Creeping things along the trail

Posted on November 23, 2021 by dinajohnston

What would you expect to find walking down Marsh Rabbit Run Trail at Circle B Bar Reserve? I rarely see them on this trail but there it was on my walk in late October. As I got closer and he disappeared in the bushes on the side I yelled “Don’t go in there. The alligators will get you” but he didn’t listen.

These guys are always hanging on the side of the trails.

So are these. Marsh Rabbit Run should really be called Creepy Spider Trail.

This is what you see after the trails open back up after being closed for the summer. The sides of the trails are full of spiders. Those tiny dots are spiders in between the trees. That’s why you don’t want to get to close to the sides of the trails (although most of them are pretty high up there are usually a few lower down). I think for the most part these are harmless although I always do a spider check if I feel like I walked through a web.

An eagle cruising far away across the marsh.

My favorite purple clowns were out feeding. These are juvenile purple gallinules that hadn’t gotten their purple feathers in. Soon they will look like the one below. They were eating the tips of the alligator flag plants.

Assuming this is one of the parents.

Color on the trail

Posted on August 22, 2020 by dinajohnston

Spoonbills were everywhere on my last trip to Circle B Bar Reserve but they were each alone. Dotting the way down the trail. There’s something magical about these pink fluff balls and even seeing one occasionally is always a treat.

One went flying by me in the rain. Yes I got caught on the trail in the rain but more on that later.

The usual clowns on the trail.

Before I headed down Marsh Rabbit Run, I stopped to take a few pictures of the above sandhill cranes. They were just standing in the middle of the trail intersection preening themselves. One was picking at the dirt on the ground and spreading the dirt on his feathers. Assuming to keep the bugs off? I had heard they do this but had not seen it before.

I got down to the end of Marsh Rabbit Run and it started to pour so I hung out in the rain shelter for almost an hour. When the rain stopped I headed back to my car and these guys were still standing at the same intersection. Now they were all wet and looked like they had enjoyed the rain.

Blue and purple

Posted on May 30, 2020 by dinajohnston

I rarely see bluebirds in the parks near my house. I’m sure they are around but I never seem to see them. I didn’t expect to see one singing on a dead pine tree at Possum Branch Preserve. This was a treat watching him pouring his heart out across the marsh.

The lone glossy ibis was still there, showing off his colors in the sunlight.

I looked down in the marsh and saw this. What was this purple gallinule doing?

Then I realized another one was coming out of the reeds and they started playing “leap frog” in the marsh. Those big yellow feet were such a contrast on top of her back. They did it twice before taking off in different directions. By now somewhere in that marsh is a purple gallinule nest. Here’s to hoping to see babies soon.

There’s always a lot of white peacock butterflies and bunnies here.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

My favorite purple clowns

Posted on January 11, 2020 by dinajohnston

It’s that time of the year when the purple gallinules at Circle B Bar Reserve hang around the alligator flag plants close to trail. They feed with their young that were born earlier that spring. As I walked out on the trail in late October, there were several feeding right in front. The pale purple one is the juvenile that hasn’t gotten his full adult feathers in yet. It’s funny to watch them balance on the branches as they try to hold on.

Another walk on Alligator Alley

Posted on June 1, 2017 by dinajohnston

All lush and green, this was taken in early April before the drought started taking a toll on the marsh.

I did not change the color on this glossy ibis. They were in their breeding feathers and the colors were so deep. When the sun hits them you can really see the patterns.