Dawns bloggy blog

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Tuesday touching Turtles

Howdee all,

Florida Cooter ~ Florida Red-bellied Turtle ~ Red-eared Slider ~ Florida Softshell

Turtle lounge chair for four..Looks like a few different types here..my guess is Florida Cooter and Florida Red-bellied TurtlesTurtle stackmost of these photos were taken at Green Cay wetlands….I couldn’t see much of a pattern on the back of the turtlesI think this must be some type of algae growth on the turtles..Check out those feet!Turtle approaching log..Does this look like turtle love?

Sweet… Turtles (1)

Jeff and I are here at a funky RV park in Jensen Beach, Florida.

We are a two mile walk ~over the causeway bridge~ to the beach.

Its been in the high seventies and low eighties..Shorts weather.

Hope its warming up for all my friends and family in the north~sending you boxes of warmth..hope it gets to you soon~

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sunday Sunrise and Sunset..

Howdee all,

We said goodbye to John Prince Park….

Limpkin, Lake Worth Florida (sunrise)

We are now in Jensen Beach, Florida

Funky little RV park by the intercoastal....

See the peachy building in the distance?

(Sunset)

Nice little café on the water…bridge in the distance beyond.

Sunset Jensen Beach

We have some exploring to do…

Hope you are all Counting the birds..

They are counting on you! Smile

Friday, February 18, 2011

Goodbye~ John Prince Park~

Howdee all,

We have been here in John Prince Park, Lake Worth, Florida for two weeks now…and its time to move on.

We tried to extend our time here, but, the park is full. I called many places to try and get reservations for this busy weekend…I was able to find availability a bit further north at Jensen Beach.

I wanted to share a few videos here taken while at John Prince.

Goodbye John Prince …I will miss my morning Limpkin Wake up call..yeah, believe it or not I looked forward to that Smile

The video below is from my morning walk…There is a small craft airport nearby…so toward the end of the video..that is what you hear…otherwise it is very quiet..

This next video is sunrise over the lake behind our Homey…Stay with the video to see the Common Moorhen couple.

Take Care and see you all at our next Destination.

Jensen Beach…if you know the area and want to recommend things to see..just leave a comment below.

Thanks!

Oh..and hot of the presses..this one is not to be missed!

Featured Bird Blogger of the Week

An amazing 12 year old Bird Blogger..

Count some birds~it helps~its easy~win Prizes!

Howdee all,

The Great Backyard Bird Count

Friday, February 18, through Monday, February 21

Lets all do this..at least one day for 15 minutes……

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day. You can also submit more than one checklist per day if you count in other locations on that day.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time. You may find it helpful to print out your regional bird checklist to get an idea of the kinds of birds you're likely to see in your area in February. You could take note of the highest number of each species you see on this checklist.

3. When you're finished, enter your results through our web page. You'll see a button marked "Enter Your Checklists!" on the website home page beginning on the first day of the count. It will remain active until the deadline for data submission on March 1st.

You can count the birds in your own back yard, or wherever you are.

Watch the video below for the easy instructions.

Download this PDF file with instructions…

Info below taken from the GBBC site..click on this link to go there

Your counts can help us answer many questions:

How will this winter's snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations?

Where are winter finches and other “irruptive” species that appear in large numbers during some years but not others?

How will the timing of birds’ migrations compare with past years?

How are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions?

What kinds of differences in bird diversity are apparent in cities versus suburban, rural, and natural areas?

Are any birds undergoing worrisome declines that point to the need for conservation attention?

Scientists use the counts, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, and eBird, to give us an immense picture of our winter birds. Each year that these data are collected makes them more meaningful and allows scientists to investigate far-reaching questions.

And did you know that you can win prizes for helping?

check out the prizes..one of them is an Ipod touch with the Audubon bird app!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

~Morning on the Lake~John Prince Park,FL

Howdee all,

This morning after my Limpkin alarm clock woke me. I took an early morning walk.I took along my Canon point and shoot and my Itouch…

Can you tell what photos were taken with each camera?

This first photo was taken behind the homey…

It was a beauteous morning!

I walked alone..

Jeff flew back to Boston, his 97 year old aunt passed away…

I stayed behind to take care of Ballie….

Goodbye Aunt Lil~ we had some fun times together….

You liked Florida….

It really is lovely here…I remember when Jeff and I first started RVing…We didn’t think we would like Florida…too many people…to many high rises…not enough places to hike.

We now love coming here…

we always find wonderful pockets of nature…Florida is not just high rises on the beach, we were mistaken…We come to Florida to bird and to visit family and friends….To enjoy warm weather in the winter…It suits us …one of the many places we enjoy in the winter…Hi there!…:)So, if you are cold and need to get warmed up…Come to Florida…Its really warm here….You can go for walks every day without slipping on white stuff….When in Florida, we love staying here at John Prince Park..You would never know there was a sprawling town all around us…Its peaceful here….

We leave Lake Worth on Friday and head north on the coast..next stop Jensen beach.

Monday, February 14, 2011

♥~Valentine hearts~Cactus Wren Love~♥

Howdee all,

Its Valentines Day…

♥ Love is in the air ♥

I filmed this a few years back while in Arizona..

I hope you can hang in there and watch the whole video..the cactus wren are so much fun.

I love to find hearts in nature…

Here are a few hearts from the past..

I found this heart in the Mohave National Preserve

This one in Leon Sinks geological area….

While Birding the Consumnes River Preserve

I photographed these Sandhill crane with their red heart above the bill…

I hope you find some ♥ today

♥ Happy Valentines Day ♥

Friday, February 11, 2011

Coot Feet~Sweet

Howdee all,

I want you to see these feet!~ Mind you, my photos are taken with a point and shoot..wish I had a DSLR for something like this..

Notice the strange feet of the Coot. Unlike ducks and most other water birds, which have webbed
feet, the Coot has feet which are lobed.
To take off from the water, the Coot does not flap its wings and rise upward like other waterfowl are capable of doing.
Instead, Coots run over the water surface on their their feet, thrashing their wings until becoming air-borne. Their tail is
so short that it cannot be used for steering during flight. Instead, the Coot uses its outstretched feet to steer while flying.
One of the Coot’s predators is the bald eagle, possibly because the Coot becomes air borne so slowly compared to other
waterfowl. Also, Coots like open water and therefore are in plain sight when the eagle is looking for food. Typically, Coots and
Rails are weak flyers compared to ducks and geese.