September Surprise
Early Return of the Wood Stork
Wood storks around here, despite what it says in the link about their colonies, are shy and solitary. I’ve never seen more than two wood storks together (and that was only once), much less in a colony. The article also says that they are found in my area of Florida from February to March, but I typically see them from October to February. Well, not them, as much as one or two, and unusually not together.
I’ll spot a lone wood stork and always by a body of water. Usually, a small patch of water. Not the larger lake behind our house, but the small manmade pond across the street. Not in a river but in a ditch.
The evening was stormy. Spitting rain followed my dog and me as she meandered slowly through neighborhoods to this walking trail. Syau hates rain — really, hates it — but, tonight, she was oblivious as I stared at the darkening clouds.
Along the right side of this walking trail is a deep drainage ditch — the same ditch where I found the first of last summer’s neighborhood gators. It’s there that I also often see herons — great blues, little blues, little greens, and tricoloreds, as well as, a one or two wood storks.
