The morning air is brisk and there is a clear blue sky. I go to the mail box (it takes me a while as I have to look at the plants and birds along the way) to collect the bills. Just as I am turning
The morning air is brisk and there is a clear blue sky. I go to the mail box (it takes me a while as I have to look at the plants and birds along the way) to collect the bills. Just as I am turning, four large dazzling white birds with black wing tips soar overhead, spiraling in a thermal. The sun glints off their feathers and because they are so far up, I grab for my binoculars to make sure of the identity.
They are White pelicans, fall and winter migrants, who come to Florida to escape the cold. It is an unusual experience to watch White pelicans feed as, unlike the Brown pelicans, they do not dive for their food. Instead, in a cooperative effort with other White pelicans, they form a line or sometimes a circle, to corral fish to scoop up with their bills. Sometimes, they will actually herd the fish closer and closer to a shore, then, turning their bills sideways in the shallow water, they all feed at once.
This is just one of the unusual sights we observe in our area. The diversity of St. Johns County is to be celebrated by residents and visitors alike. From the Atlantic Ocean to the St. Johns River and from Flagler Estates to Ponte Vedra, we have so many things to see and do.
Native Americans watched as early explorers arrived by ship. Using smaller craft to navigate the numerous inland waterways, they searched for the best places to construct villages. Places where hunting and fishing was good and places to raise crops.
These types of places are still valued in our county today. Cabbage, potatoes, corn and vegetables are raised on large farms in the southwest quadrant. Large pine plantations have given way to numerous bedroom communities in the northwest.
The eastern coastline is home to a diversity of folks from wealthy homeowners to fishermen who depend on harvesting the delectable treasured seafood and fresh water shellfish we love to consume.
As we begin another year, we can take great pride in maintaining our county so White pelicans, other wildlife and people can enjoy it.