A RAINY WEEK in FLORIDA

It's raining in Southwest Florida and it feels chilly.  I wouldn't dare say it was cold because in comparison to much of the rest of the country it really isn't.    We are only catching the very tail end of this widespread cold front.   

 

Morning on the Canal from the back porch -- early in the week,  before the rains hit.

 

But not too surprisingly, ten winters in Florida mean our bodies are used to subtropical Winter temperatures  -- when we first moved here, we laughed  (to ourselves) when people complained about 40 degree nights and 65 degree winter days.  We have now officially joined the crowd.  I'm grateful to live where we can go outside to play almost all Winter.     

 

 

Pictures from a quick stop on a cloudy day at  our local eagle's nest.  There are two one-month old eaglets in the nest and as every year for the last 7,  the property owners have set up a nest cam.  (It is here.)   The fallen snag which is a few yards from the nest tree was full of little black birds making a huge racket.   A few of them were perched on the same tree as Harriet (or maybe it is her mate -- I can never tell them apart).  The Eagles do eat smaller birds sometimes, but I guess the blackbirds weren't worried.  

I thought the pictures above would be it for this week, because it has been so wet out.  But today (Sunday) we decided to go for a drive in spite of the pouring rain.  The car made a great blind for  drive-by birding.

 

Red-shouldered hawk

 

Little blue heron

 

Wood Stork

 

Sandpiper (?) 

Corrected:  Yellowlegs 

 

Wood storks through the car window

 The wood storks like it when the ditches flood  -- it's easy for them to find prey.    

 

All of these birds (and more) were just along the roadside as we drove, but our actual  destination was to check the progress at Babcock Ranch, a planned town that is being built near us.  It is billed as America's first solar powered town.  Here's a link to their website.  It really does seem like the developers know what they're doing.

The pictures on the left are from the solar panel field that supplies their power.  The Ranch's nature trail is open to the public and when the weather improves walking it is definitely on the must-do list.    

Our Sunday drive made this rainy day more fun  --  it was a good week and a good start to the next one (and the weather IS supposed to improve soon).   

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to all of the hosts.

 

NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; MOSAIC MONDAY;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;   THROUGH MY LENS;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY  BLISS;    SATURDAY CRITTERS;  and RATHER B' BIRDING  

 

 

Comments

[Michelle Banks]

Lovely birds....we are now in a 2 day ice storm...one thing after another...Michelle

[NatureFootstep PhotoArt]

gret skies and trees

[Anne]

Our bodies have a way of adapting to the temperatures. After the polar vortex receded here in Connecticut, we had an unseasonably warm day of 50 F (10 C) and I didn't need to wear a coat because it felt so warm! Yet, once summer gets here, 50 F will feel cold to me. Great series of photos. You're lucky to have Bald Eagles to be able to photograph. (There are some in CT, but I haven't had the luck to spot any yet.) Note: I think the bird you questioned about being a Sandpiper is actually a Yellowlegs. (There are Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, but I can never tell which is which.) That nature trail looks like it will be a great walk to go on, once the weather improves.

[Annie]

The only bird we share is the cormoran. We can see it around the big lake (Serre-Ponçon) which lies just down here...

[Gattina]

if it rains in Florida, I also can stay here !!

[Anni @ I'd Rather B Birdin']

I was here earlier, as "hootin' anni" and once again enjoyed your photos of sunny Florida [even with rain here and there]. Thanks, Sallie, for sharing this this weekend at I'd Rather B Birdin'.

[Jennifer Jilks]

I participate in brive-by birding, too! We're in the middle of a blizzard now!

[Eileen Wise]

Hello, Sallie, stopping back to say thank you for linking up your post today. The birds are all beautiful, love the sky shots too.
I hope we will be warming up soon, I miss the Florida weather. Have a happy day and weekend.

[Lorrie]

What beautiful morning skies you captured. They say Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning, so perhaps those beautiful colours were a hint of the rain to come. Wonderful captures of birds - there are so many different ones there. You are probably glad to be out of the extreme cold in the midwest, although I imagine Oregon is much like we are, continuing mild. Enjoy your weekend.

[riitta k]

I have to admit to be a little envious (?) of your climate! It is always a joy to see your birds and sunsets and sunrises. They lighten my mood in the middle of a nasty flu... Wishing a good & pleasant weekend.

