Speaking of Pecking, Oh My!

Continuing to mine the various forms of Peck, it was no wonder it hurt Bruce's head when this Florida Scrub Jay kept pecking on the button atop his cap.

Look at that curve on the end of the beak! A week ago today we made our way over to Rockledge, just South of Cocoa, on the east coast for those who do not live here in Florida. Only about an hour or so away, before leaving we were debating about how to spend the MLK holiday while the Dover Shores courts were closed, and it was Bruce who wisely chose this destination.

Unknown to most folks, and for sure if you blinked you would miss it on the road where it is located, it is indeed a sanctuary for the Florida Scrub Jay, the only bird in the world that only resides in Florida. All year long. Not only does it not migrate, but it stays very close to home, unlike most birds. A few years ago, when Pam and Glen moved over to the coast, she mentioned this place to me but we'd never gotten over there. Then, most recently, another birding friend from Orlando visited and described how friendly the birds are. Indeed, we found that to be the case!

This one seems to be saying, "hey you, get off of my man!" Because I'd seen Candy's photographs I knew they were fond of landing on one's head, thus I had the both of us wear hats to protect our tender scalps.

The day began slightly chilly, but before long we warmed up as we made our way on the path through the scrub. In other words, a perfectly wonderful winter's day.

Most of the time when you go out birding, you hope to find what you are looking for, however, as you are well aware from reading my posts over the years, there is no guarantee. At this place, from what we saw, the opposite is true. You WILL find what you are looking for! Literally, within the first few minutes we saw this and pretty much freaked out as it landed right next to us!

And just below there was this one.

As you will note, both of these are tagged, however not all of them are.  Honestly, it was crazy fun and if you don't mind having friendly birds land on you, and in the case of Bruce, having two small holes pecked in his hat, 

well, this is the place for you. 

Sorry, I could not resist one more!

I will say they were far prettier than I expected and here's a little something else. The only other bird I positively saw in the sanctuary were a few Mockingbirds.

How ironic is what I thought because we've been reading about the silly politics of changing our state bird from the Mockingbird to the Scrub Jay.   Should it be changed, I have no doubt you will absolutely know what the Scrub Jay looks like after seeing this avalanche of photos!

After our adventure with the Scrub Jays, we drove into Cocoa Village, roamed around an entertaining antique shop where we saw these displayed. (check out the link!)

We stumbled across the MLK parade and a picnic in the park where all sorts of folks were gathered and having fun.

At the shop I picked up two new sets of salt and pepper shakers to add to my collection, prompting me to rearrange them on the lower shelves behind the newly-moved kitchen table. A little crowded, I needed to make room for the alligators I bought, placing them on the top shelf next to the orange birdies who have since been moved to give the gators more room.

Between the orange birdies, given to me by our old neighbors, Crystal and Nadav, and the sailboat shakers, a gift from Matt, I realized just how fun they can be. Now my family has three things that will always be winners for gifts.....watches, pickleball stuff, and salt and pepper shakers from old!

This is one of the best times of the year for those of us who are bird crazy. Love is in the air,

as it looks as if our Great Blue Herons are back nesting. This Egret is in full breeding colors, wearing a very colorful mask of chartreuse. Isn't it awesome?

The Robins are flying hither and yon and they are plentiful, feasting on the numerous Camphor trees behind our place.

Additionally, the Hooded Mergansers are back in the retention pond behind Publix. 

Should I just stop now? 

Seriously? 

Are you suffering from sensory overload and the rest of what I had to either show or say will be wasted as you can't take in anything more?

I think so. No use wasting good photographs, so I won't but what I will conclude with is that this time of year is also great for organizing which is what we did, beginning by emptying the whole closet.

Oh my yes. After a trip to Ross for some organizing bins, we are back in business. I needn't tell you it was Bruce who did all of this. I was merely the cheerleader.

Lastly I will leave you with this crazy sight we saw as we were driving on Lake Underhill Road. 

Who knew there was such a contraption? Can it really be safe for either the man or the dog?

your friend,

Gail