Travel Log: Bird Update

My dear friend and fellow birder, Kathy Smith, reminded me that I need to include my bird sightings on my blog. Visiting Florida gave me the opportunity to add more than a dozen birds to my life list. Probably the most surprising were the anhinga, the black-crowned night heron, and the Great White Heron common in Florida, but not in Texas. The black and white warbler flitted across my vision near Manatee Springs, but I was able to identify it since I had my bird book with me. The redheaded woodpecker was a treat as well. Since I have a profound love of the coast, I'm determined to spot all the wading birds. These large, graceful birds seem to speak to me from a distant past, one I am only vaguely aware of. There are only 5 left for me to spot. The limpkin, only in South Florida, eluded me as did the Wurdemann's heron (cross between the Great Blue heron and the Great Write egret). The white-face ibis is somewhere back in Texas and I'll have to travel to South American to find the scarlet ibis, but that's not where I'm headed. When I get to the northeast, I'll look for the Little White egret. Wish me luck.

Thanks Kathy!

Travel Log: Day 300 - Just Passed the Halfway Point

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. We just passed the halfway point on our trip and in 3 days will reach day 300. Yesterday, our odometer rolled passed 24,000 miles. A lot has happened in the last few weeks. We enjoyed a wonderful 2 months in Florida. After we left Cedar Key we hugged the coastline, cut through the Everglades (stayed in Everglade City), sent 5 nights in Tavernier where I continued my research on my whooping crane book, did Key West with thousands of college kids on Spring Break, snorkeled with the manatees, snorkeled along John Pennycamp Reef, and the Dry Tortugas, survived Miami, and continued up the east coast of Florida. We are now in Georgia, staying on Tybee Island. Last night we were on Saint Simon Island for a couple of days and before that in a nice, little town called St. Mary's where we took the ferry over to Cumberland Island. Tomorrow we head for Savannah. Except for a nightmare where Betty Davis was stalking me, depositing dead bodies in the back of my car, the trip through this part of the country has been delightful. Maybe it's time I got back to mystery writing. I'm deep into finishing the Last Flock, so I'm not sure when I'll post again.