Saturday, March 11, 2017

Time is fleeting , how did March get here so fast.

Been busy and time got away from me so fast these last few weeks . I had 314 pictures on the camera and had to pick just a few . We haven't been in the Visitor Centers very much so my posts have been as usual very sporadic . 

So many Vultures in one spot .

And just one poor road kill Armadillo . Hardly enough for all those birds .
Don't know why the Gato  crossed the road , but he was moving really fast .

Just a little Gator hanging out in the sun.

One of our recent projects was to install speed bumps on the Refuge entrance road . Here Lauren is getting her work out on the Ratchet putting in the 6 inch lag bolts .

Coot on the storm left overs

An Ibis drying it's wings

And a big  wing flap to finish the process

Our ever present escorts as we drive the Refuge doing the salinity checks of all the different bodies of water in the 40 thousand acres we transverse while doing the checks . Set the trip meter on the truck last time and we ended up driving 97.7 miles inside the Refuge on all the different levies and back road areas .

Young Ibis in flight . These birds are still all black until they mature and then they will be in all white plumage .

It's spring here and there are flowers blooming everywhere .

They really brighten our day

So many different birds and so many colors .




An Ibis in transition .

So many different colored feathers at one time . They really are pretty .

A couple of Brown Pelicans watching me doing the salinity checks .

A Bald Eagle having a rest after his lunch

Just one more bite

A fire burning on the refuge behind the RV pads . It burned all night .

We watched the flames and it was just awesome to see .

Our bird feeder is a very popular place as the smaller birds migrate into the area .

Rosette Spoonbills are just so beautiful to see in flight .


Just enjoying the day on the bank at Shovelers Pond .

My favorite Duck perch in the pond

One of the Cinnamon Teal just tooling around .

Young and Mature Ibis on the wing .

A Coyote looking for something to eat .



So many little ones

All the Water Lilies in bloom

More Spoonbills

White Pelicans


As we travel the back areas of the Refuge we see some sights . A tug and barges on the inter coastal waterway headed towards the High Island Bridge

This is called the Jackson Ditch . It was dug by hand in the late 19th century and no one knows the purpose of it .

A CaraCara working one of the burned out areas of the Refuge .

More birds just moving around on a pretty day.

We watched these two Gators swim around each other for several minutes as we believe love is in the air .

A White Pelican flying by .

Just so cool to watch .

A Pelican helping me do my Salinity check .