I headed down to Myakka River State Park in mid-May. It’s about an hour and a half from my home near Tampa. I knew I probably wouldn’t see a lot of birds since the water was low in the lake and spring migration was mostly over but that was okay. I really came to see the fields of yellow. Tickseed (formal name is coreopsis) was named the state wildflower in 1991 and you can see plenty of it here. I got to the open field and got out of the car and used my phone to take the above pano. Yellow as far as the eye can see.
There was also some thistle blooming along the road which added some pink.
I was hoping to see some deer or turkey crossing the field but after waiting an hour all I got was a crow.
The sun coming through the tree.
Along a path near the lake, the thistle was growing so high I couldn’t see over it.
Besides the yellow tickseed in May, this park is known for having a lot of alligators. Looking across a river there were several sunning themselves and one swimming by from the left. The pink buds in front of the tickseed is swamp milkweed.
Before heading out I stopped at this pond and snapped the above with my phone.