[Annie]

It's the same thing here where the sun is shining 300 days a year ! Happy to see again the eagles. I hope for you, THE next week 'll be more sunny. Amitiés.

[Lady Fi]

Those rainy skies are very beautiful!

[Judy Biggerstaff]

Beautiful pics! Thankful you are in Florida and not elsewhere where the temps are so frigid. I just love the herons.

[Peter B.]

Love that hawk shot!! I was trying to capture one just yesterday but he flew away at the last second. Funny how we acclimate to our surroundings. I lived outside of Chicago for a couple years as a child, but have long since refined my definition of cold to CA standards!

[Michelle]

My parents are in Florida and they are not enjoying the cold overnight temps! Thanks for linking up today.

[Su-sieee! Mac]

45/65 degrees have been our highs this year. I forget from season to season so have no idea if that's our norm. Once upon a time I knew this kind of stuff. I blame it on someone who responded "It may rain. It may not rain." to my question of "Does it usually rain in April there?"
You got some great shots of the handsome creatures you saw on your rainy day drive. I also like the shots in your mosaics.
Cheers, Sallie!

[DeniseinVA]

A town for the future. Solar panels are popping up all over the place. Our neighbors got them last year. Great photos Sallie, always enjoy your bird sightings, beautiful skies and pretty scenery.

[Out on The Prairie]

the eagle cams are fun to watch, I watch one called the Decorah Eagles.I watch 4 nests from below, but can go along a river area and watch dozens fish.

[Jim, Sydney, Australia]

Terrific.

[handmade by amalia]

Beautiful photos! I think cold is very much what you are used to and what you're prepared for. Our winters are mild and one proper winter day can bring half the county to a standstill :-) Keep warm!
Amalia
xo

[Gattina]

We had snow again, now it melted this night it was cold and everyything is frozen ! Even in the Southern countries it is not so warm as usual !

[Linda in Virginia]

Nice shots! A solar powered town is a good idea.

[Marti]

Great photos! I especially like the eagle and plan on watching that nest cam. Thank you for linking it. I don't know how you got such great shots from inside the car. Were you using a zoom lens?

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Great to have you visit again ~ send some warmer weather please ` LOL

wonderful photos of our feathered friends ~ ^_^

Happy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[RedPat]

I have been lucky anytime I have been in Florida it hasn't been very cold at all. It only went up to -15˚C here today so you are still a lot warmer than us.

[diane]

You are brave going for a drive in the rain. Wish we had some rain. In north Queensland they have had the worst wet season ever and flooding while we get nothing. Great bird shots and that town looks super. I can't believe how cheap the houses are. We can't buy anything under $500,000

[betty - NZ]

You have such diverse lovelies to see! I always enjoy your critters, Sallie. Thanks so much for linking up to My Corner of the World!

[lea]

Great bird photos! I have made some of my best photos from the car window. Interesting info about the solar powered town

[Marie-OR]

Beautiful photos! Cold is always such a relative thing! Love the red shouldered hawk and the sunset shots!

[ellen b]

Wonderful mosaics. I love all the birds you captured. I've never seen a wood stork, fascinating. Interesting about the solar town. I heard the California is going to require solar panels on all new construction. Don't quote me...but that's what I heard. :) We just got back from Arizona and experienced a land of sunshine. Hope your week is going well.

[Lois]

I love seeing all those birds. We are below freezing up here in north Florida this week. I'm ready for some springtime weather!

[Calendula]

Gorgeous morning sky!
And the hawk is great: who is watching whom? ;-)

[Barb]

That solar town sounds really interesting. People who live in more tropical climes are freezing if temps aren't above 65. I bet it will be really green when your rains stop. Love all the birds.

[Heidi R.]

I'm impressed with the Wood Storks because I see these birds for the first time!
A solar powered city, the first in America, that sounds good!

[William Kendall]

Those bird shots are wonderful!

[vagabonde]

Beautiful photos. I was thinking today about the birds up north – I wonder where they hide during this minus 50 or more degree weather? But then I thought they must have flown to Florida or further south?

[Margaret Birding For Pleasure]

YOu got a great selection of birds just by the rad side Sally.

[Alan Bates]

You got some great birding in from the car. I loved hearing abou the all electric town. My fellow hydrocarbon industry employees scoff at such notions but I track stuff like this and it is definitely a trend that has a long ways to go. It has been masked but the closures of coal and nuclear power plants but natural gas is barely holding its own.

