 |
| Gulf Islands National Seashore on the panhandle coast of Florida is a great place to get acquainted with southern sand-scrub ecosystems of this region. This dark pool was adjacent to some crumbling war ruins. |
 |
| This pool of overwash is rapidly drying in the January sun. |
 |
| Everyone has accidents. I can't help but wonder: fish, shark, or what? |
 |
| A willet, a sort of shorebird. |
 |
| Get out of there! If you're scared of the ocean, take consolation in the fact that not even birds that live there most of their lives want to get too close. |
 |
| I wasn't the only one strolling along the edge of rolling waves. This sanderling had the same idea. |
 |
| Sanderling nap time! |
 |
| A Carolina wren gives it his best atop a withered, salt-pruned branch. |
 |
| The ring-billed gull is a very intelligent bird. Seems to have a rather cynical outlook on life. |
 |
| There are a variety of sparrows in the scrub. |
 |
| Yellow-rumped warbler. |
 |
| The sloughs between the dunes are rimmed with Juncus, a genus of needle-like rush. |
 |
| Another shorebird running from the waves. |
 |
| I kind of think this would be a good time to run out of there. |
 |
| The sun sets on the white-sand beaches and I'm heading back to campus. |
