Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Topic Three–January 28 to February 8, 2013

We stayed at Jonathan Dickinson State Park for 11 days. Gin and Syl arrived a day after us. Unfortunately, they both contracted “The Flu” at Disney World;o((  So they just stayed put and spent several days kicking the bug!!  A little later in the week, Dan and Tricia arrived.  Rather than do a day by day account, we will cover our stay here by topics. Click on any topic to go there directly.
 

 TOPIC  ONE:  THE CAMPGROUND…
TOPIC  TWO:  SUNRISE and SUNSET…
TOPIC  THREE:  BIRDS and CRITTERS…

 
We spent a lot of time riding bikes and hiking the trails. 
 
Along the way, we saw some beautiful animals and birds:o))
 
The day we arrived at the park, we saw a pair of Bald Eagles.
Ball Eagle Pair
Never saw them again;o((
 
 
Everyday, Nancy would go Alligator hunting at the pond;o)
Alligator in pond Alligator Sunning
Alligator getting out of water
Yep, this is the alligator the sign at the gazebo warned us about!!
 
 
 
The American Kestrel, was a new bird for us.
It is a small, 12 inch hawk.
Nancy tried for days to get a good close-up, but it just didn’t happen:o((
 
 
 
We have no idea what type of lizard this is.
Curly Tail Lizard
But you have to love that curly tail;o))
 


With all the water around us,
the Osprey were everywhere!!Osprey 2
Osprey 3 Osprey 4
 


Beautiful Butterflies
 Monarch - Butterfly  Zebra Butterfly - Florida State Butterfly
The stripped butterfly on the right is a Zebra, the Florida State Butterfly.
 
 
 
In the middle of the State Park is a Horse Corral.
Horse Corral
They offer trail or wagon rides.
 
 
 
We rode our bikes down to the river boat launch area.
 
There were woodpeckers everywhere!!
 
Pileated Woodpecker                                           Red-bellied WoodpeckerPileated WoodpeckerRed-Bellied Woodpecker
 
How about both on the same tree?!?!?
Red-Bellied  and Pileated Woodpecker
 
Downy Woodpecker                                                      Red-headed WoodpeckerDowny Woodpecker Red-Headed Woodpecker
 
 
Also hanging around the river was a Great Blue Heron and a Little Blue Heron.
 Great Blue Heron on Mangroves   Little Blue Heron
 
 
 
Nancy took what she calls a “ME” walk;o)) 
 
She loves to just wander quietly in the early morning.
 
She got her first pictures of the Florida Scrub-Jay.
Scrub Jay 1  Scrub Jay 3
 
She calls this picture ‘Angry Bird’ ;o))
Scrub Jay Angry Bird
 
 
She also photographed a couple other first time birds for her:o))
 
She thinks this is a Loggerhead Shrike??
Loggerhead Shrike 2
 
 
Another first was the Northern Flicker!!
Northern Flicker
 
It really is amazing what you see
when you slow down and look around!!