Birds, Birds, Birds....But No Turkey

Have you seen any turkey's lately? In Pennsylvania we have neighborhoods with lots of wild turkeys around. 

Even though I’m a complete amateur when it comes to bird-watching, (and I can barley identify one from the other) I’ve always loved spotting any feathered visitor that crosses my path. 

In Pennsylvania, I faithfully hang bird feeders in my backyard, hoping to attract interesting birds—though, if I’m honest, the squirrels seem to often clean us out before the birds get a chance. 

Florida is a completely different world. Living on the beach during the winter months, I’m used to the regular cast of characters: lots of squabbling gulls, graceful gliding pelicans, and different kinds birds chirping in the sea grape bushes, mostly small birds I’ve never quite managed to identify. 

But the moment I go even a little inland, the birds I see in South Florida quietly transforms. I will begin to see herons standing around like little statues, ibises pecking and marching in little armies, stately wood storks standing majestically, sleek cormorants basking their wings in the sun, and lots of turkey buzzard circling lazily overhead.

Just the other day, I was driving only a couple of miles from the beach, passing an ordinary neighborhood with a man-made lake tucked between the houses. I almost kept going without a second glance—until something caught my eye. Flocks of birds were gathering at the water’s edge, as if the lake were holding some kind of secret meeting

 Egrets or Ibises, storks, herons—all of them clustered together in the morning light. It was such an unexpected, beautiful sight that I pulled over to get some photos, feeling as if I had stumbled onto a little hidden wildlife sanctuary in the middle of suburbia.

Q: As we are approaching Thanksgiving and express our thanks for so many blessings, I wanted to ask if you know what turkeys are thankful for? 

The answer :  Vegetarians.... ha ha 

Sharing on Saturday's Critters With Eileen