Field trip to the Padgett Creek Ranches
March 13, 2010
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Members of the Pelican Island Audubon Society gather before 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 13, 2010 to car pool out to the Padgett Creek Ranches on a birding field trip led by Jens & Melissa Tripson.  The co-leader of the trip was Ralph Monticello from the Indian River Land Trust.
The group arrives at the Ranch.
Heading out on the trail. The Padgett Creek Ranches, the Long Shadows Ranch and the Triple S Ranch respectively, consist of approximately 1,600-acres through which flows Padgett Creek that ultimately flows into Blue Cypress Lake
Ralph Monticello gives an overview of the Padgett Creek watershed along with how the Ranches came to sell their development rights to protect the Florida habitats within their borders

The roadway the group walked partway along cuts through pinewoods and scrub.
Views of the woods and scrub.

A distant hawk perched in a pine tree stumped the group for awhile. RIGHT: Sam & Linda Chancellor and Jens Tripson work on identifying the hawk but the distance and the lighting made it hard.
The aforementioned hawk was finally identified as a Red-shouldered Hawk. Vultures, like this Black Vulture, soared through the beautiful, if a bit chilly, morning sky.
Photos by Bob Montanaro.
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E-mail: piaudubon@bellsouth.net