Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Everglades Preview
Becky and I are just getting back from our yearly winter time exodus from the dark and cold of Fairbanks. This year we decided to head to Florida for an 8 day canoe trip along the coast and through the mangroves Everglades National Park. What a cool trip it was. Lots of paddling and exploring, sunny most of the time, temperatures 70F above instead of -30F, solitude and a whole mess of birds.
The birding was amazing! It was not just the pure number of birds or the large variety of species we don't get to see in Alaska but it was also what the birds where doing. We had the good fortune to watch this Anhinga surface with a small fish it had just stabbed with its beak then proceeded to make its way onto a log and beat the the fish silly against the log for a full three minutes. Every 3-4 seconds, Whack! raise head, Whack! raise head, Whack! over and over. It was pretty darn comical once I got over thinking about what the fish might be going through. The fish eventually stopped flopping. We also spent an evening on a sandy beach watching a classic sunset over the Gulf of Mexico while dozens of flocks of Ibises flew over the water and on the island behind us roost for the night while Brown Pelicans were diving its evening meal just out in front of us. To good.
The birding was amazing! It was not just the pure number of birds or the large variety of species we don't get to see in Alaska but it was also what the birds where doing. We had the good fortune to watch this Anhinga surface with a small fish it had just stabbed with its beak then proceeded to make its way onto a log and beat the the fish silly against the log for a full three minutes. Every 3-4 seconds, Whack! raise head, Whack! raise head, Whack! over and over. It was pretty darn comical once I got over thinking about what the fish might be going through. The fish eventually stopped flopping. We also spent an evening on a sandy beach watching a classic sunset over the Gulf of Mexico while dozens of flocks of Ibises flew over the water and on the island behind us roost for the night while Brown Pelicans were diving its evening meal just out in front of us. To good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)