Happy Saturday, it's time to share your critters and post. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who is linking in with this week's critter party.
I am sharing our sightings from a visit to the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park near Gainesville, Fl. This park was fantastic, where can you go where you see alligators, wild horses, bison or buffalo, thousands of Sandhill Cranes and more wild birds all in one place.
I have to admit the numerous gators around were a little scary, I was glad they were on the opposite side of the water.
They are able to come up on the trail and there were warnings to keep your distance from the wild animals in this park. Can you see the gators laying on the ground across the pond? There is nothing stopping the gators from walking up on our side of the trail. This is a park and not a zoo, the animals are wild and free to roam. The La Chau trail is 2.5 miles starts out with a boardwalk and then goes out to a lookout tower.
There had to be a thousand or more Sandhill Cranes and possibly one Whooping Crane seen on the day we went to this park.
I have to work on my flight shots. Besides the Sandhill Cranes on the grounds we saw hundreds of them in the sky.
Buffalo or are they called bison roam this park.
A pretty sighting of a Cattle Egret.
A few Killdeer were seen off the trail.
I made a collage of the birds sighted at this park:
Top row: Anhinga male and female, Mockingbird and a Great Blue Heron
Second row: Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Blue-winged teals, Wilson's Snipe.
Third row: Yellowlegs, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron.
Bottom row: various shorebirds, Sandhill Cranes, Shoveler, various Teals and ducks.
The wild horses roam free along with the buffalo.
The wild horses and some Sandhill Cranes.
A very distant look at the Sandhill Cranes and one brighter white Crane that may possibly be the Whooping Crane. It was seen at this park on the day we went.
As always thanks for the visits and the nice comments. I also thank everyone who is linking up and sharing their critters.. Happy Saturday, have a great weekend!
