sunrises. Fortunately, most times there are nifty things to find as well…

…Other shellers don't seem to care for the curly partial whelk shells, but I think they have their own artistic beauty…

…I found a whole lightning whelk, it needs a good cleaning...

…I continue to find a few scallops on each sandy stroll...

…and cockles, which come in sizes very small to quite big…

…and white baby's ears, this one decorated with seaweed lace...

…I found my 2nd turtle carapace bone...

…this was actually 30 or more minutes after sunrise…a lone black-bellied plover, with non-breeding plumage, contemplates the liquid gold panorama.

The Bald Truth . . .

Another beach therapy day today…sometimes a beachcomber's best find for the day, isn't on the sand…so here's the bald truth, which can now be told since I've been able to right a wrong…the first time I visited this beach, since deciding to make an effort to go weekly, I did not take my SLR camera. At that time, I was strolling along, scanning the sand…rounded the bend where the Atlantic and Matanzas Inlet meet, and lo and behold…a bald eagle. A stationery, perched bald eagle, just waiting for some camera nut to have a field day. Needless to say, a whole lot of moaning and groaning and sand-kicking ensued. ARG! That'll teach me…and yes, it did. On the way home, I slinked into Walmart and bought a backpack. Now the SLR rides piggyback on the beach…

AnyWHO, this am, (weeks later now), bright and early, I once again round the bend, lo and behold…Mr. or Mrs. Baldie has returned…Oh Yay!! The eagle was actually perched on a very tall post, a handful of yards away…. 

…. Like this….

…I was so busy falling over myself to get photos of baldie that the black-bellied plover that I was trying to capture during my previous beach bumming excursion, almost went unnoticed…still didn't get a decent shot of the fully transitioned-to-summer-plumage plover, but you can see that the black and white is striking…

…I also nearly tripped over a snowy egret that was fishing and striding past me...

…the same pretty much goes for the common grackle...

…By the way, the sunrise was lovely this morning...

On the way back from whence I came, I passed this big (22"), peg-legged immature lesser black-backed gull…I always seem to stumble upon one lone LBB gull each visit to this beach…there were also Wilson's plovers and sanderlings that I didn't capture...

…This brown 2" common American auger shell was my favorite find on the sand today...

The ruddy turnstones have their summer plumage now…

…This shrimp was probably left by a surf fisherman…

There have been a lot of shells on the beach lately, that have anemones on them, like this ark…
I'm not sure but these may be hermit crab anemones…

My 2nd sighting of red knots in summer plumage…


Just another therapeutic day on the beach   :)

Beachcomber's Basics

Due to changes in my life, I've decided to change my Blog as well…I've changed the title (not the URL), and am tweaking its direction. About a month ago, I began making an effort to get to the beach at least once a week, for both the physical and mental health that being at and walking on the beach gives me. Esp. now that it's spring and the weather's alot nicer…

I recently attended a "Beachcomber's Basics" class, and was greatly inspired to embrace my beach-y side. My doc had recently asked me, after informing me I need to lose 30 lb., what exercise I like to do best. Well, I like walking. I thought about her question for days, realized that what I really like best is walking…on the beach. So, I've been getting to the beach 1-2 times a week. I go early in the AM, to beat the heat and the "crowds", although the beach I go to is nearly deserted.  :)

I made one such run for the beach this AM…..

…And found 5-6 black-bellied plovers dotting the shore…

This was a first; I'd never seen more than one lone plover before…

They must be gathering before heading N. for the summer…

This plover's plumage is changing from winter to breeding colors…

I did see only one lone laughing gull…

My first photo this year of one with it's breeding plumage...

While at the Beachcomber's Basics class, a really handy guide book

was suggested, "Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious

Beachcomber", which I dashed home and bought online…it's

definitely very handy to have! It IDs everything found on FL's coastlines, from 

shells to plants and shore birds. I've come across a handful of

different types of crabs lately (besides the common ghost crab)…

today I found my first speckled crab. Sorry to say, he's deceased.

