To escape from the winter blahs of northern Illinois, Stacia and I headed to the Tampa area in Florida for a week. We were able to fly out of Rockford (instead of Chicago) which meant it was super easy and hassle free.
Shortly after landing at St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport, we headed to Weedon Island Preserve along Old Tampa Bay.
Ospreys were easy to spot (as they were throughout the week in Florida) and many were on nests.
We hiked a boardwalk trail that lead to some open water where we spotted an Anhinga, White Ibises, Little Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, and Black-crowned Night-heron.
Little Blue Heron
Anhinga
We also spotted a Brown Anole on the boardwalk and enjoyed all the palm trees and mangroves.
Brown Anole
Despite it being overcast, we were delighted to already have temperatures over 70 degrees where back home it was some 40+ degrees colder.
Stacia at Weedon Island Preserve
Eddie: Nice place to run off to. We are not suffering too bad this winter. Say, did you ever post the results of the Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count on the NCIOS site or on your blog? I can’t find either one and would like to get a copy. Thanks.
Jack Armstrong