Bah. This is the winter that wouldn't end!! I can't remember there ever being this long a stretch of cold, dreary weather. But I've got shore birds and I'm putting them up! How's that for a ray of sunshine?!? I've got a lot of them, so go ahead and settle in for a few months of Fridays from the coast of Florida.
I was down there for a few weeks in January and I arrived along with a blast of arctic air. It doesn't freeze down there very often, so when it does, wackiness ensues. Iguanas fall out of trees, farmers soak their citrus trees and strawberries, and frozen fish wash up on the beach. Lots and lots of dead fish. I got out every day -- either on my bike or for a run -- in my little corner of the Tampa Bay, which usually found me going back and forth along the causeway between Bradenton and Anna Maria Island. Eventually, a small municipal army poured out of trucks onto the beaches to clean up the fishkill, but initially the work was done by the buzzards. There were so many enjoying an incredibly sumptuous buffet of fish.
They aren't the most gregarious birds in the world, at least when it comes to people, so it was challenging to get photos of them. But I did manage to get a few, and since this is the bird that greeted me at the beginning of my trip, I'll start of my series of 2010 Florida shore birds with this turkey vulture.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Stay safe and warm and dry, and try not to let the weather get you down. Eventually, spring will get here. And in the meantime, don't forget to check the Ark!
I was down there for a few weeks in January and I arrived along with a blast of arctic air. It doesn't freeze down there very often, so when it does, wackiness ensues. Iguanas fall out of trees, farmers soak their citrus trees and strawberries, and frozen fish wash up on the beach. Lots and lots of dead fish. I got out every day -- either on my bike or for a run -- in my little corner of the Tampa Bay, which usually found me going back and forth along the causeway between Bradenton and Anna Maria Island. Eventually, a small municipal army poured out of trucks onto the beaches to clean up the fishkill, but initially the work was done by the buzzards. There were so many enjoying an incredibly sumptuous buffet of fish.
They aren't the most gregarious birds in the world, at least when it comes to people, so it was challenging to get photos of them. But I did manage to get a few, and since this is the bird that greeted me at the beginning of my trip, I'll start of my series of 2010 Florida shore birds with this turkey vulture.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Stay safe and warm and dry, and try not to let the weather get you down. Eventually, spring will get here. And in the meantime, don't forget to check the Ark!
11 comments:
Ah, so that is the critter Gonzo is supposed to be!
????
…though some say Gonzo the muppet is an alien or a turkey.
It sounds like the vultures have a lot to eat there. They are kind of ugly but I find them interesting birds.
Ah. A muppet. I should have known! I think Gonzo might even be one of the muppets that was around back when I still watched.
Eileen, they must have thought they were in vulture heaven. I've never seen so many dead fish. And yes, kind of ugly, but I enjoyed watching them. They seem to be pretty social birds -- amongst themselves, anyway (they wouldn't let me get very close).
I do have some more vulture shots in the queue. I took quite a few stabs at getting a good photo.
Vultures are wonderfully unattractive.
Alice, you wound me, girl. Gonzo was the one trying to do the trumpet fanfare in the opening credits of "The Muppet Show" - with unexpected results.
Yeah, but I never was a Muppet Show viewer. I was a fan of Sesame Street (up until that Elmo muppet was introduced), but never did watch the prime time show. I think it was a timing thing, because I never had anything against the show -- I just missed it.
OK, you're forgiven. :-)
Whew!!! ;-)
[...] Friday, everyone! Can you believe how quickly the week flew by? You can check last week’s creature post if you missed the drama of the fishkill that allowed me to become acquainted with a bunch of turkey [...]
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