After a lovely day spent in the Archie Carr Nat'l Wildlife Refuge I decided to return to the area the following day. My first stop was the Barrier Island Center, a gorgeous new facility on the beach with displays about sea turtles and other southern Florida marine life. I failed to get a picture of it, so this is from their website.
The beach was quiet again, the day being unusually cool. This pelican was doing some exercises on the sand.
And one and two and lift your wings
and stretch your neck.....
There is a short nature trail on the lagoon side of A1A, about a mile long, similar to the trail at the Maritime Hammock preserve (you can read about that here). For the most part, it follows the dikes that were put in years ago. By installing drainage pipes under the dikes the area has been returned to its more natural state.
It was a pretty quiet afternoon, with most of the birds far from the trail.
I did catch this little blue-gray gnatcatcher working over the shrubbery.
A bit blurry, but a better look at it. Damn girl wouldn't carry a tripod!
An Osprey soared overhead. I had heard its peeps from a ways down the trail and finally spotted it perched on a dead tree in the lagoon.
There was not a lot to see. The vegetation was thick and close, and I felt most of the time like I was in a hedgerow maze.
I did spot this buckeye butterfly as it sunned itself in the leaf litter.
This shy Yellow-crowned night heron sat still just long enough for me to get a shot before it flew away.
And as I neared the end of the trail, I found this tri-colored heron perched in a tree.
In all it was a nice, quiet, easy walk, and I was ready to head farther down the coast.
Next: Pelican Island, and a prediction comes true.
Nice photographs. particularly those of the pelican. Barrier islands are always unique geologic environments; full of life, beaming with vitality, always a story to be found. Thanks for taking us with you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bill, and welcome to the Rambling Wren!
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