3/16 Ortona Odds & Ends

 I'm trying to catch up with postings, so here are some odds and ends of photos I took on my second visit to Ortona South Campground this year.  

I've been trying to figure out what this melodious bird is, and I finally found out it is a mockingbird!  One tricky thing, is that nearly all bird books show images of birds sitting on a branch, and there are tons of grey birds with darker feathers.  I had seen one of these fly and found out that it had very distinctive black and white markings under its wings and tails. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a photo of one flying.  However, if you click on this link, you will see these wing and tail markings:  https://feederwatch.org/birdspotter-2018/mockingbird-flying-overhead/  

For some reason, the alligators have been hanging out near the small dam that controls the flow in the little creek that the birds and river otters like. 

There are two birds that seem to be permanent residents of this little creek.  This is the limpkin.  He eats small clams and leaves piles of shells on the rocks he stands on.

 

 If you see a pile of shells like this one, you know a limpkin has been around.

The other bird is the snowy egret.  He or she really likes to fish in the bubbling water of this creek and will spend hours and hours staring at the water. 

Here is the snowy egret in his favorite spot. 

These two young boys on the fishing pier caught a big fish, took a photo of it, and then tossed it back.  Not sure what kind it was or why they tossed it back. 

It was a beautiful, sunny day, so a good shot of the dam. 

Just some boats waiting for their turn at the lock.

 

 

 

 

And off they go!!

 

 

The lock doors are not just simple gates.  They have a complex mechanism and open and close in a semi-circular mechanism, which is a lot stronger than simple doors would provide.

 

 

This is looking down into the mechanism after it has been closed and is beginning to admit water to fill the lock.  

 

 

Water enters not only in the crack between the two heavy lock doors, but also farther back in the lock mechanism.  It is a lot of water all at once!  Boats tie up to the sides of the locks, but someone has to hold each rope so they can adjust it longer or shorter, depending on whether the lock is lowering or raising the water level.  

Below is a pileated woodpecker, easily identified by its pointed red head feathers and black back.  There is another red-headed woodpecker in Florida, but it had a more rounded red head and black and white stripes on its back.  It is also a little smaller than this pileated woodpecker.