Florida - Anastasia to Kissimmee

Entering Florida, we skirted Jacksonville to Anastasia State Park.  Huge signs on the gate warned of mass mosquito swarms, so beware!  Well, they were terrible unless you were out on the dunes and beach where the wind blew them away.  So that is where we birded.

Ruddy Turnstone

Black-bellied Plover knows how to blend in

Boardwalk over the dunes at Anastasia State Park

The Atlantic was raging, warning flags a blowing

Peregrine Falcon

It was the time of a major Peregrine Falcon migration, we watched as one by one we had over 30 pass over the dunes in about two hours.

Stone Crab

Wetlands inside the dunes

Gopher Tortoise near campground

Common Yellowthroat female

Northern Parula

Red-shouldered Hawk 

Raccoon hunts for Crabs

We then drove the Atlantic coast south to Canaveral National Seashore, then stopping at the Manatee Observation Deck where about six were playing nearby.

Tricolored Heron

We found a place to stay near Titusville, and early the next morning headed to the Black Point Auto Tour at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  Part way through, we were notified by another birder that our inner duel tire was flat.  So we slowly finished our tour and headed into Titusville to a tire store to repair, ultimately replace the tires.  It was time.  Later we headed back out to the refuge to find our main target bird, the Florida Scrub Jay.

Florida Scrub Jay

Golden Silk Orbweaver

Water Hyacinth

We then drove west to St. Cloud and Kissimmee to look for Limpkins and Snail Kites.

Limpkin

Apple Snail - main food of the Limpkins

Egg Mass of Apple Snail

Little Blue Heron

White Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Osprey with Largemouth Bass

Beauty Bush

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Sandhill Crane

The next blog will cover Lake Okeechobee, and day trips from there, where we are now.  Hard to get caught up when covering so many locations.

Every place we go, we see so many wonderful creations that God has made.

Love & Prayers,
Ty & Ida Baumann

South Carolina and Georgia Coasts

Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly

Driving south from Huntington Beach we wanted to camp at Hunting Island, but found the campground was closed from damage from Hurricane Irma.  They suggested a campground a few miles inland called Tuck-in-de-woods.  We found some interesting creatures at this nice place.

Anole

Gulf Fritillary on Bottlebrush

Yellow Garden Spider - zigzag silk ribbon

White-eyed Vireo

Tree Frog

Long-tailed Skipper

We then drove south into Georgia and out to Jekyll Island State Park and hoped to find a campsite there.  God blessed us again with a place available for 3 nights.  This campground had been closed for two weeks following the hurricane and there was still much evidence of cleanup to come.

The live oaks with their decorations of Spanish moss seemed to survive the storm well, even though they lost most of their leaves and a few branches.

Brown Thrasher

The campground has a small bird sanctuary that draws many birds to feeders and running water.

Painted Bunting female

Tufted Titmouse

Gray Squirrel

Pileated Woodpecker

Yellow-throated Warbler

N. Cardinal female

N. Parula Warbler

Carolina Wren

Carolina Chickadee

Guess who is taking a bath?

It's a Cardinal!!

Atlantic Fiddler Crabs

Somehow, the birds survived the hurricane, and the beaches were full of gulls, terns, and skimmers.

Looking forward to our winter in Florida.
Love & Prayers,
Ty & Ida Baumann