This Amanda's pennant (just over 1" in life size) was the first living creature I encountered, sunning itself in the pine scrub area of the sanctuary.
There are jogging trails, exercise trails, a boardwalk, and a canoe launch in the park; this morning, I was taken with the image of this woman strolling along under a parasol, reading a book as she walked. What a nice way to start the day!
The best find of the morning, however, was a five-lined skink (actually, two of them!) Check out the incredibly vibrant blue tail of the immature skink hanging out on the boardwalk railing:
The sawed-off blunt tip testifies to the ability of these lizards to break off their tails to survive a predatory attack.
Not far away, a more mature skink watched from the trunk of a tree. (The vibrant blue tail of the young skink fades with age.)
Another lizard that's common to encounter in the sanctuary is the anole, this male a nice shade of mottled brown. They're fun to watch, too, as they expand their orange throats in mating displays.
Beauty berries are abundant right now and many of the trees are covered with fruit and seeds, so the migrants should be easy to find when they do arrive.
And I had one final encounter with a thin-waisted wasp, as I left the sanctuary. Isn't it a beauty?
That's it for today; I'll be headed to the beach tomorrow to check out the Maritime Hammock trails and to get some photos of the 8-12' surf they say we're going to get from Fiona.
