That kind of day…

When I proposed to my friend that we make a stop at Myakka River State Park while we were in the general area the other day, I had Roseate Spoonbills on my mind.  I knew from other photographers’ pictures that they are sometimes found at that park, and I hoped to take a fabulous picture like the ones I’ve seen online.  When we arrived the Ranger asked if we were looking for alligators, I told him no, we were hoping to see Spoonbills.  He directed us to an area called the Weir, and we made that our first stop, but didn’t have any luck.  We continued the drive through the park, and I also walked out onto the bird walk, hoping to see them there.  I didn’t.  We completed the drive but the north gate was closed so we headed back out the way we came in.  The Weir was only a little out of the way so we made another stop, and as we were driving to turn around in the parking lot one flew into view and landed at the shoreline.  This guy was quite cooperative, walking along the shore dipping his ‘spoon’ into the water and swinging his head back and forth.  Their bill serves as a sieve to capture their lunch.  And when he was nearly out of sight he turned around and came back.  I wasn’t able to get the picture that I hoped to get, the one I imagined, but I felt lucky to have seen this guy at all.  Sometimes you make a plan for a day and all the pieces fall into place.  It was that kind of day.