Saturday, January 13, 2018

1:40BR70

Take a walk with me! It’s the first hike of the new year.

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We’ll walk for 1 hour and 40 minutes at Blue Run Park with the temperature at 70 degrees! Sound good?

I’d just like for you to see what we see in this amount of time. I think everything we saw was on the river side of the trail today. The swamp runs along one side of the paved trail and the Rainbow River runs along the other side. Once we reach the bridge we’ll see even more!

Here we go…

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Anhinga

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Common Moorhen

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Grebes

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baby grebes

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Anhinga swimming by

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and the BEST sighting of the day! A River Otter!

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Our Little Blue Heron…yes, he’s still bright WHITE!

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And now we’re at the bridge looking out at the Withlacoochee River. (70 degrees with a light breeze!)

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And an Anhinga flies over!

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Great Blue Heron

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and another pic of our Little Blue.

We’ve turned around and now we’re on the way back

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Turtle

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Cormorant

Tired yet? We stopped quite a bit to take photos so let’s keep going!

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Cormorant AND Ibis

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Egret

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Pileated Woodpecker

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And a Juvenile Great Blue Heron

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We made it back to the car! WHEW!

(that’s not my car and that’s not my real license plate! heehee)

Want to go again?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

that was a wonderful walk!!! Beautiful photos, I enjoyed this so much!

NanaDiana said...

What a great walkabout with you! Love it. We get egrets and cormorants that summer up here in the bay out front. We see great flocks of the cormorants headed further north of us-they fly low over the bay and go to Door County for the summer. A few stay here.

Great pictures and the weather sounds perfect. Have a great weekend- xo Diana

Lea said...

Wonderful! Beautiful!
Have a great week-end!

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I would love to take a walk there. Wonderful variety of birds. I always love the woodpecker, herons and egrets. The Grebes are cuties. The river otter was a cool sighting. Love the turtle and reflection. Thank you so much for linking up your post. I appreciate your visit and comment too. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend.

Jeanie said...

All that on one walk? You have great spotting eyes!

Kim@Snug Harbor said...

Looked like a beautiful hike! We're snowed in at the lake. The farthest we hiked was to the house next door and back. LOL!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

Great exercise and beautiful place to do it - I love the herons and cormorants we have around the cottage -

Arlene G said...

The Sand Hill Cranes made it to the Wheeler Basin Refuge. They sure are pretty as they enjoy the back waters of the Tennessee River.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

That was a lovely walk with so many beautiful birds! Wish I was there with you.

Breathtaking said...

Hello Diane!:) Wow! So many wonderful sightings on your walk, and what a bonus to see a river otter.:) Great shot of the Anhinga,it's the first time I have seen one out of water. Love all your Heron, and Egret shots, the stunning river view, and your turtle capture. Have a great weekend!:)

♥ Łucja-Maria ♥ said...

WOOOOOOW!

Great relationship, beautiful photos and phenomenal animals and birds.
Greetings from Poland.
Lucja

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Seems odd to see the Anhinga perched on a nest box; not the kind of place you usually see them. Great series of wildlife images - a worthwhile and enjoyable walk I am sure.

Stacey said...

Thank you for taking us along. It's freeeezing here!!

Kathy said...

That was a great walk. Loved seeing all the this GS you saw. You have such a diversity of wildlife. Thanks for taking us along.

Jenn Jilks said...

Wonderful photos! Moorhens aren't so common here!

I love the cactus. I'm anxiously awaiting an orchid cactus to bloom.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

Some wonderful clicks today.

Thanks for taking us along.

Linda said...

What a lovely walk and so many birds and critters to see along the way. I especially like the lovely temperatures as it started at -20 Celsius this morning.

Jean said...

Enjoyed the walk and the weather! I'd be just like that turtle if it were in the 70s with a light breeze. Soaking up the sun!

happyone said...

Great to walk along with you to see those wonderful pictures. Favorite is the turtles.
I'm sure I'd be sweating with it being in the 70's. That is summer weather here by me. : )

carol l mckenna said...

Great photo walk with you ~ favorite is the turtle!

