Honeymoon Island State Park

Surprised, I gladly paid my $3 wondering why it hadn’t been six and entered Honeymoon Island. I drowsily poured onto the beach, camera in hand, and trudged along the coast first spotting a couple species of crab near a sea-worn, wooden trap. Not even a mile down the beach, my 4:55 AM awakening began to catch up with me. Not wanting to sleep on the nearby wooden bench, I retreated to my car and dozed in the drowsy afternoon sun.

Upon awakening, I repositioned my vehicle nearer the Osprey Trail, GPS: NAD27 280405.68 824949.20 +-12. As I ventured ahead I watched, alert for Ospreys, Great Horned Owl, Prickly Pear, Slash Pine, Spanish Bayonet, Gopher Toroise, and Red Bellied Wood Pecker. I spotted Slash Pine almost immediately and soon saw a sickly, somewhat blackened Prickly Pear. I particularly wanted to see Spanish Bayonet since recently reading about it but had to settle for an Osprey Nest, 2 Osprey, a great horned owl, and 80 acres of virgin Slash Pine forest ;)

I heard the owl before I spotted him. Had he not called out encouraging prey to run in fear, I might have missed him perched in a nearby tree. An American Kestrel or Red Shouldered Hawk (identifying from memory) soon joined him on a nearby branch. I watched for several minutes before walking back down the sandy trail toward my car. I felt happy to have already seen so much wildlife.

During the long drive to Hillsborough River State Park, I spotted a Booksamillion and veered off course toward it. Inside, I studied the field books finally deciding on The Nature of Florida by Waterford Press. Later, I forsook navigation to chat with Nate and Brandon. Back on course, I soon pulled into Hillsborough State Park didn’t stay long deterred by the $20 camping fee. I searched all around for the next hour looking for a campsite.

Honeymoon Island SP Gallery

Honeymoon Island SP