After my successful trip to Clearwater Beach, I was looking forward to seeing what I could find at Honeymoon Island. This is another gorgeous beach that has a lot of advantages over Clearwater Beach (and a few disadvantages).
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| Laughing Gull |
The water is the same warm, clear, gorgeousness. The sand is also soft and white, but most of the beach is very, very shallow -- just a thin strip between the parking lot and the water.
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| Lovely water |
Honeymoon Island is north of Clearwater and is a state park, so there is no lodging and just a small amount of services -- a couple of snack bars and some umbrella rentals. As a result, it feels much wilder and more natural.
I actually prefer it as a "drive-to" beach. But, Clearwater is better if you can actually stay on the beach. An advantage of being a state park is that you pay an entrance fee and can then move your car from parking space to parking space as you want to. At Clearwater, you have to feed the meter to park (unless you have parking at a hotel like we did at the Palm Pavilion).
So, I did a little exploration along the beach, practicing my "birds in flight" skills. I am sure everyone on the beach thought I was crazy as I aimed at one Laughing Gull after another.
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| Still laughing |
But, then, I decided to take a little a hike along the Osprey Trail, which is very aptly named. I saw so many Ospreys. I took a few steps on the trail and saw my first one sitting in a tree. As I was photographing it, I was bitten by a mosquito, so I went back to my car and completely sprayed myself with insect repellent. And, it seemed to work, so I headed out again.
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| Osprey |
Almost immediately, I saw another photographer with a tripod and I shifted my gaze in the direction his camera was pointing. Jackpot! There was a nest with an adult and three almost-full-grown chicks.
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| Youngsters have orange eyes; adults have yellow |
The adult was feeding the very vocal chicks and they were offering one great photo opportunity after another.
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| Dinner! |
Also called Fish Eagle, Sea Hawk, River Hawk and Fish Hawk, the Osprey is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a varied range. It tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.
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| Such a treat to observe |
The Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish, which it catches with its talons and carries to the nest (almost always facing forward in its grip, making flight more aerodynamic).
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| I was captivated |
The Osprey has several adaptations make fishing easier: reversible outer toes that help grab and carry the fish; sharp spicules on the underside of the toes for a strong grip; closable nostrils to keep out water during dives; backwards-facing scales on the talons which act as barbs to help hold its catch; and dense oily plumage that prevents its feathers from getting waterlogged.
As I moved on from the feeding frenzy in the Osprey nest, I noticed a beautiful Snowy Egret perched in a tree on the other side of the trail.
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| So gorgeous |
It was a nice habitat counterpoint to the Snowy Egret I had observed on the beach earlier in the day.
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| Posing |
The air was absolutely alive with the high-pitched cries of Osprey -- they were everywhere. One was perched in a tree, minding its own business when it was attacked repeatedly by a Mockingbird ...
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| Under attack |
... you can see it in the right side of the photo below. This is behavior I see often between small birds and birds of prey. Most likely, the Mockingbird had a next nearby or had had experience with Ospreys attacking its nest or its young.
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| Quick get-away |
Although at first, the Osprey seemed undisturbed by the attacks, it eventually got a bit ruffled, so to speak.
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| Aggravated |
Shortly after watching that Osprey, I decided to head back because I was supposed to pick up Scott in a little while. I shot my last Osprey, took a turn to the return loop and was immediately mobbed by mosquitoes. I could not get back to the car fast enough! I must have had over 100 bites. I wish I knew of a foolproof way to ward off biting bugs. Every time I go to Florida, I come back looking like a Plague victim.
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| He was watching |
Safely back in the car, I noticed a Cattle Egret walking across the lawn. Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, it has successfully colonized much of the rest of the world. Their name comes from their tendency to accompany cattle or other large mammals, catching insects and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. The Cattle Egret removes ticks and flies from cattle and consumes them. This benefits both species, but it has been implicated in the spread of tick-borne animal diseases.
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| This one has lots of rusty feathers |
Since it was hot and buggy by the Osprey Trail, I headed back toward the beach, passing a Gopher Tortoise on the way. Native to the southeastern U.S., the Gopher Tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide shelter for at least 360 known other animal species. They are threatened by predation and habitat destruction.
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| Gopher Tortoise |
These are land creatures; in fact, they have been known to drown because they do not swim well. Plant-eaters, they usually get water from the food they eat, only drinking standing water in times of extreme drought. Except during breeding season, they are solitary animals, inhabiting a small home range. The gopher tortoise reaches maturity at about 10-15 years and live to be 40-75 years old.
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| Reddish Heron fly-by |
Then, I went back to the -- blissfully much, much breezier -- beach.
I immediately saw another Reddish Egret. This one was an adult that was flying very low down the length of the beach.
Trip date: April 18-26, 2016
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