A Birthday with the Birds

Monday December 7, 2015                                                 Most Recent Posts:
Curry Hammock State Park                                               Into Some Lives a Lot of Rain Falls
Marathon, Florida                                                               Lignum Vitae Christmas Open House

Here's hoping this is my last post in straight blogger.  Back to Live Writer and What You See is What You Get!  HooRAY!

Today is my birthday and my sweet daughter and her birthday helper have provided me with my first presents, CD's by one of my favorite artists, Loreena McKennitt, who is doing a US tour for the first time in a long time beginning in March.  Wish I could catch her but she's doing Texas and over to and up the west coast.  If you are there and like Celtic music with an ethereal twist don't miss her.  Thanks you two it is a great start to my day.

Not so great is seeing the Crazy Catbird sitting on the driver's mirror looking in.  He seems to be asking why we put the snake in his favorite places.  BUT he's just looking, not pecking.

It rained last night, all night long and on my walk this morning I find that a number of our neighbors now have water front property.  One site is actually closed because it is so flooded.

Looks like she's going to launch the boat right there on her lake doesn't it.

That's the only way she could get across without getting her feet wet.

And then it's out to the beach where I encounter my second bird of the day, what I think is a palm warbler.  Can you correct me or second that vote Judy?

The Reddish Egret is looking fine if a little water logged.

King of the mountain today is the lone sandpiper.

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In the mornings, I walk along the shore from the campground to the day use area.  The waves here are too gentle to have done this much shoreline damage so I'm betting there have been enough storms to so undermine the ground here as to be within inches of the fence and feet of the picnic cabanas

Last time we were at Curry Hammock a few weeks ago, I ran into a woman hunting for sea beans.  These are seeds that wash up on Atlantic beaches in the Keys from Central and South America.  Curry has a chart of them that I believe I showed in a previous blog.  When we walk the beaches we often check the wrack line to see what came in.  David has picked up some today.

I'm assuming the sand on this beach is made of coral since the island itself is and bits and pieces of coral like this are strewn along the beach.

Hmmm they say birds of a feather but it looks to me like these Ibis of various ages are groupees for the Red Egret.  The dark ibis on the right is the juvenile, I guess you'd call the one next to him with the rather grey neck a young adult.  The adults are all white.

The bird gathering grows as the sandpipers fly in.

Mostly Willets here.

I think the poor ibis is greatly outnumbered.

Willets, sandpipers, plovers all getting along fine.

I'm going to think of this as a birdie birthday party for me.  Just my kind of party!

Great morning on the beach even if I do have to wear long sleeves to thwart the noseeums.  I'm being pretty cavalier this morning with capris, I usually wear long pants too.

Eric and Laurel,  aka on their wonderful blog as Raven and Chickadee, are out taking their fabulous photographs and in short sleeve attire with bare legs.  I guess the bugs don't like them quite as much as they like me.  Not sure noseeums is the group with whom I want to be so popular. 

Here are some close ups of the guests.  Glad I don't have to share their party food.

Bath time at a party?  Oh yes, it's at the beach so we'll call it swimming.

Don't you wish party guests would always pose this nicely for your pictures??

Of course it has to rain but later in the afternoon I take a chance and we head out for a paddle.
The clouds are still there but we won't go far.  So far we haven't had any lightning today and if worst comes to worst we'll use the bilge pump.

It is SO shallow that I can see the sand waves through the water.
You can walk hundreds of feet off shore and still not be in ocean water to your waist.

Along the mangrove banks a new face appears, the little blue heron

Things are beginning to look  iffy.  No more blue, everything is gray.  Notice the water though, pretty relaxed.

But it isn't long until the wind picks up and the waves increase.  Nothing to worry about yet but a clear change.

A group of cormorants has a gathering place on one side of the island off shore.  The ones in the trees don't seem bothered by us paddling by but the ones sitting on the roots are not so happy and flee into the water running across it and flapping into the air with splashes.

And then a big birthday present flies over head.  If you've been following along you might remember the Magnificient Frigate bird that I posted a picture of in a previous blog.  That was the female with white undersides.  Today the male, totally black,  is swooping around over head.  I hope that means they are both here and possibly nesting?  I'll have to research that and find out.    So glad to have him join the party.

It starts to spit rain so I away from the Cormorant island and back to the campground.

My birthday has definitely been for the birds but I'm grateful to have been able to get out between the showers, have my birdie party and see sights like this.   It's a wonderful life!