Last 2 Days at the Beach - March 27 and 28/14

Yesterday was quite cold, though bright and sunny, and we drove downtown and hung out at Ripley's Believe it or Not for a couple of hours.  Then we walked the whole boardwalk and the beach from pier to pier.  Today was supposed to rain all day, but this morning was quite nice, so we had a walk on the beach from here.  I had another walk this afternoon, but got caught in the rain.  It was quite warm today anyway.

 

 
 
Coffee on the boardwalk. 

 
 

 
 
 
Cold, but nice. 
 

This is in front of Ripley's - it's like the German Friendship Globe in West Vancouver, except it's just a ball, not a globe.  It's made of granite, and it  floats on a cushion of water.
 
 

Who says there's nothing interesting on the beach?  There must be a cheer-leader competition going on here, because there are a lot of cheer-leaders around. 

 

 
 
 

 
 
I love walking in the water! 
 
 
 
 

 
 
These two don't seem to care how cold it is. 
 

There were 2 boys "skimming" on the beach - they were still doing it this afternoon when I went out!  I well remember the days that Jeff was making his own boards and skimming at the Cobourg beach. This beach is perfect for it - wide and flat.
 

 
 
Pink barnacles on one of the pier posts. 
 

 

 
 
 
 
A sanderling. 
 
 

 
 
I love to watch the pelicans.  It's funny how they almost always flap or glide in unison. 
 

 

 
 
We see this fellow walking the beach often with his pipes.  I figure his wife won't let him practise at home. 
 
 

 
 
This afternoon, the beach was kind of misty. 

 
 
The waves were rolling in pretty high, though there was no wind. 

 
 
Rolling in under the pier.
 
 
 
 
Some cheer-leaders just having fun by themselves. 

Eagle Pair at Brookgreen - March 26/14

I decided the eagle couple deserved a blog of their own.  They are an amazing bird, even these who are rescued, maimed eagles.

 
Here is Mama eagle, sitting on an egg, so we are told. 

 
 
Along comes Papa eagle to see if she is okay. 

I think here he is asking if she needs a break from the egg-sitting. 

 
 
And now he is settling himself on the nest - we never saw an egg, but think it is probably covered. 

 
 
He picked up a little something to eat. 

 
 
Whatever it was, he seemed to be enjoying it. 

 
 
You can really see here that his right wing is injured. 

 
 
Settled on the nest.....
 
 
 
While Mama enjoys some out-of-nest time.  You can see that her right wing was injured as well.

Brookgreen Gardens Wildlife - March 26/14

Since we were able to go to Brookgreen Gardens again on the same ticket, we decided to go again yesterday.  Although the sculptures are wonderful, I really enjoy the wildlife the most.  So you are with some of my favorites.

 
 
Even though it was really cold and windy, the turtles were enjoying the sunshine. 

 
 
The mockingbird. 

We took the trekker tour to 2 of the plantations, and were happy to see this male turkey wandering in one of the slave cemeteries. 

Oops, not wildlife, but this is the Waccamma  River, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway, which we would follow if we took our boat to Florida - which we won't! 

 
These amazing little critters are everywhere at Brookgreen.  They are called Fox Squirrels, and have  an abundance of nuts from all the Live Oak trees.  They bury them in little holes in the flower beds.

 
Not exactly "wildlife", but I like this old mule. 

 
 
Snowy egret. 

 
 
A successful fisherman - a Great Blue Heron. 

 
 
Caught his lunch. 

 
 
This Mama was sitting on a nest, and Papa brought her some lunch.  I love seeing things like that! 

 
 
 
American River Otter. 

 
This is a picture of a picture, and not very good, but I decided it was worth putting in. A baby alligator in an egg.

 
Baby alligators are called "grunts".  Zookeepers removed 49 eggs from their Mama alligator's nest.  This is one of the hatchlings. 

 
 
 
And here's Mama.  Papa was out as well, but mostly hidden. 

 
I NEVER knew that foxes climb trees, and I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it here at Brookgreen. 

 
 
Two red-tailed hawks - he is certainly displaying his tail to us! 

 
 
The barred owl again. 

 
 
Thief!  This fox squirrel is raiding a bird feeder. 

Mama and Papa cardinal - she was much bolder than he was!
 
 
 
 
Not sure if this is a red-bellied or a downy woodpecker.