Tag Archives: tortoise

Fun morning at the farm.

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I hadn’t been to Horsepower For Kids (sanctuary/farm) in a long time so I stopped by for a visit at the end of December. All of the baby geese that had grown up in early 2020 were still there making the duck pond a busy place.

They had 2 new canadian geese at the pond. They swam close to the dock and I noticed they both had angel wings. Angel wings is a nutritional deficiency caused by improper diet. It means someone was feeding these geese too much bread when they were young and their wings didn’t grow properly. It can keep them from flying well and that’s probably why they are living here now. At least they have a great home to live in now. That’s why it’s so important not to feed the wildlife bread.

It’s fun seeing all of the different crazy “fowl” running around here.

Some of the other residents.

I was admiring this salad. These guys eat better than I do.

Butterflies are seen all year long here.

Hanging out with some funny faces

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I found some new friends at Horsepower for Kids Sanctuary in late November. The toucan is a fairly new resident and was very friendly (he was surrendered by his owner).

You don’t often see white turkeys.

The ducks were being their usual cute selves in the big pond.

Roosters have a run of the sanctuary. Some are skittish and stay in the bushes and some will walk right up to you.

The big shells were enjoying their breakfast.

This guy was showing off.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Our World Tuesday Graphic

A two park morning

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I found these leaves at McGough Nature Park in Largo back in October. They look like lacy leaves. They were spread out all along the trail. I would normally think bugs did this but it almost looks natural and I’ve seen it at several other parks. Does anyone know if this is natural?

I stopped by the turtle pond to say hi to all of the turtles swimming around.

A bunny was sitting right on the trail.

Some of the resident tortoises at the nature center.

It’s not often you get to see a Mississippi kite up close. They are pretty rare to see in the Tampa bay area and this one was rehabbing here at the center.

After leaving McGough Park, I stopped by the Largo Nature Preserve for a quick walk before heading home for lunch. It was a quiet morning so I didn’t stay long.

My first copperhead? I don’t think so.

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All of the above are baby anhingas at different ages. Seen from the boardwalk tower, the nests are right over the water at Sawgrass Lake Park. There were many nests along the lake and luckily there a few close to the tower.

One of the Mom’s sitting close to the overcrowded nests.

Not many other birds around during my walk after work in late May. A few green herons were close to the tower.

Other critters at the park. Someone told me that the snake is a copperhead which is a first for me. He’s one of the 6 venomous snakes in Florida. His head shape doesn’t look like a copperhead on line so I’m not sure if it was one. He slid back under the boardwalk quickly so I didn’t get a shot of his body. Any confirmed ID?

Funny Faces at the Funny farm

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Funny faces at the Funny Farm (Horsepower for Kids) near my house.

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I was watching some of the volunteer kids chasing after a crazy rooster that had gotten free and was driving all of the other animals crazy.  That rooster was pretty slick and kept them running for a while. It’s always entertaining there.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

Funny faces on the farm.

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I finally realized there was a petting zoo/farm near my house. I was out looking for birds and stumbled upon what looked like horse stables but then I heard parrots yelling and other weird noises coming from the back of a house. On the side was an entrance and it said $5 fee. I headed in thinking I wouldn’t find much and left over 2 hours later. They had horses for riding, farm animals to pet, a pond filled with geese, swans and ducks and all kinds of other critters.  Most of the animals (excluding the horses) were rescue animals. It’s a non-profit farm run by volunteers. One of their events is a summer camp called “Warriors for Autism”. Kids can spend time working and playing with the animals and interact with other kids.  I have found a new favorite place to add to my list of Saturday morning walks. No rare birds here, although I had a few eastern bluebirds fly over, but just a lot of fun.

That last picture is my favorite. Molly was sleeping and I leaned over and snapped her with her teeth sticking out.

Link to Horsepower for Kids.