I had not been to the Roosevelt wetlands since May and by the end of October it was time for a trip back. The native muhly grass was blooming bright pink all over the trail.
The trail also had common sneezeweed blooming.
I’m not sure what this great blue heron was eating but it didn’t look yummy.
A coot came close to the edge of the pond.
I could only find a few wintering birds. A prairie warbler and a house wren.
I was scanning the pond for otters (which I didn’t find this day) and saw something dive down on the trail out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was a red shoulder hawk and almost didn’t pay attention but something made me look twice.
It was a northern harrier. It’s the first time I’ve seen one here at this wetlands and in Pinellas county. She stayed for a few seconds and flew off towards the landfill. I waited for a while but she didn’t come back.
Just me and my shadow on the overgrown trail.
I took the above with my phone. I love seeing the pink grass. It only turns pink in the fall here. We had it in front of our back screened porch in Tampa and I miss it. We don’t have a good full sunny spot to plant it in our townhome.