2023 03 05

Sunny Florida Adventures¶

2023-03-05

This week I went to Florida to go to Okeechobee Music Festival with my cousin who lives nearby in St. Petersburg. I decided to go two days early before the festival started so I could explore the area and go hiking/birding with my cousin. This was my first time going to Florida so I was very excited. The night before my flight, there was the first major snowfall of the year in New Jersey (~4 inches) and I was up until 1am making a massive snowman with my sister. It was interesting having the plane de-iced before the flight only to land into sunny, 80-degree weather in under 3 hours.

My first new bird encounter was certainly unexpected. Outside the USF campus gym where my cousin and I rented the camping equipment for the music festival, there was a Muscovy Duck guarding her eggs in a bush. I'm glad I decided to bring both my large Sony 200-600 and compact 70-350 birding lenses so I always had one or the other on hand.

After getting the camping gear, we headed to Lettuce Lake. This park had a similar setup as the Great Swamp Refuge in NJ in that it has observation platforms and paths that take you through the area via elevated boardwalks. This lets you get close to the wildlife without walking in swamp/marsh. I was immediately greeted by the sound of a new warbler high in the tree canopy that ended up being a Northern Parula. Here we saw alligators, a flock of White Ibises nesting in trees and washing off in the marsh, and a Little Blue Heron hunting for fish among other things. I also met others photographers and birders that were interested in my Sony 200-600 (should have given them an affiliate link haha).

Later that same day, we went to Violet Cury Nature Preserve where my cousin would often take his dog on walks after work/class. This location was more lowkey than the previous with few people and no boardwalks, just paths. Here I saw another Little Blue Heron fishing in the lake, a male Muscovy Duck swimming, a Barred Owl, as well as my first of many lizards on this trip. Near the lake, we saw American Coots and a flock of Ring-necked Ducks. I also got to see drastically different vegetation than back in NJ including air plants all over the ground, Spanish moss, an air potato, and loads of interesting flowers.

That night, I met two of my cousin's friends and we went out to experience the St. Pete nightlife. From a cozy bar setup like a living room with video games and ping pong to a bar with live music and someone playing guitar riff with their tongue, it was an awesome experience. We ended the night by visiting an abandoned community food farm where one can supposedly grab food as needed. My cousin and his friends were using their knowledge of plants to identify each plant in the community farm and we even found a mini-fridge full of tiny frogs huddling around the cool air.

After an eventful first day, we got about 4 hours of sleep (common theme on this trip) so we could wake up early and experience a Florida sunrise and it was well worth it. We got to the St. Pete side of Tampa Bay just as sunrise was starting. The water was warm and shallow until a dip before a sandbar in the distance where a Great Blue Heron and various sandpipers/plovers including Willet, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, and Black-bellied Plover were catching their breakfast. As the sun rose above the horizon, the massive ball of fire lit the sky red and made a beautiful reflection on the water. Some of my favorite shots of the trip were the silhouettes of sandpipers feeding between me and the ball of fire in the sky.

After the breathtaking sunrise, we headed to Fort DeSoto, several lengths of beach at the southern tip of St. Pete, for more hiking, birding, and kayaking. This is one location I read about even before arriving in Florida since it's well known to birders. Here is where I got most of my photos of new birds including Brown Pelicans plunge-diving for food, Royal Terns, Forster's Terns and Black Skimmers claiming their territory, the endangered Piping Plovers and Ruddy Turnstones foraging for food, and the absolutely breathtaking Reddish Egret's foraging dance and charge. The Reddish Egret's dance was one of the most fascinating and hilarious acts I have ever seen a bird perform. It would race back and forth in the shallow water while opening and shutting its wings. It sometimes looked like a dinosaur doing an all-out charge and other times like a graceful dancer. Apparently, they do this to stir up sediment in pursuit of small fish.

After exploring the beaches of Fort DeSoto, we rented a kayak and I switched to my more compact Sony 70-350 lens. Here we saw beautiful mangrove trees that housed a Little Blue Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and White Ibis. There was no shortage of aquatic life including conches, sea cucumbers, sponges, and sea anemones. We were also glad to see and photograph a Manatee just before returning the kayak, a must-see sea creature for anyone visiting Florida. After the kayaking, we ended the visit to Fort DeSoto by checking out the boat launch were one birder we met mentioned there baby Great Horned Owls nesting. Immediately after parking the car, we saw the babies atop a palm tree cuddled for warmth with nearby Osprey nests. My cousin was able to find the parent Great Horned Owl in nearby trees.

The rest of our day was spent preparing for the music festival. I didn't bring my camera to the festival but I still managed to get a picture of a new bird, the Sandhill Crane, using my phone camera (there's always time for birding haha). I was blown away by everything I saw in just 2 days of exploring Florida and Okeechobee Music Festival was one of the best experiences of my life. It's always an adventure hanging out with my cousin and I can't wait for the next one!

Locations/Sightings¶

-> #location/USFCampus-StPetersburg-Florida

Muscovy Duck

-> #location/LettuceLake-StPetersburg-Florida

-> #location/VioletCuryNaturePreserve-StPetersburg-Florida

-> #location/TampaBay-StPetersburg-Florida

-> #location/FortDeSoto-StPetersburg-Florida

-> #location/Okeechobee-Florida