This Thanksgiving break I scouted out Newton Park on the south shore of Lake Apopka. It is a great little residential park filled with feathered friends, mostly fussy grackles. A number of Purple Gallinules greeted me from the reeds on the edge of the lake. A female Snail Kite flew overhead on her search for her breakfast. I walked out on the dock and found the largest number of Canvasbacks I’ve seen together in Florida – I think I counted 11 of them, mostly females with one drake. A pair of Redhead ducks were out there also, along with some Lesser and one Greater Scaup. On my walk back, one of the grackles hassled an Osprey in mid-air. Then a Double-crested Cormorant did battle with a giant fish and managed to swallow it whole. It was just a quick walk, but it felt great to say hello to my feathered friends!