See ya later Alligator!

They were everywhere. National parks and wildlife refuges, state, county and city parks and natural areas. Looking sleepy but always watching....dangerous. My main job seemed to be to prevent Mrs. T. from getting too close. All  photos by Mrs. T.

Snake Bird

A large bird of southern swamps, the Anhinga is known as the Water-Turkey for its swimming habits and broad tail, and also as the Snake-Bird for its habit of swimming with just its long head and neck sticking out of the water. They are related to Cormorants.

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is one of North Americas premier birding sites. It lies on popular Sanibel Island, in the Gulf of Mexico,  just off of Fort Myer in southwestern Florida. With our friends Gary and Rosie, it was the Troutbirders second visit there after a previous trip  in 2010. On that March trip we had wanted to see our beloved Minnesota Twins in spring training. Take a look at a few of the many birding highlights, all photographed by Mrs. T. (Click on photographs to enlarge)
 

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 There were waders and divers flying all around and beyond the small sandspit lots of small shorebirds (peeps) I  couldn't identify with my binoculars.

 

 

 This Yellow Crowned Nite Heron was a "lifer" for me.

 

A Roseatte Spoonbill 

 

 

The world record migrator. This Red Knot has left southern Argentina, is resting in southern Florida, on his way to the Artic for breeding season.

 

 

 

 The White Pelicans lining up for a Conga Dance

 

This Laughing Gull wasn't laughing as he checked us out.  

 

 

 

An immature Little Blue Heron who was working the shoreline to pickup up bugs and was too busy to notice us.

Myakka River State Park

 Myakka River State Park is one of Florida's oldest and largest state parks. The "Florida Wild and Scenic Myakka River" flows through 57 square miles of wetlands, prairies and woodlands. Myakka is popular for hiking, fishing, camping, and wildlife observation. The Park lays a short drive southeast of Tampa/St. Pete.  As we arrived at a parking lot we were confronted by the following sign. It seems the local Black Vultures have taken a liking to tires, windsheild wipers and the rubber molding around windows and doors. Sprinkling pepper on the threatened parts is recommended as a defensive measure. The reason for their unusual behavior is unknown....

 

The varied habitat offered us the opportunity to  take some hikes as well a ride an airboat or a tram. We took the tram.

 

All in all it was a beautiful state park and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit......

 

Florida Birding - Part Two

Having seen some great birds upon our arrival at the resort after dinner we headed back down towards the beach area.  Sure enough, Mrs. T immediately spotted a Great Blue Heron along the breakwall.   After posing for a picture, the large wader flew off to land on some pilings, whereupon a Laughing Gull landed on top of it.  Strange....

Walking further down along the breakwater we came to a small harbor filled with boats.  Picking out the largest one,  Mrs. T suggested her semi-poverty stricken retired teacher husband consider buying a similar  one. Spotting a small Green Heron perched on a rope right below them, he quickly changed the subject.

 

Florida Birding - Part One

With the temperature in Minnesota dropping into the subzero range we took the opportunity to head off to Florida for a week of hiking and birding in the sub-tropical sun. I’ll show off a few highlights of our trip…..Upon arrival in our hotel in St. Petersburg, I looked out the second story window of our hotel to see a perfectly tropical scene.

And wouldn't you know it in the courtyard garden below a little blue heron was going about his business.

I quickly ran downstairs to take a picure and then headed across the lawn towards the beach a few steps away.

 

 There I found a Great White Egret and a White Ibis checking out the tennis court, while overhead on the lightpole an Osprey kept watch.

 

Off to an auspicious birding start we headed back into the hotel for dinner. I had a local craft beer and something called Drunken Coconut Scallops. It was really really good. Tommorow we start taking in area wildlife refuges north of Tampa.....

Nostalgia

A little birding and lots of  nostalgia today. It was early fall and we had taken the ride down to the Mississippi to see if migrating waterfowl had begun to arrive yet.  It had also been some years since

 The Troutbirders had visited Frontenac State Park and also Villa Maria, Mrs. T’s childhood Catholic boarding  school.  That was the  place where the nuns had taught her to love God and despise liver and onions as well as splitpea soup (two of my favorites).  Come on along and take a look…..

We saw the usually ubiquitous honkers and more that a few ducks but the tundra swans had not arrived yet in their tens of thousands. Frontenac State Park lies on the bluffs, high above the Big River.  Every stop along roads and trails there   yields wonderful views.  Strangely we have never camped here before so we added it to our "bucket list."

 

Villa Maria lies on five hundred beautiful wooded acres in the river valley.  Closed for many years now as a school, it carries on it's service to the church as a retreat and conference center.  Alone, as a young girl, far from her mother, who worked nights in St. Paul,  her memories of the experience are bittersweet....

My own experience at Frontenac was at a summer Methodist Youth Camp right on the river. Think swimming, volleyball, campfires etc.  It was lots of fun and part of growing up. 

 

The chapel looked just as my memory recalled it but the dormitory and cafeteria site had seen far better days. The boat house and other buildings were gone. There was an air of sadness here but also the voices of teenagers running excitedly through my mind.  It was the mid fifties. I was fourteen and the whole world lay before me.....

Tough Owling

As an amateur birder with a little point and shoot camera, I am having a tough time spotting and photographing owls. Now, surely, I don't expect to regularly see them perched in an abandoned winter wood duck house, like this screech owl in my back yard. Occasionally,  

I might see a Great Horned in the woods while I'm hiking with Baron, though I never see them before they fly off though and disappear quickly through the trees. Again rarely, I might hear a Barred Owl calling at night in my woods. "Who cooks for me? Who cooks for me?" That's it. They’re just a distant call in the night.   Now, the highly respected DNR (Department of Natural Resources) has apparently made it even more difficult. I came upon this sign last summer while trout fishing in Beaver Creek State Park.

So now the owls aren't allowed to hoot and photographers can't shoot in our local state parks?  Mmmm. Or maybe I missed something here?