The wetlands boardwalk was quiet this morning. I thought that the older one dot Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron would be there, but the boardwalk was empty. I waited patiently but never did see the morning procession of the American Coots.
When passing the Landing I noticed at the edge of the lawn along the concrete path that a black thing had suddenly started moving toward the water. It was a medium-sized turtle with white paint on the middle of its black shell. I thought that the paint was being used as an indicator of an ongoing research project that is taking place. There are many turtles living in Spring Lake and the ones I had previously seen on walking on land were very slow. I was surprised to watch the way that this turtle ran. I saw its short legs move like the Nutrias’ does as it scurried down the bank making noise. The white paint of its shell was quite vivid against the green grass under the dark shade of the Bald Cypress tree. It quickly disappeared into the water, but its white paint could still be seen above the surface.
I was glad to see the younger one dot Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron standing on the barrier not far from the biological research site. The bird was relaxed and stood there for a while, then flew out toward the hill on the other side of the Landing.
Clusters of branches on the lower half of the Century Plant had become dark brown, but the pistils of the upper layers were getting very tall and attracting many bees. I did not, however, see the Blue-Throated Hummingbird in this morning. I wondered why.
When I arrived at Pecan Grove, I saw a Red-Shouldered Hawk perched on the end of the green railing. Due to aging, its color had faded and some new some rusted spots had developed on its body. It then flew to another fence located on the deck of the old submarine theater, which has been part of Spring Lake for decades. As it stood very still, the dark brown feathers on its back and wings were vividly enhanced by the red Cannis flowers behind it, which were growing alongside the fence. It started to look around the surface of the water. I could tell from the movements of its head that it was following the fish with its eyes. I thought that the bird was wishing to hunt in manner similar to the aquatic birds. I remembered that I had previously seen it looking at the water surface while perched on the boardwalk yesterday morning, too. I suddenly heard the call of the Great Blue Heron and saw it flying toward the Landing. The Red-Shouldered Hawk then flew away from the submarine. I could tell by the sound of its voice that it was headed toward the Swiss Sky Ride.
When I went back to the boardwalk I was happy to see that the Great Blue Heron was standing in its territory on the edge of the lake across from the feeding place. I had not seen the Great Blue Heron in that spot for a while and wanted to say, “Welcome Home!” I thought that her young bird was already independent, therefore she had returned to her own territory.
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