Getting ready for colder weather

Still life with egret

 ORMOND BEACH, FL - - Colder weather is coming so this egret is fluffing up his / her feathers.  Best guess is a male as some breeding plumage...the whispy feathers at some edges of the body...is starting to show.  This egret along with a number of friends were hanging out at the pier near the Ormond Bridge over the Halifax.  

     So, will it get cold??  Yes, for Floridians. .. and iguanas.  (The last cold snap saw iguanas in Miami freeze into a sort of suspended animation with slurpee-style blood)  We haven't had temps in the mid / low 30's in a couple of years.   Those vacationers from the Northeast and others will also think its cold but only because they packed for 70 degree weather.

Viera stroll info

 ORMOND BEACH, FL - - In my haste to post the photos from Viera in the preceding post, I neglected to add the article...so here it is.  The Viera Wetlands area is a large collection of sections bounded by high dikes which are car friendly.  A good infrastructure pumps water into the sections.  However, apparently too much auto traffic or lack of maintenance funds has curtailed any driving.  So prepare yourself for a nice 2+ mile hike if you really want to check out things.  We got there just before sunrise. 

Vera (FL) Wetlands stroll

Early morning fog; great blue heron

Sunrise

A gusher flow pipe with egret

Limpkin in a tree...what am I doing up here? 

Vultures on watch

Least tern looking for ba moon shadow

Observation posts in the wetlands

 

Mostly usual suspects hanging out at Orlando Wetlands

Snowy egret

Great blue heron

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - We usually visit Orlando Wetlands in January to see what birds might have returned after a winter vacation.  It seems we may have been a bit early although  the noise and vehicles due to construction of a new visitor center may helped in sending the normal avian visitors elsewhere.  Still, the regulars did provide plenty of poses.  And hidden among the greenery was a purple gallinule, a rather rare find along with a tri color heron...not so rare.

Tri color heron

Purple G

 

Only tourists go wading

 

Floating along after the New Year

ORMOND BEACH, FL - - The recent high tides are getting higher.  The above photo shows our Honda Element playing water games last week on a road in Jacksonville Beach right on the coastal waterway.  There were a few puddles when we headed to the restaurant and a bit more liquid when we left.  

     This morning (1/9) it was time for a short drive to nearby Sunrise Park North.  The little blue heron (above) and the selfie with shadow (below) show the park getting back to its old self with a fair assortment of birds.  Over the past year the birds had seemed to forget about this area.