May - Part 2

So, after a picnic lunch of sandwiches, pasta salad, carrots, apples, pretzels and other yummies, we decided to go for another walk.  We were now on a beach called Honeymoon Island - a small but beautiful piece of beach north of Clearwater.  From our picnic spot, we had seen signs for the nature trail, so we packed up and headed out.  As we walked, we came to a sign that pointed us to the "Osprey Trail" and we took that path, not really knowing what to expect but a nice walk together!  Looking up at the trees ahead, I caught a flash of red and saw this beautiful Cardinal - he is so far away that my camera was on max zoom to get this shot:

We all love bird watching - it may be one of our favorite hobbies.  We are always watching for them outside our windows at home and keep track of the types, the families, the nests, etc., as much as possible in our little corner of the world.  So, continuing the walk, Caleb suddenly spotted a nest in a tree.  Looking closer, we noticed a mommy osprey sitting inside and 2 little heads poking out, crying. I never could get the right angle and timing to get the baby's heads, but here is the momma:

 

Isn't she beautiful??

 We stood there just forever, watching her and catching glimpses of the babies.  Suddenly, the momma started to call out, loudly, and began to look all around:

See how she has her neck craned, looking up?

Her calls became louder and more frantic sounding as she continued to look all around:

 

Then, we started to hear another call that was not hers and within seconds, the daddy came flying home, carrying a snake for his family to eat!  I was too busy standing in amazement at the sight to take a picture, but after the daddy dropped off take-out, he went to a branch nearby to watch and wait.  We found this very comical and wondered about the way they interacted with each other.  Here is daddy, waiting and watching:

Just to give you a perspective, this is an actual, no zoom shot of their tree from where we were standing and watching:

They are in a nest just behind the Y of the tree in the center.

So, after observing them for about 20 minutes, we decided it was time to move on.  Up ahead, just above us, was this beauty:

Can you see that he is holding a fish or something under his claws?

Moving further on, we found this pair:

Same pair, different angle.

Ok, see the two nests below?  One is the same as those above and then we noticed the other.  What we think is the daddy hopped to the branch above, as you see him in the top right corner:

Then, for some "guy time", he flew over toward that other nest and met up with his neighbor, to compare notes on children, I'm sure!

Well, we ended up being on that trail for a few hours, watching birds, getting lost, wandering in circles, wondering if we would find a way out and taking pictures of trees, sun and flowers:

Picked for me by my amazing children!

When we finally found our way out, we headed back for more beach walking!  We found a lonely spot where Maggie could be with us.  It was peaceful, serene and beautiful.  I leave you with one last shot that captures our spot just right:

Stay tuned... There's more to come!