I had the blessing of spending this past weekend at Fort Walton Beach, courtesy of my bestie who whisked me away to celebrate my birthday. We had such a beautiful time there, which included a dolphin watch, some gorgeous sunsets, and (of course!) a bird photography outing.

Great Blue Herons were the birds that were out in abundance! This one was busy hunting…

…but unfortunately came up without a catch, which seemed to ruffle his feathers a bit!

Around the bend, another Heron was strutting and strolling…

…and farther down the shoreline, this beauty was perched and posing.

At one point he began to raise a ruckus…

…I think just letting this other Heron know that he should keep right on flying and not even think about sharing the dock!

And this other fella (or female) was just standing around looking rather disgruntled.

There were plenty of Pelicans passing by….

and, of course, a gathering of gulls, which gives the chance to practice in flight photos.

How about I close with one of those beautiful sunsets I mentioned at the start?

A beautiful trip, making beautiful memories, with a beautiful friend…I am blessed for sure!