Walking in Chapel Trail Nature Preserve

Early morning rain disrupted our usual walk in the Wounded Wetlands, but as the skies started to clear, MaryLou  and I headed out to nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in Pembroke Pines. As we pulled into the parking lot, a Little Blue Heron was finding many small invertebrates in a newly flooded low spot.

I took these photos through the car window, so they are not the best quality:





A Boat-tailed Grackle displayed and called from a tree next to the car:



As we walked up on the boardwalk we encountered a male Anhinga sunning on the boat deck. As breeding season approaches, he will acquire green "goggles" and white head plumes. This species nests on a small island in the wet prairie:



The first part of the boardwalk is nicely shaded by trees and a shelter:



In the adjacent pasture, a Longhorn cow with a beautifully patterned coat was followed by a Cattle Egret:



A male Northern Parula warbler perched quite nearby:





Prairie Warblers are common here most of the year. Most temporarily migrate eastward to nest in coastal Mangroves during late spring and summer. This was a male with heavy black markings on his face and sides::



This female Prairie Warbler exhibited more subdued marks:



The boardwalk crosses a canal and moves out into a shrubby area:

 

A migrant Eastern Kingbird looked down from atop a dead tree:



Red-eyed Vireos stopped by on their way to more southern wintering grounds in Mexico, Central America and northern South America:





The boardwalk traverses an expanse of wet prairie:

 



Swamp Lily in bloom:



A Great Egret took flight...



...and then settled into the spike-rushes:



This female Anhinga rested nearby. The female has a brown head and neck:



A male Downy Woodpecker posed briefly before flying off:





In deep shade next to the boardwalk, an immature male Common Yellowthroat crept furtively, almost out of sight:





A Brown Basilisk, a well-established exotic reptile native to Mexico and Central America, was inconspicuous as it hugged a branch next to the boardwalk:



It fled as I approached:



Walking back, I stopped to talk to a lady who asked me about a bird she saw, when suddenly she said, "There's a Bobcat on the boardwalk."  It had stopped just around the bend to look out at us between the fence boards but I could not see it despite her explicit instructions. Only as it ran away did I catch sight of it, too late for a photo! 

It reminded me of a foggy morning at Chapel Trail in November, 2015 when MaryLou saw a Bobcat up ahead while I was poking along taking photos. I never caught sight of it, but do have a souvenir of the encounter-- its tracks on the dewy boardwalk:

 

Exotic Gray-headed Swamphens are usually abundant here, but lately have been scarce. High water levels tend to disperse many species more widely. We only saw two during recent visits. I took this photo of two (and their reflections) back on October 30, 2014:



City of Pembroke Pines Chapel Trail Nature Preserve Information

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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

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Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

 Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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