Day one at St Marks. We were unable to take the trail and boardwalk at the back of the Visitor's Center. The bridges over the streams and a large part of the boardwalk was impassable due to deterioration. I guess the money for repairs has not been allocated. It's a sad situation. The other problem here was the paving of the road into the Lighthouse. There was only one lane open for a major portion of the road into the Lighthouse. This prevented stopping along the way at strategic areas.
  | Wednesday morning on Bottoms Road never disappoints at dawning. The sky is glorious. Also it is a good time to hear Clapper Rails and Wrens welcoming the new day. Again not disappointment. The air was alive with morning sounds.  The evidence of a once Corduroy Road is visible along portions of Bottoms Road. These log roads were placed perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low swampy area.  |
 The end of the road never disappoints either. We get a target bird. The Common Loon. |  |
Our next destination was back to Lighthouse Road. We again stopped in anticipation of finding the Golden Plover, but we had no luck either going in nor out. We opted to traverse the one-way out to the Lighthouse to check out the duck situation. Again, there was no disappointment. In fact there were several surprises, The Pintail gave us a treat which was spotted by Pam Larsen. There were American Widgeons, Ring-Neck, Canvasbacks, Shovelers, Teal, Bufflehead, & Ruddy. The prize was a Long-tailed Duck that was at a great distance out. Unfortunately, no photo.
And not least, the resident Flamingo gave us great close up photo-ops. It amazes me that this beautiful creature has remained here for many years. The first years necessitated a long hike and then it would be at the far edge of the open water and would merely be a pink blur. This time it was close several times. Even with the obstacles along the way, we were able to tally 80 species.
Credits for the photos: Bob Ross, Fred Hileman, & Carol Yarnell. I know others took some great photos also, but this is what I had to work with at this time.
Fred Hileman
Credits for the photos: Bob Ross, Fred Hileman, & Carol Yarnell. I know others took some great photos also, but this is what I had to work with at this time.
Fred Hileman
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