Another beautiful weather day got us started birding at Grassy Waters - north Side . It was over 80 degrees but with a slight to medium breeze it was fine to hike and poke around. We hiked Oak Hammock Trail in Grassy Waters Preserve and saw some small alligators lounging in the water. The area was deserted and there were few birds; a Northern Mockingbird, Morning Dove and Great Egret. We started down one deserted trail and it was a very narrow trail and very close to the water which had alligators just a couple of feet away. We thought we would try the other trail as this one was pretty rough to walk properly, especially if we had to outrun something.. The other trail was more open and brighter and more conducive for birding. We saw American Robins, Great Egrets, Tricoloured Heron, Palm Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
We then traveled to the John W Corbet Wildlife Mgt Area which comprises miles and miles of Florida Scrub, Slash Pines and marsh areas. It is a vast area. We parked and did the Hungryland Boardwalk and Trail. This was also a very quiet place but within a few minutes we had three woodpeckers feeding in the Slash Pines habitat. We got the Yellow-shafted Sapsucker, the Red-bellied Woodpecker and the Pileated Woodpecker. No luck with the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. We met a park worker told us that the RCW "were everywhere". But did not see a single Red-cockaded Woodpecker!!! After this we were hungry and we had our lunch in the parking lot. Still in this wildlife management area, we drove Strumpers Drive for over an hour and then took the B-line Hwy exit.
We decided to get to the coast and drove to Stuart Florida where we are spending the night in a Clarion Motel. This motel is nice and spotless and they have a full breakfast in the morning. It is also just off the railroad trackers (freight) and we figure from all the very low-flying planes it is on the local airport flyway. There has been a constant landing activity over our room all evening. Right now it seems that the airport is quiet. We noticed that these planes were all small ones and we learned later that Friday afternoon/evening is busy the air traffic as many of the flights are private planes and people are flying in to their homes in Jupiter for the weekend.
Tonight there was a lovely full moon out and we were out and took photos of it and the best photo is here. We are happy exploring the areas which are kind of out of the way a bit. We did not get too lost today. Barbr is a bit stiff in her back right now and my voice is coming back but slowly, still annoying. We love the weather and the scenery here.
Barbs
We then traveled to the John W Corbet Wildlife Mgt Area which comprises miles and miles of Florida Scrub, Slash Pines and marsh areas. It is a vast area. We parked and did the Hungryland Boardwalk and Trail. This was also a very quiet place but within a few minutes we had three woodpeckers feeding in the Slash Pines habitat. We got the Yellow-shafted Sapsucker, the Red-bellied Woodpecker and the Pileated Woodpecker. No luck with the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. We met a park worker told us that the RCW "were everywhere". But did not see a single Red-cockaded Woodpecker!!! After this we were hungry and we had our lunch in the parking lot. Still in this wildlife management area, we drove Strumpers Drive for over an hour and then took the B-line Hwy exit.
We decided to get to the coast and drove to Stuart Florida where we are spending the night in a Clarion Motel. This motel is nice and spotless and they have a full breakfast in the morning. It is also just off the railroad trackers (freight) and we figure from all the very low-flying planes it is on the local airport flyway. There has been a constant landing activity over our room all evening. Right now it seems that the airport is quiet. We noticed that these planes were all small ones and we learned later that Friday afternoon/evening is busy the air traffic as many of the flights are private planes and people are flying in to their homes in Jupiter for the weekend.
Tonight there was a lovely full moon out and we were out and took photos of it and the best photo is here. We are happy exploring the areas which are kind of out of the way a bit. We did not get too lost today. Barbr is a bit stiff in her back right now and my voice is coming back but slowly, still annoying. We love the weather and the scenery here.
Barbs
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