Beach & Backyard Babes

Life is pretty good here in NE Florida...we may be only semi-settled into our new home, due to the fact that we're waiting until we get back from our seasonal job in Hawaii before we paint inside and buy furniture, but we're getting to know our neighborhood with almost daily bicycle rides, which we really enjoy. We've witnessed a hawk snatching up its latest meal from a nearby canal, and we've also witnessed a red-bellied woodpecker pestering a hawk in flight...sorry, no snaps! The hawks are small and, I think, red-shouldered ones. I've now spotted two brown thrashers (a lifer!) in the 'hood...again, no shots so far. But, the number of species has increased at the bird feeders in the backyard, including a couple lifers; oh snap! 

We've made a few more trips to Flagler Beach, and one day in particular, we saw yet another lifer.....wait for it......

First, right off, I was thrilled to see that the black-bellied plovers were sporting their summer attire....

...A male least tern (lifer!) was trying to court a female,

Offering her a piece of sushi,

But she was stand-offish.....he seemed stumped...what to do now?!

...An osprey suddenly flew overhead...it's always suddenly w/ the osprey at the beach;

They just appear out of nowhere...

The ruddy turnstone above was nicely camoflaged by the brown seaweed...this is probably a female (winter plumage is very similar)....

This male ruddy turnstone was definitely sporting its summer plumage...

Flagler Beach Pier in the distance...It's $1.50 a person to use the pier for the day ($6 to fish)...we walked out on the night recently that the moon was big and full...

The coquina sand of Flagler Beach....

There are many scattered shell caches on the beach...

And one sign explaining the unique orange sand color......

After leaving the beach, we idly drove around the area, one block from A1A, looking at the beachy and swanky beach homes...we came upon Silver Lake Park, a woodsy trail around a lake...

At the trailhead there's a sitting area, where we barged in on two anoles doing what critters do best in spring...

On the flip side of the railing, we discovered that Romeo had an incredibly long tail....

Probably made him popular w/ the ladies.....

Back on the home front, we now have a pair of tufted titmouses (titmice?) visiting the feeders...a lifer!

...and a Carolina chickadee has flitted in a few times...also a lifer! (But not much difference from a black-capped chickadee except the body is grey (Carolina) not pale rust )....

A pair of house finches, both with the orange-colored head variation, have appeared a few times...

The red-bellied woodpeckers and cardinals continue to visit often, including these two females...

...and the blue jays come squawking daily as well.....

One day I caught this determined (or lazy) squirrel lying down while it was digging for and eating fallen bird seeds in the mulch below the feeders.....

Blanket flowers grow wild or semi-wild here (or are planted)...these were at the beach...

I was thrilled to see my first passion flowers recently! We have some growing wild in a vacant, uncleared lot at the other end of our street.....named passion flowers because they reminded early pilgrims of the passion or suffering of Christ.

Turns out this is called a Touch-me-not! Also sighted growing in an uncleared lot....

Back at home once again, we now have pale yellow day lilies blooming.  :o)

*   *   *   *   *   *

This may be my last Florida post before we leave for Hawaii ~ ~ !! My one allowed "carry on" will be, what else? My camera bag! Ru's carrying my laptop so I'll still be able to share photos in Hawaii, of course!  See you there soon!

Sanibel Island

Last week-ish, Ru and I drove to the west coast...

To have a look around the areas we're interested in living...

We ended up on Sanibel Island,

At Bowman's Beach...

We barely made it onto the causeway,

When we stopped on a narrow strip of beach 

To eat lunch...

And watch the shore birds...

An osprey dove into the water right in front of us...

No camera in hand of course...

But I did capture the black-bellied plover, above...

 

And a great egret...

 

Once at Bowman's Beach,

I gleefully strolled down the shore

Looking for seashells

And watching the feathered friends...

Like the sandwich terns, above

(Black bills w/ yellow tips)...

 

And this royal tern...

(All birds are in their winter plumage)...

 

The scenery was pleasant...

 

Walking back to the car, at the bridge

Over a waterway off of the ocean...

We watched two 'silver' gals

Canoeing at a brisk clip...

(Mom, you can do it!)