Lettuce Lake Park again. We were there only about an hour before the park was meant to close. But we overstayed. For the second visit, we were again, the last ones to leave.
There, on the swamp floor appropriately, we saw two Common Gallinules. Like all the other animals beside the boardwalk at the park, they seemed to have learned that there is nothing to fear from visitors. So we were ignored as they hunted for food.
We also met an osprey sitting in her nest way high in the tree top.
And then she flew directly overhead – just to make sure we got a good look at her. We surely did. She could not have been more than ten feet above our heads.
She was squatted down in her nest for some time. The self-appointed guide who showed us the nest also told us that the eggs may be about to be hatched. We should probably buy an annual pass at this point. I will definitely be returning.
People out in nature are always more open, more friendly, more present than people in stores, don’t you find? I realized this on the trip this past summer.
This 240 acre expanse has a great variety of birds, in partiuclar. Our impromptu guide, Holly, who helps to count birds for the Audobon Society in Tampa talked about three or four different kinds of birds that I had not heard of.
I’d heard of Ospreys before, and seen their nests – in Oregon. I didn’t think that they were southerners for some reason. At any rate, the bird is massive and surprising. That expressive face makes it look super intelligent.
[More pictures as the weekend progresses]
- Aperture: ƒ/3.4
- Camera: Canon PowerShot SX510 HS
- Focal length: 4.3mm
- ISO: 400
- Shutter speed: 1/320s