Yesterday, Christmas Eve, Val swam (snorkeled) with the manatees in the springs at Crystal River. They only allow passive swimming: you can't initiate touching but they may come up to you. Several came up and touched her, kissed her with their noses and one tried to kidnap her (took her with its front flipper and started leading her to go back to its safe habitat with her—where humans are not allowed). She did manage to gently get away. One belly-rolled under her, supposedly the ultimate sign of trust from them, for a human they'd never "met" before. What beautiful animals. Truly, like my haiku calls them, "water capybara." She bought an underwater camera at the shop, but we won't know til she gets it developed if any pics are good. I stayed on the boat & took pics from there (I don't swim). The boat captain explained, "These animals do not have the gene or the thing in their brains the way other animals have for aggression." For people to do mean things to these animals, to me, would deserve the ultimate bad karma. Val had a great time and I did as well, though hiking in the forest and birding is more my jam, not that I don't love manatees. I am not fond of walking across narrow floating docks that wobble—I have no balance, alas, but with the help of some people to encourage me at the center and help me along, I did it! I have a fear of drowning along with a fear of heights that doesn't go well with being an outdoorsy person. I'm trying to fix these things in myself. I may write up a post about our trip to Hills River SP where I did a small thing with heights. Baby steps. After the manatees, a 30 minute drive east took us to Chinsegut Conservation Center in Brooksville. As they say in Japanese anime: YOSHA! Now, we're in my jam! What a park, too! And it's in a part of my favorite area not far from home, the 'Coochee...as locals call it, or the Withlacooche State Forest. But now I have a poem I wrote in 2020 that has to be updated, "bluebird dilemma," where I bemoaned the fact I've never seen a bluebird in all my 56 years. I saw two, briefly, in the bird-feeder and bird-bath area in the front of the center. There was no mistaking the rosy breasted-blue bird for anything else. I could have stayed there forever. But we were there to walk the squatchy Prairie-to-Pines Trail. And we did. I caught a whiff of something dead that explained the buzzards overhead, and we heard something knock-knock-knocking that was more than likely the adult male red-headed woodpecker (also a new bird sighting for me) that greeted us on our way in to the trail. The cypress boardwalk is fabulous. We saw tons of deer tracks and raccoon tracks and other tracks that could have been small bobcat kits or small dogs or maybe small coyoyes. The trail was the first seriously hilly one I've done. All Trails calls it easy...well, maybe if you are experienced 20 year old hiker in good shape. Val had no problem with it and she'd swam all morning. I'm not in the best of shape, though, particularly my legs and stamina are weak so I'm trying to build those up. My heart was beating triple time by the time I was up and out of the trail. The hilly part was the return loop, definitely easier going down than up. But I need to walk these kinds of trails. And harder ones, eventually. I will be getting a walking stick sometime, and better trail-walking shoes or hiking shoes, to help with that. Part of this trail, through the cypress swamp and up from another section leading to a trailhead on another entrance to the park, is part of the Florida Trail, the Florida Scenic Trail System. So I can now say I've walked a part of this trail (and as I jokingly said to Val, buy a Florida Trail tee shirt!). Also saw warblers, heard and perhaps saw a house finch, a warblerish bird with a greenish head (warblers are always hard for me to ID) that was possibly a pine warbler—at least I saw another warbler that could have been a male pine warbler, a pair of dark gray birds at the feeder (that I thought were purple martins because they seemed to have some dark blue feathers, but they were in shade, so I'm not sure. Especially since learning that Purple Martins don't usually eat at feeders). And 3 sandhill cranes. We always seem to see them in threes and we wondered why. This calls for research and of course, a haiku. Also seen birds: Carolina Chickadee (another new bird sighting!), Blue Jays and Crows (of course), and a Tufted Titmouse (which I saw for the first time two weeks ago at Hillsborough River State Park). Seriously, Chinsegut Conservation Center/Chinsegut WEA is a bird-lovers paradise. It's listed on the Great Florida Birding Trail. And a nature-lovers paradise. And the quiet, forest trail leading to the boardwalk through the swamp to "May's Prairie" was so worth the hilly climb out of it! Even if you were to just go and sit with binoculars outside of the center at the bird feeder and birdbath, you'll see so many birds you'll soon lose count. NOTES: (RATING IMAGES COMING SOON). 5 bird rating for birding. 4 backpacks for hiking, only because the trail maps were somewhat confusing at it was easier to read the blazes after awhile. AND I've only just begun learning to read blazes! FEE: FREE!
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hikes n' natureThis is where I will blog about the hikes I do and the nature I see. NEXT HIKE : Colt Creek State Park ArchivesCategories
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