Beach Walks at Mid-Bay Shores

Sunday, 12 May
Mid-Bay Shores, Maxwell-Gunter Rec Area — Niceville, Florida
Temps: Lo 52F / Hi 83F (11C / 28C)

A quiet weekend at home is what we had here at Mid-Bay Shores.

Aside from some pictures to share, I have nothing much to write about.  Preferring to enjoy our campsite, we haven’t been doing much in the way of exploring the area.  Mui’s been getting his exercise by taking the trike out for a spin.  I joined him once, but I prefer walking the beach fronting the Rec Area to riding around residential streets.

Not sure my walks can really be categorized as exercise.  I leave the Phaeton with good intentions.  But then I run into some feathered friends and the shutter finger starts itching.  Even if I don’t have the camera with me, I find myself sitting down to enjoy their company.  Before I know it an hour or more has flown by, and I have to hurry home to have breakfast with Mui.

Friday, 10 May …

This was my “didn’t get far” walk.  I took the road behind the cabins to the boat channel over by Lake Pippin.  Once there, I sat for an hour watching a great blue heron and a couple of green herons intent on catching breakfast.  Nearby, sanderlings were wading around and looking for breakfast in a soupy mixture of water and sea wrack.  I’ll have to return to this spot with my DSLR for some fishing action shots.

“Fish, fish … where art thou!” say both the great blue and the green heron.

Fishing companions — be they human or bird, the goal is the same.

The green heron is a new-to-me bird; I couldn’t be more delighted that it
fearlessly goes about its business while I sit quietly at the top of the boat channel.

Compare the legs of this green heron to the legs of the bird above; they are both
adults, but the red flush on this bird’s legs indicate that it is a breeding adult.

Fearless, I’m telling you!
Wanting to better its hunting chances, this green heron tiptoes over to where I am sitting.
I love it when wild critters consider me part of the landscape and pay me no mind.

With plenty to feed on, these sanderlings don’t flit about like they usually do.
It helps that the water is very calm and there are no waves to watch out for.

Though it was a mostly-calm day, we did get some strong winds in the late afternoon.  We thought they might be the pre-cursor of the storms that were forecasted.  Apparently not; after an hour the winds subsided, but the temps cooled sufficiently that we stayed indoors.

Saturday, 11 May …

Today’s weather was a mixed bag.  We woke up to clear skies and calm waters.  By 8:30a, the day had turned overcast and breezy.  The forecasted thunderstorms never made an appearance, but we did get plenty of rain.  That’s OK.  We occasionally need an excuse to stay in and do chores.  We did go for a walk on the beach in the late afternoon, but I left the camera at home to make sure we completed the full length of the beach without distraction.

Back to today …

We were up this morning in time to walk over to the stretch of sand on the other side of the bridge to enjoy the sunrise.

The best part … no one else was around … except for hermit crabs scurrying about in the shallows; a great blue heron trying to decide on where to go for breakfast — the boat channel or White Point; mullets jumping for joy in their efforts to catch a bug or two; and a couple of guys fishing in waist-deep water — which, around here, is quite a bit aways.  In other words … a perfect morning.

The Mid-Bay Connector blocks the sunrise unless we walk to this side of the beach.

The Great Blue Herons here are very tolerant of our presence.

Left: Surely a hermit crab will someday take residence in this unoccupied whelk shell.
Right: there are crab trails all along the shoreline.

A note about all the beach wrack on the sand and in the water.  We spoke to a couple of young GIs who were fishing this morning.  They told us that when they were here last weekend, there was nary a sign of any beach wrack.  Perhaps it’s a seasonal thing.  It’s filled with marine organisms that are washed ashore with it, so it does play a role in the beach ecosystem even if it is unsightly.

Not easy shooting through the water, but I couldn’t resist taking a shot of
this whelk slowly plowing its way in the shallows.  Another first for me.

After the sunrise colors paled, Mui returned to the Phaeton to make breakfast — pancakes today.  I continued on to White Point to check on an osprey nest I had previously noticed in the notch of a dead tree.  Sure enough — both mom and dad were home.  There must be a chick (or two) in the nest, as I could see mom (I assume) bending her head down to feed it.  Dad, on the other hand, was perched on an adjacent tree keeping an eye on things.  Approaching slowly, I managed to get close enough for some photos without scaring off either one of them.

Flapping its wings once, papa Osprey settles down instead of taking off.

Mom (top left) returns to the nest (Bottom right), while papa stands guard nearby.

I was on my way back home when I came across this great blue heron on the beach.  It scratched around the sand and came up with a treat for breakfast.

Fish tail for breakfast? …

… One gulp and down the gullet it goes.

The day turned hot and muggy by 11:00a.  So we sought refuge in the motorhome until late afternoon.  Being inside gave Mui a chance to test a recipe he found for “fan potatoes.”  Our conclusion — too much work for a side dish that did not excite our taste buds.  The grilled shrimp, on the other hand, was simply perfect.

Great shrimp; good potatoes, but not exciting to the palate.

Wine and snacks for happy hour while we watched the scenery being bathed in a warm golden hue by the setting sun around the corner and out of our line of sight.  Our entertainment: a couple of dolphins far, far away.

We’re supposed to have two great-weather days coming up.  Will try to shake off this laziness and go somewhere a bit more distant than our own beach.  Where?  We shall see ;-)