Welcome to Saturday's Critters!
If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!
I am sharing more birds and critters from our December Road trip, we were in Florida for 5 of the days.
The Gopher Tortoise likes sandy soil, dunes and coastal grasslands. They dig a burrow and spend most of their lives in the burrow. This Tortoise shares their burrow home with possibly as many as 360 other species including snakes, mice, fox, skunk, frogs, rabbits, armadillo, lizards and burrowing owls. The burrow can be 52 feet long and 23 feet deep.
Down the road some at another beach, we found 2 Gopher Tortoises outside their burrow.
We stopped to see what birds were at the Matanzas Inlet, Flagler County Florida. If there was a time for my birding scope ( hubby says I told you to pack the scope) this was it. The birds were too far away, it looked like a large flock of various gulls, terns, shorebirds and I assume Black Skimmers.
A Semipalmated Plover.
Pretty sure these are Willets. Id update: thanks to Ken and Anni the birds below are Dowitchers.
Thanks to all my visitors and for all the wonderful comments!
Here is a list of my linky parties;
Also visit: I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the host Anni.
If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!
I am sharing more birds and critters from our December Road trip, we were in Florida for 5 of the days.
The Gopher Tortoise likes sandy soil, dunes and coastal grasslands. They dig a burrow and spend most of their lives in the burrow. This Tortoise shares their burrow home with possibly as many as 360 other species including snakes, mice, fox, skunk, frogs, rabbits, armadillo, lizards and burrowing owls. The burrow can be 52 feet long and 23 feet deep.
Down the road some at another beach, we found 2 Gopher Tortoises outside their burrow.
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We stopped to see what birds were at the Matanzas Inlet, Flagler County Florida. If there was a time for my birding scope ( hubby says I told you to pack the scope) this was it. The birds were too far away, it looked like a large flock of various gulls, terns, shorebirds and I assume Black Skimmers.
A Semipalmated Plover.
Pretty sure these are Willets. Id update: thanks to Ken and Anni the birds below are Dowitchers.
Thanks to all my visitors and for all the wonderful comments!
Here is a list of my linky parties;
Also visit: I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the host Anni.
100 comments:
Cool shots. Big Tortoise--plural. We don't see them here
MB
Big tortoises and pretty birds on the beach. Have a great weekend!
Wonderful this photos! I lov this Willets that are so sweet and the Gopher Tortoises!!!This place with its beautiful wildlife, I am thrilled1
Have a nice weekend, Elke
What beautiful photos you have for us today! I like the turtles.
I have read that the Gopher tortoise can be 40 to 60 years old in nature, even older in captivity.
I wish you a nice and sunny weekend, Eileen! 🤗
Love the Plover Eileen. We do have Ringed Plover in N.I. but not this one. Thanks for hosting and have a great weekend and week ahead.
You were fortunate to see the tortoises out of their burrow then Eileen! I love how they share their burrow. Our wombats have shared their burrows during the fires with other creatures I have recently been told.
Great bird shots (even the ones at a distance because we can still see what you describe) :D)
Cheers and all good wishes to you xx
Hari OM
Oh I do have a fondness for the wee shore birds... Happy weekend! YAM xx
Today I'll pick the Tortoises as my favourites. Thanks for sharing info about these critters.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I find those Gopher Tortoises really fascinating. i would have loved to have seen them.
So far the only Gopher Tortoises I have encountered are those I rescued from roads. Maybe those pipers in the close flock are dowitchers. I am imagining that they are probing sewing-machine-like. I do not get them inland so am not very sharp at identifying shorebirds.
Hello Eileen. Wonderful photos. Plover is a beautiful bird. Have a great weekend.
Hello Ken,
I am sure there were some Dowitchers there too. But, I see a dark spot on their tails, which makes me think of the Willets. It is nice of you to rescue the tortoise crossing the roads.
Have a great day, thanks for the comment.
...I feel a bit warmer on this cold winter morning after seeing your critters, thanks Eileen.
I had no idea the burrow could be that big, it's like a critter hotel. a skyscraper gone sideways... I love to watch willets run around at the beaches...
The Gopher Tortoises are a pleasure to see. Wonderful bird photos as always.
Have a wonderful weekend, Eileen and thanks for hosting.
I enjoyed seeing the tortoise, they are cool. Thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks Nancy, for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks Elkes, for the nice comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
I did enjoy seeing the tortoise in their habitat. Thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
The Plovers are cute. Thanks Margaret, for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Hello, Sue! I am glad the wombat share their burrow during the fires. The tortoise were fun to see.
Thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks Yam, for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
The Tortoise were my favorite too. Thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
It was cool finding the tortoise, 3 found in one day. Thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Thank you Anu, for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Tom, thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Sandra, that's a good description, a skyscraper gone sideways. Thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
Hi Bill, it was neat seeing the tortoise. Thanks for the comment and visit. Enjoy your weekend!
I really like the tortoises and the plover photo is wonderful!
Oh my, I love the tortoise photo. That's a great shot.
Happy weekend!
What a great st of photos, as usual, Eileen! Really liked the tortoises.
Eileen....those aren't willets. Willets are nearly one shade of gray and longer, thin legs [also gray] I'm thinking dowitchers or dunlins..but, with the beak and coloring I'd say dowitchers
LOVE the tortoise
PS: Thank you for hosting and have a great new week!
Ahhh...the tortoises are my favourite. The little plovers enjoy our beaches in August and September.
I love them! I've never even heard of willets!
Thanks for hosting! have a good one!
You see so many different birds at the beach! I am SO ready for a beach vacation! Love the tortoises too. Enjoy your weekend! Hugs!
Here's a link to compare your photo of dowitchers vs. willet
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/featured_photo/images/bigpic/lbdo24.jpg
Hello Eileen,
Beahtiful photos as usual! The tortoises are very pretty.
Happy weekend!
do-witchers, wow...that's quite an interesting name. the gopher tortoises are quite interesting, i don't think i have ever seen them, even in a zoo!! great shore birds, i'm "shore" hubby was right (darn it) the birding scope would have come in handy during this adventure!!
have a great weekend eileen, we're getting snow!!! YaY!!! many thanks for hosting!!
That's fascinating information about the Gopher Tortoise Eileen. Who would have guessed about the size of their burrows and the other creatures that share their homes? Shame about the lack of scope but they are heavy do take up a lot of room with a tripod too. Thanks for your hosting again.
The Gopher Tortoise are definitely fascinating to see and read about ~ lovely nature shots!
Happy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
I loved reading about those tortoises and I love the word tortoise. Imagine those burrows! Our tiny little painted turtles are sweet but no match and I think all they've done is sink in the mud for the winter.
No matter what we are using it's never far enough. With the cameras today we can get a good photo and take time to identify the bird after it has flown away.
Gopher Tortoises! I would love to see them!
Have a great weekend!
Gostei muito de ver e adorei as tartarugas bem estranhas! bjs, praianos,chica
Nice pic of the plover! Have a nice weekend.
Those tortoises are amazing. A lot of creatures depend on them to provide housing!
Hi Eileen,
Very beautiful species of turtles!
But I prefer the beautiful birds;)) !!
Have a good weekend.
Hugs,
Ailime
Hi Eileen!
Förstås så har jag aldrig heller sett en sköldpadda i dess naturliga miljö, för mig här uppe i Norden är alla dessa bilder av fåglar och andra djur exotiska. Ibland så tänker jag att vår nordiska natur är så begränsad på grund av det kyliga klimatet men det finns mycket att upptäcka även här om man bara tar sig tid och är nyfiken.
Fina bilder Eileen!
Love. Happy Saturday.
Tortoise! Really cool. Loved seeing all the sea birds, too. Happy weekend to you, Eileen!
Ciao, complimenti per queste bellissime fotografie.
Sono una tua nuova followers mi farebbe piacere se venissi a trovarmi sul blog: https://capriccidellaste.blogspot.com/
so interesting to learn a bit of the Gopher Tortoises. Don´t think I have heard about them before. Not even on any tv-show. :) At my place nature is quite boring right now. More like rainy spring then winter. Loved to see vaders :)
Have a gret week.
That must have been a great trip. I have never heard of the Gopher Tortoise before, very interesting! The Semipalmated Plover is new to me also, such a pretty little bird. Always great when our blogging friends help out with identification. You have helped me ID many birds for which I am always grateful. Have a great weekend Eileen :)
Thank you for the link Anni!
what's up with your comments. It looks like they've all been removed by a blog administrator. Very weird!
Your photos are anything but weird! Magnificent tortoises -- what a grand sight to see!
♥
Preciosas imagens, Eileen!
Fiquei especialmente encantada com a foto das tartarugas!
Adorei ver! Beijinhos
Ana
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