Nature Really IS Amazing - Tuesday - April 25, 2012

I had to go back to the dentist early this morning.  Yesterday, he found a chipped tooth and of course they can't fix it while your are there...you must come back;o(  Nancy took a casual walk while I was gone.

She headed down to the viewing deck next to the causeway.  (Terrapin Rd is the Causeway) She said she walked out the viewing deck very quietly to just past the treeline.  She didn't want to scare any birds that may be in the marsh. 

 

(click to enlarge any photo)

No problem, there were no birds...how disappointing.  As she turned to leave, something caught her eye in the grasses below. 

AMAZING....

 A newborn FAWN!!!!

It never moved...  Nancy looked around for Momma, but she was no where to be seen.  She kept watch from a distance to see if it would move or at least get up.  It never budged.  Nancy was concerned that something was wrong, but there was nothing she could do:-(

She came back to the campsite and I had just arrived home from the Dentist.  After a late breakfast, we went for a walk so she could show me the spot she had found the fawn.  We took the long way around and view several other amazing things.

We left the campground and walked over towards Atalaya.  Made the turn onto Brookgreen Garden Dr, which is the walkway running from Brookgreen Gardens to Atalaya, the former beach house of the Huntington's who owned the Brookgreen property. Both of these places deserve a visit and would be a blog by themselves... don't miss them if you visit the area!!

 

Looking back at the Atalaya entrance from the path

As we walked Brookgreen-Atalaya path you could smell the Honeysuckle!!

We looked for alligators in the green swamp on our left. 

We didn't see any gators, but did spot a Green Heron!

Brookgreen Garden entrance at the Hwy 17 end of the path

We turned right onto Terrapin Dr and headed over to the Causeway.

I told you the Causeway would show up many times in our blog

while we are at Huntington Beach. 

You just never know what you will see on the Causeway!!

Hmmm... The Green Heron beat us here;o))

This big fellow was right by the road!!

How about an Alligator Daycare Island?!?!

We counted about 7-8 young alligators playing nicely together;o))

We saw many small wading birds. 

Nancy is just learning to identify some of them.

Lesser Yellowlegs

We see a lot of these small waders,

but never one with a black underbelly!!

Turns out this is a Blackbellied Plover

which only has a black underbelly during breeding season.

It's normally looks like the description below!

Nancy says it over and over...

Nature is Amazing!!

When we reached the end of the causeway,

we walked over to the viewing deck to check on the fawn.

Nancy was worried that something was wrong

since the fawn did not move this morning.

We were very quiet as we walked out

and

what wonderful site...

the fawn was standing:o))

It looked right at us, but could not move on it's shaky legs!!

We still did not see Momma anywhere around;o(

But it was wonderful to see the fawn up!!

We had company coming to visit, so we had to leave.

We'll check back later to be sure it is OK.

Back at the Motorhome, we got a quick lunch.  Then our good friends, Bill and Chris, came for a visit.  They also brought our mail...Thanks Guys!!  We sat outside and had a nice time getting caught up.  About 2:30, we said our goodbyes since we needed to go see Nancy's mother.  She is doing well, but occassionally needs some help with things.  Today was paperwork day!!  We spent an hour or so visiting and getting things in order. 

On our way back to the campsite, we had to stop and check on the fawn again;o))  Unfortunately, Nancy did not have her camera.  What we saw was so amazing.  Momma was there encouraging the fawn to get moving.  They went a short distance and Momma laid down in the tall grass.  The fawn stumbled over her.  Then Momma saw us and bolted...it was time to leave them alone.  But how wonderful to know the baby is OK!!

Just before sunset, we went back to see if we could see the Fawn and Momma.  We did see Momma feeding in the tall grass, but could not see the fawn.

Before coming back to the motorhome, we walked out the Nature Center Boardwalk over the Salt Marsh. Nancy spoke to a woman about what we had seen today. The woman explained that what happened is very natural. When a new fawn is born, it has no animal smell, so the mother leaves it in a hidden place while she goes to feed and build her strength back. The fawn gets familiar with its new world and eventually can stand-up. Unless a wild animal stumbles upon the fawn, they do not attract predators. Once Momma recovers, she returns ready to nurse and care for her newborn!!

We were so priviledge to see this amazing natural event unfold!!!

Now for the perfect end to a wonderful day!!

 

Nature REALLY is Amazing!!!