Many pictures today, I'm afraid. Normally I get better pictures when I don't expect them. I wanted to try out my GPS today and ended up at the park. I hadn't even planned to leave the driveway.

I pulled over to read the GPS instruction manual and found this woodstork, first posing for me then taking a stroll down the avenue.

Then at the entrance to the park, this osprey family. They must get awfully wet up there in the rain.

I think the red thing in the nest is a plastic cup. I can't think why they would drag it all the way up there.

Then a couple of ibis' in a tree.

Then the real treat. I couldn't believe how close these manatees were to the shore. At times they actually had their heads up on the beach. I could easily have touched them. Here they are having a good splash!


It looked as if there were 3 adults and one baby. One of the adults left soon after I arrived, so I assume that the other two are the parents of the baby. The baby would grasp the mother with it's flippers from under her, but being in the shallows made that difficult, so mum obligingly would move into deeper water.

See the little flippers holding mum?

Baby

Love!

Some close ups.


Damage from a boat propeller. The area had numerous signs in the water for boats to go slow and watch for manatees, but some get damaged nevertheless. Very sad. Even the baby had some damage on it's nose.

And a red shouldered hawk to escort us back to the truck.