Category: Birds
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Oak Alley Plantation
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 We are on a photography workshop with Mark Zablotsky (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com) in New Orleans. Driving north, we crossed the Mississippi River, that always impresses me. It is big, appears to be rather fast and is heavily trafficked by barges shipping products. We visited Oak Alley Plantation. Oak Alley is.a beautiful place with…
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Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
March 21, 2022 Mark Zablotsky (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com) had recommended Magnolia Gardens. I knew little about it, except that there is a 60 acre Audubon Preserve. A big sign in front listed all the tours. Martha asked what I wanted to do, and I said, “All of it.” We started by walking through the extensive gardens. Extracting…
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Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park
Just east of Jacksonville, Florida is Kathryn Abbey Hanna State Park is an unusual spot. To its north is Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. In fact there are many reserves to the north and west. There is so much water in this area, it boggles the mind – Back River, St. John’s River, Pumpkin Hill…
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St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
Mark Zablotsky told me to go to the Alligator Farm. Then my acupuncturist, Deborah Farley, said she couldn’t wait to go to the Alligator Farm. So off we went, not really knowing what to expect. How are there migrating birds at an Alligator Farm in St. Augustine? We walked around for the first 15 minutes,…
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Tomoka State Park, Florida
We drove east across Florida from Manatee Springs State Park to Tomoka State Park, passing near beautiful Ocala. It’s like Lexington, Kentucky, with gorgeous horse farms. This is the height of show season, and big horse trailers were traveling to events. Tomoka sits between Orlando and Jacksonville, just north of Daytona Beach and south of…
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Kayaking Burt Mill Creek
Thursday, March 4, 2021 A downy woodpecker, the smallest of the woodpecker family, worked on a limb in our campsite. Colin Burns gave us some tips on places to fish and kayak near St. Andrews State Park. We opted for Burt Mill Creek. There is a nice boat ramp, parking area and even has a…
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Shooting Rockets

They are Violet-Backed Swallows, and I love to shoot them! 1/1250 second wasn’t nearly fast enough to capture these, so I doubled to 1/2500 second, but still not fast enough. They only fly 28 miles/hr, but it seems like twice that, and they never fly straight, zig-zagging all over the place catching bugs in mid-air.…
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Hunting Island Day 1
Monday, May 7, 2018 It’s always fun arriving at a new place, anxious to explore and see what is here. We walked out the long boardwalk into a huge marsh. It was low tide and they haven’t had rain for 12 days, so the only water was in the creeks. I was disappointed not to…
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Huntington Beach State Park
May 5, 2018 We walked down to the beach with a nice lady from Chapel Hill, exchanged good ideas for travel. She said we would love Hunting Island. Her father was a Navy pilot for 20 years, but Jimmy Keith’s name didn’t ring a bell. We walked this beautiful beach for 40 minutes. Met Jim to…