Saturday's Critters # 599

Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 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!

Again I am sharing a mish-mash of photos dating back to late April. The photos are from our walks to the lake, on the local fire road and from my back yard. 

Click on images for better viewing.

1. April 22nd, another day and another walk with Miney to the lake.  We saw a few Double-crested Cormorants and the turtles were out sunning on the rock and logs. 

"Bird songs, nature's sweet melodies."

2. April 22nd, I use the Merlin app to id the birds I heard on our walk to the lake. It seems we have a mix of year round birds, winter birds and the new arrivals for the summer season. 

The Pine Warbler is a breeder in my area, I often seen and hear them on my deck and in our yard. The male is a bright yellow color with some streaks on it's chest. 

3. April  22nd, my metal moose is being surrounded by the creeping phlox.

4. April 23rd,  this is my first sighting of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird this spring.  I am always happy to see them return to my yard and feeder. The background is our Redbud tree which looked beautiful this Spring.

5. April 23rd, my back yard birds are the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, I saw and heard the Great-crested Flycatcher and a Tufted Titmouse.

I am including an older photo of the Great-crested Flycatcher, it is  pretty bird. 

6. April 24th, our walk with Miney on the local fire road and a Carolina Chickadee on top of  a pine tree. 

I am sharing an older photo of mine which shows the pretty Northern Parula.

7. April 26th, in between rain drops I stood on my deck and listened to the birds that are around my yard.  It was nice to hear the Wood Thrush back for the summer season. 

Here is an older collage of the Ovenbird, it is another bird that breeds in my area.  We hear them often on our walk now, they have a loud call. 

8. Flashback to some of my Florida birds, the Limpkin was seen in various parks during our visits.  I included one of my videos where the Limpkin is calling, they make a strange sound. Limpkins are large wading birds, they have long curved bill which is yellow with a dark tip. They eat mainly apple snails. 

Flashback Florida various sightings of the Limpkin:

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday   I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Check out  Catblogosphere.com

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post! 

Our World, My World

 Hello, Happy Monday everyone!


I am sharing more on our road trip to Florida. I mentioned before how I like to research new parks and places to visit before leaving home.  On this day I already had the address in our GPS for the Haw Creek Preserve State Park.  It is nice to find these parks, which are new to us. Florida as a lot of nature preserves,  state parks and local parks.  The 1005 acre park is located in Bunnell, Flagler County. 

The park has a 1.5 mile round-trip boardwalk and also has a boat launch. 

It was a cloudy day and some rain the morning we were there. The scenery is beautiful, even with the rain drops. There are spurs off the main boardwalk that take you to views of the creek. The birds we saw were mostly waders and very shy, they flew off as soon as they noticed us.

Two birds hung around for a photo op, the Limpkin and the Wood Stork. Other birds seen were the Great Blue Heron, Great Egret and a Little Blue Heron.  Yes, people there are trash cans for your trash. Please use them. 

 A view of the Haw Creek.

The boardwalk views remind me of our other park visits in Florida like Lettuce Lake and the Hillsborough River State Park.

 

 The boardwalk goes by Cypress trees, tall Palms and  lots of Palmetto Palms.  I am sure there were lots of alligators there too. 

 Another look and view from one of the boardwalk spurs, the Haw Creek.

 A nearby Limpkin did not seem shy around us, it must have been searching for snails.

 The Wood Stork was a little hidden by the tree.

 Please check out and visit the following memes and links. I hope to see you there. 


Thanks to Angie the host of  Mosaic Monday

Thanks to LadyFi  the host of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks for visiting and commenting, have a happy day and a great new week!

Happy Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday!

January has flown by, I am hoping February will be short and warmer. 

During our trip to Florida we visited many parks and this post is on the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is actually part of the northern Everglades wetlands. It was another wildlife refuge that was partly open during our visit, located in Palm Beach County. We had a nice walk, saw some birds, 2 alligators and a very pretty sky. 

Below are some of the birds and the wildlife we saw at the refuge: the Tricolored Heron, American Kestrel, Cattle Egrets, Moorhen, White Peacock Butterfly and I am guessing a Florida Cooter Turtle?

Below are some White Ibis hiding in some tall grasses,  I had to zoom in for this photo. The White Ibis have an orange curved beak.

A pretty sky, reflection of the sky on the wetlands. 

More capture of the clouds reflecting in the canal. 

A limpkin was seen walking among the tall grasses. 

We saw a couple of gators, this bigger one and a smaller one was nearby.

I am just guessing at the id of the turtle below, could it be the Florida Cooter?

Another look at the trail and sky. 

A Great Blue Heron was standing perfectly still.

I am thankful for each day, even though I am wishing the cold winter weather  away. 
A thankful heart is a happy heart. 
I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 


Thank you Michelle for hosting Thankful Thursday. 
Thank you to Yogi the host of   Skywatch Friday


Happy Thursday, enjoy your day!

Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!

Saturday's Critters #178

Saturday's Critters #178

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 may be away from my computer and internet for a bit. I will visit your blogs and comment as soon as possible.  

I am taking you back to the Circle B for some more bird sightings. The Wilson's Snipe could usually be found in a couple places off the trails. 

Two Wilson's Snipes in the morning light.

I could always get my fill of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks at the Circle B.

The Black Crowned Night Heron could be found in various spots along the trail too.

Looking up at the sky, it was filled with Tree Swallows. 

A Limpkin was sharing the trail with us. 

My You tube video of the Limpkin, their sounds are very loud and weird.

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!

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.

Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Hello,

I am sharing another great Florida park called Sweetwater Wetlands Park near Gainesville Florida. Sweetwater is considered a thriving habitat of 125 acres of wetlands and ponds. We met a Florida resident and birder at the Paynes Prairie Park earlier in the day and he told us that Sweetwater was a great place for seeing birds. Thankfully our Garmin GPS and my Iphone were able to take us there.

At Sweetwater Wetlands there are 3.5 miles of gravel trails and boardwalks. It was a pretty day for a walk on the trails and a lovely sky.

A Sora, a small secretive rail that hangs out in the marshes. It has a triangle body shape with a small yellow bill.

Black-bellied Whistling ducks with some Cormorants in the background.

This shot below looks better enlarged, there is a Belted Kingfisher perched on a stick in the background, a Great Blue Heron, two Wood Storks and a Limpkin far lower right.

Cormorant with fish.

A pretty blue sky with the white puffy clouds.

I believe these are two Savannah Sparrows below. These sparrows have a little telltale yellow colors near their eyes.

A Wood Stork showing off it's pretty wings.

I am sharing two videos, one with a large group of Whistling Ducks and Cormorants. the second video was of an alligator crossing the trail.





Be thankful for each day, because not everyone gets to see another one. 


For my thankful list today:
I am thankful for my Garmin GPS
I am thankful for friendly and nice people we meet on our outings.
I am thankful for blue skies and puffy white clouds.

Thank you for your visit and comments on my post. Enjoy your day and the weekend ahead!

Thanks to Michelle for the meme Thankful Thursday
I am also linking up to Skywatch Friday, I hope to see you there.

Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.