Wednesday September 20th 2023

The day began very similar to yesterday. It was cloudy with a very rain threatening overall atmosphere. The main difference is that today the treat was carried out. A couple of showers passed by shortly after midday, but did not drop any rain on my location. Around 4PM the rain along with wind, thunder and lightening found me. It has rained off and on since then.

After breakfast I made my way through the center of Bradenton to the west side and on to the Robinson Preserve Park. The 600 acre coastal salt marsh preserve is located at the southern side of the entrance to Tampa Bay. It contains hiking trails, kayaking opportunities, an observation tower and usually lots of birds. Perhaps because I usually visit during the winter and spring, I am used to seeing more bird life and people in the park.

Today I hiked to the observation tower for a high level overview of the preserve before continuing on to the coastal area. I usually make a full circle around the marsh, but the rain threat caused me to cut the hike short and return the way I came. Most of he bird life I were Ibis searching along the banks of the marsh for their next meal. It really was a disappointing hike from a picture taking perspective.

I stopped at Tom Bennett county park on my way home anticipating another picture of a Rosetta Spoonbill or Sandhill Crane. Unfortunately, they weren’t in residence today. I got pictures of the usual Egrets and Herons instead.