Early Morning Birding With Friends

 Bird watching is one of our favorite things to do during the cooler winter months here in Florida

.  Although our main intention is always to watch the birds, study their habits, discover new and never-seen species...  we always come home with more than what we intended. We find surprising colonies of certain types, like on a trail we visited at Wekiva Springs State Park not too long ago.  We saw many varieties of woodpeckers, and a disheveled Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was number 178 in my Life List! 

Today at a trail near Lake Jesup, we recorded eighteen species, nothing unusual.  Emily and I met our friends for an early morning hike.  We had a great time even checking out all the interesting tracks left behind in the mud - raccoon, some large bird tracks, deer, and maybe even a bear... although I think that one belonged to a big dog.  On our way out we heard the distinctive growl of a gator only a few feet away from our trail.  We didn't linger...   I learned this morning that Lake Jesup has a history of being the place where nuisance gators get dumped from all over the state.  No wonder there were warning signs about gators and snakes by the trailhead. 

Birding - a science field trip and a nice way to start the day and spend time with friends!