Monday, December 16, 2013

3 Birds at St. Marks Refuge Mounds Pool 2

On Sunday, Trudy and I enjoyed one of the reoccurring St. Marks Refuge winter wildlife tours led by Don Morrow. I highly recommend these tours for a look at bird habitats east of the Lighthouse Road. It was cool and overcast during the morning tour; rain began in the afternoon. We got good distance looks through spotting scopes of a vermillion flycatcher, blue-phase snow goose, ruddy duck, many white pelicans and blue and green-winged teal.
 
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Forster's Tern

Ring-billed Gull

Boat-tailed Grackle

Saturday, December 7, 2013

St. Marks Refuge

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Boat-tailed grackle

Original color image of a large gator

Black and white version with more 'texture'

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Sopchoppy River

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Found at Lost Creek

I returned to Lost Creek yesterday and walked farther north along the eastern shoreline through the Apalachicola National Forest, north from the County Road 368 (Arran Road) bridge. I found a cypress knee crown and foam rings in the dark tannin water.
 
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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Wakulla Springs November 11, 2013

Once again, the river delivers abundant and diverse wildlife. I was on the first river boat tour Monday morning for a glorious hour. Skies were clear and bright blue. Life is good.
Pied-billed grebe

Osprey

American coots

Turkey vulture

Woodduck


 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Skipper Creek

Skipper is a small tidal creek in the salt marsh west of Highway 98, between Medart and Panacea. Although Skipper is not included in the "Florida Birding Trail", it is high on my list as a go-to destination to immerse myself in nature ... dazzling white clouds in an early morning blue sky, palms in a coastal hammock, and a small stream winding through great expanses of the greens and golds of cord grass (Spartina) and tan needle rush (Juncus).
 
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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Wakulla Springs in October








 





Ochlockonee River Floodplain Swamp

These images of tupelo and cypress trees were taken earlier this week in a vast floodplain swamp of the Ochlockonee River west of Crawfordville. I parked on the shoulder of Forest Road 13, adjacent to the entrance of the Apalachicola National Forest campground at Porter Lake and walked for about 3 hours in a loop to the north. There are no roads or trails through this unspoiled, wild and very beautiful place.   Boots and a GPS are necessary gear. Several months ago the water was over 5 feet deep throughout the entire swamp. Now water is only flowing in a second, smaller and shallower channel of the river that meanders through the swamp to Porker Lake. This 'lake' rejoins the river south of the campground.
 
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Mashes Sands in October

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