by Jan Bailey
Going on this field trip with the Audubon Club was like being a kid again. Remember when you and your pals used to leave after breakfast and go exploring in the woods. If someone found a weird looking caterpillar, everyone came over and examined it. Then, it was on to the next discovery and adventure – a beautiful red cliff made of clay that we all slid down — imagine the laundry. We found birds, butterflies, snakes and all matter of wildlife. We called our friends over to look at it in wonder. We never went home for lunch – our parents would be lucky to see us for dinner.
There was also a flock of white pelicans that flew by and, at one point, half of the flock was flying in one direction and the other half was flying opposite. How they can do this without crashing I don’t know.
This was similar to our field trip – except we did do lunch. Everyone shared the birds that they saw…and the butterflies and the snakes. Molly brought her scope so we could see the birds farther out on the water.
Bob Oswald pointed out a peregrine falcon that flew quickly by us and an osprey eating a fish up in a tree.
Fred led the way to many locations in Cedar Key to find different birds. The water on the Gulf was as smooth as glass – a huge contrast from when hurricane Idalia went through.
We had a delicious lunch at Steamers in downtown Cedar Key and then went home to be grownups again.