Yesterday I made the long trek out to the St. John’s River at Puzzle Lake from Brumley Rd. I’m always impressed with place when I go.
I was hoping for returning shorebirds, and I didn’t get anything new for the year, but it was nice to see returning Greater Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers, hopefully as a sign of other species to come over the next few weeks.
Killdeer and Black-necked Stilts are stilt there, of course, and it was exciting to see some little chicks running about.
I added four new birds to the eBird hotspot: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Wood Duck, Swallow-tailed Kite and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and I added Ruby-throated Hummingbird to my own list for the hotspot. In all I saw 47 species–here’s my eBird checklist.
It was also fun to see this Sabatia flower, which I’m pretty sure is a Large Flower Sabatia. I’ve photographed Saltmarsh Sabatia here before (Rose of Plymouth), but this flower was significantly larger than a quarter, and I don’t think the flower petals of Rose of Plymouth are supposed to get larger than a quarter.
I also photographed a Robber Fly, which I believe is a Red-footed Cannibalfly. I photographed another a few days ago at the Jones East Trailhead to this same forest.
Scott Simmons
Scott Simmons, based in Florida, is a lover of nature, landscape, and wildlife photography. Scott became interested in photography in 2001 when he was given his first SLR camera. When he acquired a telephoto lens, he became progressively more interested in birds and other wildlife. Scott enjoys learning about bird habitats and behavior, striving always to take images that are both beautiful and interpretive. Scott believes photography is a great vehicle to help others to appreciate the wonder for the stuff of earth.
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