Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Monday, March 31, 2014

Sebastian/Vero Beach


The final week of our Florida "snowbird" vacation was spent in the Sebastian/Vero Beach area on the Atlantic Coast.  Mrs. T’s cousin and his wife Mary winter in that area and naturally we visited them and did some“outings” together.
One was The Stick Marsh near Fellsmere Florida. It  is  considered to be one of the best kept fishing secrets in Central Florida with its premiere bass fishing. We drove throughout the refuge as well as did some hiking to check out the birds.

On another day Barb and I took an airboat ride through the nearby Blue Cypress Conservation Marshland with Captain Bob.  These unspoiled waters are also perfect way to observe exotic birds, plants, turtles and Florida alligators in their own natural environment. Our tour was  fully narrated by Capt. Bob through a TALK-AROUND HEADSET system which allows two way communication. Capt. Bob, in a highly knowledgeable and entertaining way,   tells you about the birds, plants, alligators, fish and the local history of the area as you glide across the marshlands. The man bubbles with excitement and passion for the wetlands. It was great…..
We saw dozens of alligators of all sizes.
We saw a few Bald Eagles in Florida but many many Ospreys. This is quite of the opposite of southeastern Minnesota where osprey are rare and Bald Eagles have become common along the Mississippi.
While lots of the usual large wading birds were seen, a "lifer" for me was the strangely colorful purple gallinule.
A large relative of the Cormorants, know locally as the "water snake" bird was seen frequently. The Anhinga does look like a snake when swimming though the water submerged with its head and neck visible. All in all we had a great time on both the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts..... 
 
 
 

21 comments:

  1. awesome gallinule sighting! i'd like a capt. bob tour, for sure!

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  2. Great pictures! What interesting birds, TB. Love that last one. :-)

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  3. Wow, great photos here...so much to see!

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  4. Looks like great fun and you got to see some interesting birds! :)

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  5. OH.MY! I would enjoy seeing what you saw! I just saw my first osprey and my lens couldn't get a good shot. I was so disappointed.

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  6. Wow---I'd love that airboat ride... You saw SO many beautiful critters.. How great is that.

    Maybe Spring is finally coming to our area this week... I hope so since it has been a LONG winter and a crazy one!!!!

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. Air boat rides are such fun. You really found some nice bird specimens while you were out there!

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  8. What astounding wildlife you saw. I have never been to Florida -- I'm glad they are protecting what they have. -- barbara

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  9. Looks like some great wildlife viewing. And having missed out on a bit of winter for that must have been wonderful!

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  10. I'd give a lot to be able to go on that tour. It must be marvellous living in such an area... sigh!

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  11. Such wonderful looking birds! Glad you enjoyed your time.
    xo Catherine

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  12. I believe I'd just love a tour like that - great photos, TB, and I especially like that Purple Gallinule. Had never even heard of it before.

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  13. That was a good tour but not so keen on the alligator!
    Maggie x

    Nuts in May

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  14. Air boats are an exciting way to travel, if noisy. Love that area and spent a lot of time there. Great shot of the Osprey at lunch. They are great fisher birds.

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  15. Hi Troutbirder-I'm overseeing my cousin Larry's blog until he returns. I don't know anything about birds but those bottom ones are pretty cool looking! I wouldn't mind taking a nature tour on that boat-great photos!-Bob.

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  16. It's good to see you and our bald eagles and ospreys enjoying a milder winter. We still have snow in Maine. Marvelous shots!

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  17. I took an airboat ride once -- outside of New Orleans -- to see the marshes and alligators. Quite a fun trip. Thanks for taking us along on this one. Was that a NDSU shirt on that young man in the first photo? I picked them to win in the first round. Happy they did.

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  18. Having a good tour guide helps the enjoyment so much.

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  19. The airboat tour looks as if it would be fascinating, especially with such an excellent guide. I know I enjoyed your pictures.

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  20. Riding on an airboat just by itself would be3 extremely fun. I always wanted to do that. But getting to see all the wildlife would make it so much better.

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  21. We wanted to do an airboat ride while we were in Florida in January, but it just never worked out for us to do it. The Anhinga photo is spectacular!

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