Friday,November 3rd we went to Manatee Springs State
Park in Chiefland, FL. We have been there before, but many years ago. No
Manatees yet this time of year, but they should be arriving soon. The Springs
flow directly into the Suwannee River. We canoed here last time and largeTarpon
were literally jumping over us and we feared one of those huge things would
fall into the canoe and tip us over into the water which was full of alligators.
While we were hiking a couple of the trails we saw
turkeys which quickly disappeared into the woods, 2 Tortoises (1 large and the other
really tiny), a couple armadillos, at least 4 wild pigs. (little guys), We
did see quite a few birds as well. A couple of mixed flock groups again. One
had lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets with some Titmice and Carolina Warblers,
Cardinals and a few other birds mixed in.
Swainson's Thrush
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Phoebe
Black & White Warbler
Black & White Warbler
large Gopher Tortoise
Downy Woodpecker
It was well passed lunch time and we hoped the State Park
had food. They indeed had food and even had a huge smoker going with lots of
different smoke meats. We both had pulled pork sandwiches with baked beans and
coleslaw. YUM!
We walked around the Springs and a few people were swimming
in the cold water. We heard an owl, but couldn’t find it.
Cormorants
Belted Kingfisher
Red-shouldered Hawk
Pileated Woodpecker
We left the Springs area to hike another short trail. This
is where we saw the wild pigs and armadillos and the tiny tortoise.
Armadillo
Swainson's Thrush
this tortoise was very tiny
It was a lovely day once it warmed up. Too bad it was too early for the manatees to be there, but we have seen them many times. The Springs are quite beautiful with or without them.
Tomorrow we are visiting Cedar Key.
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