Jay day

First, there was Saturday the 14th, looking for litttle brown birds. We couldn't even get a Marsh Wren to pose for pictures, let alone the sparrows that are supposed to be abundant in Florida salt marshes. At least here was a flyby Swallow-Tailed Kite and John got pics.

Then, there was Sunday the 15th, when we entered the Ocala National Forest in search of a jay. Turns out all the road numbers have changed, plus there are roads in between just for fun, and all of them are sand. Most were passable but after a few hundred yards of soft sand, a few hours after we entered the maze, we gave up and asked for help from some 4 wheel drive enthusiasts. They had a map, sort of. We had been REALLY lost. Luckily, we were close to salvation, hard dirt roads that were on the map. Our Rav4 had been objecting by alerting us with a lost traction alarm. Not a fun sound.

I located two jay groups while we were in that area, but they did not show themselves. We finally found our way to the Yearling Trail, I saw a flit, pished, and a lovely Florida Scrub Jay came up and gave us a show. After we had lunch, there he was, sitting up an a snag, saying farewell, or something less polite.

Then, today, Monday the 16th, we spent a few hours getting the Prairie Warbler (Florida subspecies) to come out for a photo at Robert Rees County Park. There were a few stops that were semi-fruitless. But, we got a Limpkin at Safety Harbor City Park!!!!!! What a weird bird! We both got pictures!

John is up to 382.