Happy Weekend to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Red Rose Alley said...

Those white birds are so attractive. And I've always loved the Woodpecker. He's such an unusual and wonderful bird. So many marvelous sights on your hikes, Diane. That turtle is something else. ; )

Have yourself a restful Sunday.

love, ~Sheri

Anonymous said...

Diane,
Just love seeing you pictures. I have been absent for quite a while. Many things going on in my life. I do check in on your blog
From time to time. I miss not being able to write and share and see all that is going on. The world seems so small when I am unable to have time for me. Anyway, love seein your blog continue. Big California hugs from me.

Inger said...

I love that they have these safe and marked places for you to hike. With so many gorgeouse and interesting animals and birds to watch and capture on film.

Lowcarb team member said...

Oh what a wonderful walk ... thank you.
So nice to see all of your photographs, and what a brilliant selection too.
I have to say I love that turtle.

All the best Jan

Terri D said...

What a lovely walk!! I love saying Withlachoochee!! There are so many fun words for rivers and lakes and towns here in Florida! Great photos!

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

What a lovely walk, Diane. So many beautiful birds and a river otter, so neat. Your turtle photo is wonderful with his reflection! We took our walk today indoors at the mall. Our temps have taken a nose dive. Along with the wind it is too cold for outdoors. Have a nice weekend. ♥

Linda said...

I loved my walk with you!!!

Anni said...

I'm green with envy of your pileated woodpecker! I've traveled a far distance to their area in Texas & yet haven't seen one. With your anhinga swinming, y'know why they're called snake birds!

I want to thank you for showing us at I'd Rather B Birdin' your weekend photos!! Your paticipation is always greatly appreciated.

Debbie said...

i need to move to florida!! what wonderful wildlife you saw on your walk. i often chase those birds, and never find one!!

it is wonderful that you see, appreciate and photograph all of this wildlife. have a meaningful sunday!!!

Phil Slade said...

Now that's a walk I would love, especially in those temperatures. I love all of those bird pictures but the turtle is simply wonderful.

A Colorful World said...

A great walk! The anhinga, heron and otter pics were particularly fun to see...I had no idea anhingas had white in their plumage!

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Loved seeing the Pileated Woodpecker-- those in my neighborhood really don't let me get very close. The Anhinga is so graceful in flight. Nice walk!

Connie said...

Another lovely post . . . you have so many beautiful birds in your area. That first photo, I thought it was your license plate at first, LOL.
Have a wonderful week.
Connie :)

Angie said...

Diane - wow, such a variety and quantity of wildlife! Right now, most our fauna is hibernating for the winter, or has gone south (probably your way)! Superb shot of the turtle with the reflection - I love the color! And the otter - what luck! Have a sunny week!

Carla from The River said...

Hello, you bet I want to go again. :-)
70 degrees you say, sounds perfect. I am a huge fan of otter. Have you read Wind in the Willows? Ratty is my favorite character in the book, he rescues a little otter with Moley's help.
The turtle photo is my favorite. I like the reflection.
Carla

Lorrie said...

What a great walk, and I LOVE the temperature. You saw a lot of wonderful birds along the way. The anhinga is unfamiliar to me, but very pretty sitting on that post in the top photo.

Danice G said...

What beautiful weather there! 'Wish we had that here in Alabama. More excellent photos, also. You are quite the photographer.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Shhh 70's we have 13' with high of 7 for tomorrow ;) The Anhinga's and Cormorant are my favorites...I seek them out when I visit your area. I hope that you and your hubby are doing well my friend~

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Diane! I didn't get to take even a walk today, so I appreciated going on the hike with you (I don't think I even breathed hard, what a wonderful hike ... all those birds and my legs aren't even tired ;>).....

Seriously, it looks like a fabulous place to walk. Love it.

Small City Scenes said...

Oh what fun!!!
MB

JG said...

This was a great walk outdoors viewing nature, Diane! Today is a treadmill day for me at home with the couple inches of snow that fell.
~Judy

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

I'm so stunned by that turtle photo that I can barely even think about all the other gorgeous shots you got on that hike. Fab!!!!!