Sunday, February 3, 2013

First Official Event Update of 2013: Bike Ride at Goodwin

We had a spectacular bike ride today out at Goodwin WMA. They recently opened up a new area which I have not yet explored. Since there was hunting going on in the other area, we decided to head to the new area. It was awesome for bike riding; firm, flat road, not open to cars, incredible scenery, fantastic company! If you didn't GOYB today, here's what you missed (sorry for the lack of quality in some pictures; I think either my camera or my eyes need cleaning and adjusting!) :

 This area is more open water than the other area of Goodwin. Very pretty and different. We didn't see as many birds, but that could well be due to the temperature and time of day.
We biked for about 2 miles, then walked about 1/2 mile out to a shelter. The walk was nice, but we were covered in sticky burrs and beggar's lice by the time we got to the shelter.
 A view from the shelter. Truly magnificent day.
The divine Miss H at the shelter.
Me, being all dramatic like at the shelter.
A blooming moon flower.
There were tons of nesting great blue heron out there. No babies yet that we could see.
Lots of birds resting on these logs in the water.
Back at the parking area, the roseate spoonbills are in breeding plumage.
The great egrets are also in breeding plumage. I really wish I had a longer lens, this picture doesn't do them justice, they were so in breeding plumage that they looked like those weird white dogs in the dog shows that look like muppets.
 Great egrets with a roseate flying by.
More roseates. I really need to invest in a BA lens some day.
The color was incredible. The adults were in full breeding plumage, and the juveniles were this soft fluffy pink that made them look just like cotton candy. Or maybe I was just getting hungry after the bike ride.
This was a brown pelican resting on a piling. Nothing spectacular, but I thought it was a pretty shot.
Me and Heather. Not our best picture. I look like a stroke victim trying to do an Elvis sneer, and Heather looks kinda like a bobble head. I think it's been too long and we are out of practice at looking like our usual lovely photogenic selves. Obviously we need to get back to weekly trips!

Due to my ongoing foot issues, we will probably do more biking or kayaking than walking for the next month. So, if you ever wanted to try something different, now's the time to join us! Keep an eye on the schedule, we are back and ready to take on nature. Come join us - remember, you can see this stuff on the internet or TV, but you can only really experience it if you GOYB!