Longboat Beach

Sunday at 7:15 AM Bob and Sandra at the beach.... 

Bob hoofed it down to the water down this path... 

to stand patiently waiting in his "she is taking another photo" stance. 

The flowers were calling my name..

The shoes were calling my name..

They had the cutest cubby holes to leave our shoes in, and it only took me about five minutes to slip off my flip flops and place them in the cubby hole...

Can you guess why it took me five minutes?????

Just in case you are pondering why there is a place to leave our shoes, it is because there is a parking lot and a very long boardwalk to get over the dunes with out destroying them. 

The shoes are left at the beginning of the white sugar sand in order to squiggle our toes in sugar sand and walk barefoot down to the water.

Above is looking to the west and below is looking to the east.. 

There were maybe  10 people  on the whole beach which is about 2 miles long 

TO BE CONTINUED... but then you KNEW that..

Harley The Heron

Hide! Incoming crazy lady with clicking box

Get out a Dodge! who knows what she will do?

Is she still there?

For Pete's Sake! She's still there! 

Ok, so I will just step on out there in the sun and pose!

Sorry Lady, Lizard sighted! can't miss breakfast

Ok, I'm back, take your best shot!

Got it YET???

Good bye, Harley, thanks for the photo shoot

Repost from July 3, 2010

Coquina Beach Bonus Shots

boardwalk to Coqunia Beach

We left Longboat Key Beer Can Island and drove across the bridge to Coquina Beach

Taken from boardwalk, not sure what it is

The bird on the top is an Egret, a very common sight here.

Still not sure what the frame is on the buckled beach wall

Hanging Sea Oats

Yellow Crown Night Heron

 This young  Heron let me walk to within five feet of him, but all I had was point and shoot and no sport mode for better shots, First one I have met so he was a bonus shot

Coquina Beach

We walked the path back to our car and crossed the bridge to another faorite beach, only divided by a bridge.
My favorite part about Coquina Beach is the expanse of pine trees that surround the park entrance. Coquina is several miles long and has parking for hundreds of cars.

The pine trees close to the water’s edge and this makes a great place to get a break from the sun’s heat if you aren’t up for taking a dip in the water.

At Coquina Beach, you will find a great concession stands, a picnic and barbecue area, playgrounds, volleyball courts and lifeguards, making this a good place to bring the kids! There is also much beach far away from all this, which is where we like to be, away from the madding crowd.

Our quiet part of the beach has everything we need. Even the parking is beautiful there.

Benches for sitting, paths in the shade for biking/riding

and a squirrels eye view of a bench, or maybe a toddlers eye view

Last but not least is The Patience Bird, he ambles along, patiently waiting for his madly snapping wife to catch up. I stop to admire stumps and shells and things you will see tomorrow. He never saw any of them, his fisherman eyes are scanning for boats and fish and birds that fly over the water. To Each His Own!
 
Tommorow Things I found that were interesting on the beach.

Osprey @ Coquina Bayside

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. Alexander

On December 21, 2007, my friend Diane and I, had plans for a morning sunrise. The sunrise that morning was not spectacular, but the rest of the morning show was.

As we stood on the bank and watched for the sun, we saw many sail boats with anchors down for the night. In the peaceful scene the squealing cry of two osprey, male and female, soared and soared, music to our ears. At first we could not see them, but as the sun rose higher in the sky, we spied them on a mast, one on each boat.

We quietly waited and listened to see what they would do. Ospreys hover over the water, plunging feet first when they spot prey. They fly with slow wing-beats interspersed with glides. Ospreys form pair bonds through aerial flight displays and courtship feeding.

This male osprey lifted off into the air and we watched as he sank towards the water with talons outstretched, scooped up the fish and to our amazement flew to the top of the light pole we were standing under.

we watched through our cameras for many minutes, snapping and clicking. He ignored us completely as we moved from side to side looking for the best shot. Several times, he stopped eating and looked down at us as if to say, What? you've never seen an Osprey eat before? the answer was NO, never before and never since.

Ospreys live near rivers, estuaries, salt marshes, lakes, reservoirs, and other large bodies of water. They are rare along rivers in the shrub-steppe zone, as they prefer water surrounded by forested habitat. They can be found near fresh or salt water, as long as the water can sustain medium-sized fish.

The Osprey is a unique bird, the only member of its genus. It is believed that Ospreys followed a different evolutionary path quite early on, so that they are quite different from other raptors.

The osprey's family habits are also colorful and interesting. They generally pair for life and reuse old nests, adding new material each season. Their nests, in high, dead trees or on man-made elevated platforms, can weigh hundreds of pounds and are easily observed. Osprey refurbish their nests annually with grass, lichens, and sticks

The osprey is the only species in the family Pandionidae, which is sometimes considered a subfamily of the hawk and eagle family

Click on the video below to hear what we heard as we waited for sunrise and don't miss the detail of this awesome bird, click on the photos.

Job 37:14 says

"Stand Still and consider the wondrous works of God."