Reddish and White...

I could have given you another osprey today...or even another egret in breeding finery...or a snoozing, laughing gull...or a host of other things...but this is only the second time I've ever seen a white-morph reddish egret (the last one I saw was mature - this one is immature), and that kind of clinched the deal for me.  In this photo, you can see it doing its "fish dance", a behavior that is very characteristic of this particular type of egret.  

I went down to Ft DeSoto today - needed to clear my head a bit and stretch my legs.  And the Fort never disappoints when it comes to birds.  

Every nesting platform I saw had a pair of osprey on it - most seem to still be putting the finishing touches on their nests, but they never leave it unguarded.  I suspect that competition for those nesting platforms runs high.  I watched a pair collect big clumps of seaweed from the beach, carrying it up to their nest to provide some cushioning.

Not many shorebirds, but lots of white pelicans (alas, too far out to sea for photos) and lots of waders, like this fine specimen.  When I first spotted this guy out in the water, I thought it was a snowy egret ... then I thought perhaps a young Little Blue Heron (as they are white until they turn blue).  But as he danced through the surf and then strutted up the beach, it became quite clear that he was, in fact, a Reddish Egret.  So very cool - definitely the moment I want to remember today.

Eight other photos from the day starting HERE on FLickr

So, the big news I've been promising... Brace yourselves... We are moving again.  Yep, you read that right.  And (wait for it...) we are moving BACK to New Jersey, back into our old home.  I won't go into all of the reasons we decided to do this; suffice it to say that we've discussed it at length and weighed the pros and cons.  Hubs has been feeling very homesick for friends and familiar places - and he can as easily look for a job there as here.  And, since we haven't yet sold our home... well, it kind of makes sense.  My condition was that we can't move until the end of March - I don't want to experience winter this year.  And, I have many more photographs to take before I leave FL.  

So, two months...  You can expect lots of birds, maybe a few sunsets, and perhaps an alligator or two before I pack up and head north.  We will be arriving back in NJ about two weeks before the hummingbirds show up, so I will be ready to greet them with feeders and flowers.  Kind of excited about that, actually.

Off to have a glass of wine and some dinner.  Tonight's offering is a Thai shrimp salad with avocado, cucumbers, red peppers and herbs.  Light and tasty.

Toodles, good people.
Debbi