Day 4 Of Our First Outing

Our last day at Goose was hotter and more humid than the previous days. We spent most of the day birding around the park.

The gulls and shorebirds look somewhat different in April than they did in December. They are in their breeding plumages and are more colorful. 

For instance, the Laughing Gulls didn't have black hoods or red bills back then, but they do now. 

Royal Terns didn't have these lovely black crests. 

And the Dunlins didn't have their black bellies and reddish/brown feather on the back.

American Oystercatchers don't undergo a dramatic change, but their colors become more intense, especially the orange bill. 

We took a short drive outside the park to a couple of birding hotspots before fueling up the truck and purchasing a few snacks for the road.

The nearby village of Holiday Beach has a pond with an observation deck. There is a "Don't feed the alligator" sign, but this big guy always comes right over when we are on the deck, so we think that he gets fed regularly!

After lunch at the trailer, we loaded up the kayaks and started putting things away for traveling back home.

Our first outing went fine.  We weren’t expecting any problems, but you never know.  Other than a blown fuse, one trip to Walmart, and having to open every cabinet to find things, it was a success!

Stay tuned!