Our Cold December Hike

I started my pre-hike in three layers, the top layer a hooded sweatshirt. The fog lingered, and became thicker. I headed back to the Education Center early, greeted our early hikers, then went to the car to ditch the sweatshirt and put on a Florida version of a winter coat.

As we set out with our ten hikers, it didn’t feel much warmer. We did hear a lot of bird activity, and noticed both Black-crowned Night Herons around the creek at the bridge. A Red shouldered hawk circled and called before landing in a nearby treetop. The gray sky made a so-so background, but we all tried.

Black Vultures covered the usual two power towers at the end of the bird trail, and later all took off and circled overhead as we continued on our hike. As I scanned the area I saw a white feather drifting down from a tree. Following the path upward, we saw Great egrets and White Ibis perched in trees, all hunkered down against the cold.

It did start to warm, and for such a cold, foggy morning turned into a cool, typical end of December day. Near the end of the hike, just off the boardwalk, one of our young hikers spotted these flowers. He practiced with macro, and we all took a few shots.

We love leading these hikes, and will continue. In January, we always do a classroom session covering basics of composition and basics of the camera. We then open it up to questions on photography and end up venturing wherever the audience wants. We hope to see you on January 27.