Finch in Florida

A chase-free weekend

Well, I finally had a weekend to laze around and catch up on some much needed sleep. The Zenaida Dove that I had dipped on the weekend before had not been refound, so that I had no real incentive to leave at 1:30 AM to drive off into the night.

So, I actually had a chance to sleep in, watch my Falcons beat up on the hometown Bucs, and also get out and hike around in the local area.

I checked out a nice little park in the town of Dunedin, Hammock Park, which is located just north of Clearwater, FL (about a half hour drive from my place in St. Petersburg). I was told by a co-worker that I had a chance to see an Eastern Indigo Snake, the largest native snake in Florida (Pythons are known to be living in the Everglades!) but they are also one of the most threatened species as well.

It was a rather cool day, only in the upper 70s (remember, this is Florida) so I was hoping to catch an Indigo warming itself out on the trail. But, it was not to be...but I got a decent consolation prizes in a set of Gopher Tortoises. Not only are these reptiles interesting, they are also easily approachable...as these pictures that I shot will display.

There wasn't too much excitement as far as the bird life was concerned. I did see my first Hermit Thrush for the year...actually three birds in one spot. I also came across a few groups of warblers which were mostly made up of Yellow-rumped, but I was able to pull out a Northern Parula and this Black-and-white Warbler:

(feel free to click on the photos to examine them more closely)

FOR HOCKEMA

Johnny Hockema loves shorebirds...so much that he has neglected good ol' Finch to get a closer look at some out in the middle of a flooded field leaving me stranded with no place to sleep. But shorebirds are cool...so I forgive hm of course (but I never forget...I have to keep him somewhat honest). Anyways John, I thought you would enjoy some photos I took at Honeymoon Island State Park.

Well, I'm all blogged out as it is almost 2AM and I need to get a few hours of sleep. Now where did I put that Tryptophan?

Posted by tuffrasta at November 16, 2004 04:37 AM