Sanderlings (Calidris alba) frolic in the cool, rough Atlantic in early February.
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It was so cold yesterday afternoon that it almost appeared like the birds were huddling together to stay warm. Its only going to get colder as the jet stream digs down into Florida dropping a continental airmass over the state and cold and dry conditions for the week.
The Sanderlings black legs blur as they run back and forth on the beach, picking or probing for tiny prey in the wet sand left by receding waves. Sanderlings are medium-sized "peep" sandpipers recognizable by their pale non-breeding plumage, black legs and bill, and obsessive wave-chasing habits.
Sanderlings breed only in the High Arctic tundra, but they winter thousands of miles south in Florida.
Its not often that one finds miles of prime Florida beaches completely deserted. Above, looking south toward New Smyrna Beach. Below, looking north toward Daytona Beach.
Nobody.
Nobody.
There were a few gulls but it was too cold for pelicans who mostly stayed in their nests, presumably.
Elegant Tern
One bird stood out, this Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) who was the only one of his/her species present on the beach. Elegant Terns are a medium-sized tern with a shaggy crest and a long, slightly drooping orange bill. These birds are more often seen on West Coast beaches (California to British Columbia).
The boardwalks and pavilions at Ponce Preserve, in Ponce Inlet, Florida were completely deserted.
It felt colder than last week in Utah. Likely that was due to the strong wind. In reality it was in the high 40°s (9° C), but the 30 mph winds made it feel much colder (the temperature felt like something more around 39° F (4° C), I stayed pretty well bundled up as you can see in the image below.
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GREEN MOUND
The Ponce Preserve is Ponce Inlet's largest park with about 41 acres stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Halifax River. Sitting at the heart of the park is the Green Mound State Archaeological Site which is home to a prehistoric Native American midden (commonly referred to as a shell mound).
Green Mound marks the location of an ancient Timucuan village that once sat on the bank of the Halifax River. Once numerous along the east coast of Florida, the vast majority of northeast Florida's shell mounds were destroyed by road crews in the early to mid-1900s. They used the materials within the long abandoned middens as road fill.
The terrain surround the Green Mound is varied, ranging from ocean dunes, terraced palmetto patches, and maritime hammocks to wetlands adjacent to the river. Here, the afternoon sun is blinding as it shines through the thick canopy of live oaks, bent at odd angles by the prevailing winds off of the ocean.
We've Read and Watched:
In general cats are more solitary than dogs, but does that have any bearing on their love for human companions?
What is the effect of killing off all of your body's benevolent bacteria? Surely it cannot be good.
What is the USA doing? Burning more oil, of course.
