Saturday, November 4th we went to Cedar Key. We
have been here a couple of times quite a few years ago. We stayed both times at Cedar Key B&B.
We started our day at Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve. It was hunting season, but wasn't closed to hikers. Hopefully, it wasn't open season on birders.... We did hike
around for a bit (we could hear shots in the distance.)
This is probably the
most elaborate walkway to get to “the throne” that I have ever seen. Lot of
hoopla for a port-a-potty.
We saw a lot of Phoebes Catbirds, Cardinals, and a bunch of
really cute Sparrows. They were very hard to see as they didn’t come out more
than a second and then buried back in the scrub. We did get lucky and find 2
sitting on a stalk of grass.
it was mostly sany terrain, more like walking on the beach
Eastern Phoebe
Lincoln's Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
I think the Lincoln’s Sparrows were a new bird for us. (we keep a life list)
We moved on to our next stop which was Shell Mound County Park. Just a beautiful
area. We checked out the Sea birds and then did a few of the
hiking trails.
Laughing Gull
one of the trails
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
great boardwalk around the pond (combination trail and boardwalks)
the 2nd bird from the left is a Black Skimmer
The Black Skimmer was a new bird for us! It has a huge orange & back bill and skims
the water with his bill to get fish. The birds were really far out in the water on a sandbar so they were very hard to see.
We drove to lunch in Cedar Key and then we walked around the
town and out on the pier. It’s a quirky little area similar to Key West (or any
trendy beach town).
lunch at Tony's Seafood Restaurant - Cedar Key
Crabcake Sandwich
Fried Oyster Sandwich
this guy just caught a small stingray
Cormorant
Stopped for a mediocre ice cream.
we saw this house on the way to our last trail
close-up of the roof
Then we stopped at a trail for a short bit before heading
back to the second place we visited. The tide was too high for sea birds so we
walked the boardwalk trail again.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
House Wren
We stopped at another area before heading home that is
another 9 mile drive like the one we did on the other side of the reserve. We may return to do that another day.
We plan to take Sunday off since places tend to be busier on weekends. (and we need a break!)
nice photos
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