Personally I like renewable energy being a big part of the mix.

[Junieper/Jesh StG]

As always beautiful images and thank you so much for sharing your interesting journal with All Seasons:) Yes, solar seems to make a come back - we though of it, but our roof does not catch enough sun because of the high trees! It's great that you can have mild winters:):)

[KB]

Gorgeous colours in the sky

[Angie]

Sallie - I find the occasional rainy day helps us appreciate the sunny ones! And if it means some birds are more out in the open (muddy ditches), all the better! I hope you received my email about the way to resolve the linky party, and that you can join in the future. Have a wonderful week ahead!

[Al]

Rain or not, it's beautiful. But I have to join the crowd that laughs about Florida winter weather whiners ;)

[Gaelyn]

Very cool you get to watch the eagles again. But then you find birds everywhere you go. I sure like the idea of a solar powered town and look forward to your hike there.

[Debbie]

the pictures of the skies are rather beautiful, ribbons of color!! it would be a thrill for me to see the bald eagles, i rarely see them here although we do have a few nests in the area!!

you sure did see some great critters, rain or no rain...

i viewed the homes in the solar development. they are beautiful and what a great concept!!

[Jeanna]

A solar-powered town, unless something goes drastically wrong with the sun a good place to go just before the zombie apocalypse. You got some good ones, doesn't that Wood Stork remind you of something opening Wilma's canned goods? Can't tell if the hawk looks proud or constipated. I remember Harriet, wasn't there some type of dysfunction happening in the Eagle Web Cam Show?
I suppose if it's 40˚ at night and you're naked in front of a fan...
Every time I turn on the news the windchill drops ten degrees, pretty soon they're going to have to invent a whole new language for how cold it is.
Today in southwestern WI we expect spectrometer blasts of minus 90 icekrumbs.
Speaking of which, I'm hungry.

[bill burke]

Awesome mosaics Sallie, they are beautiful. We have rain here off and on for the last few days but that is the default weather here. I enjoy seeing all the bird photos. I never get to see them unless I'm looking at someone's photos. Thanks for sharing, it's always a pleasure visiting your blog. Have a wonderful week!

[Pat]

After living in Colorado 6 years I feel like anything below 40 degrees F is cold too! It is surprisingly warmer on the front range than most people believe.

I love seeing all the birds in Florida! I hope that the weather will go back to the temperatures they normally enjoy too so they don't all fly further south.

[Phil Slade]

How unusual. You have rain Sallie. A little spot of cool weather may be quite welcome for you now and again. I am pretty positive we have no solar powered towns around here but we do have wins farms. If only we could harness rain power?

I think it's a Greater Yellowlegs.

[Hootin Anni]

Fabulous. Tell me, do wood storms reside in Florida year 'round? And the eagles...how awesome to be able to watch them grow!

[Carol]

Rain started last Saturday night and rained most of Sunday with gray skies and no sun. Luckily Mr Sun is back today with blue skies. Great shots as always. A new community that is all solar sounds fascinating. I hope you blog more about it as it progresses. Have a great week!

[tomthebackroadstraveller]

...no rain here, but we can use it. 'no rain, no rainbows.'

[Lady Fi]

Those morning skies are beautiful! (And they look a lot warmer than our skies.)

[Hazel]

A lovely birding blog😊.
Here, it is bitterly cold, and snow is forecast from noon Tuesday.

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Oh so wonderful sky shots, landscape photos and lovely feathered friends photos too ~ thanks ~ Xox

Happy Monday to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[Penelope Puddlisms]

Looks like we’re sharing the rainy weather for now. Wow … an entire solar powered town sounds awesome and foretells of a brighter future.

[Eileen Wise]

Hello, love the birds and beautiful sky images. I like the drive-by birding too, the wildlife refuge drives are great. Temps in the 40's would seem warm to 10° or below. The solar-powered town sounds great. Our country needs to have more clean energy. Have a happy day and a great new week ahead!

[mick]

I wouldn't mind some of your cooler wet weather anytime soon please and I really like the idea of birding from inside a nice comfortable car. I especially like the picture of the
Red-shouldered hawk. Have a good week.

[Sondra]

A solar town! Hopefully more will follow! Awesome birds in your post today! We keep having the rain then cold pattern with our weather. BUT we have daffodils blooming.