Of beaches and birds

Another Florida visit last week, and we found ourselves at two of our usual haunts, the beach and the state park. I must have hundreds of photos of this beach, but I never seem to tire of it. Maybe because it always looks a little different each time, or sometimes quite different if there has been a hurricane.



It has a very different look of late with a whole new boardwalk, which was not quite finished when we were there. The new boardwalk might be partly attributed to hurricanes, as the rash of them in 2004 ripped off some of the steps to the beach and some were closed for a couple years due to beach erosion from storms. No danger of splinters now if you are the type to leave your shoes in the car, as the decking is all composite.

          

The ocean at work washing away the sand.  Next time these rocks could be covered again.

               

The gulls seem unconcerned by me photographing them, or the waves crashing in.



I got a bit too close this time.

           

















Keeping an eye out for the waves.

 





Beachcombing... never know when you will spot a shark's tooth!





Myakka River State Park is a good place to spot alligators and and all sorts of wading birds. The bridge here is a popular fishing spot, there are always families all along it's length. One little girl was apparently bored with the fishing, and wanted "to get in the water"!



 

A pair of Sandhill cranes wintering in Florida, we see them in Michigan too, in the summer of course. There is an armadillo next to the cranes, but he blends right in being just the color of the grass. You will see him in a bit.

  

The Live oaks at this park are always draped in their finery of Spanish moss.



Late afternoon light is wonderful for pictures, a studio photographer who took a family photo of us called it the "sweet light".  They like it the best for shooting outdoor portraits as it is a softer light and kinder to faces.  And it turned this brown grass golden.



I couldn't capture it with the small lens I had with me, but there was a whole flock of Sandhill cranes on the opposite shore, along with the usual egrets and herons. Sometimes we see eagles here, and one year we saw spoonbills, a very distinctive looking bird to say the least.

 

See the warbler?

    

We saw a skimmer too along this shore. They have a long bill and skim the water with their lower bill to catch fish as they fly low along the shoreline. Fascinating to watch and it reminded me of Dad as he had named his sailboat after them.