Hike Between Grange Hall Rd and Leonard Lee Road along the Little Manatee River, 3-19-16

Started about 8:30am at Grange Hall Road just south of the Little Manatee River and headed west to Leonard Lee Road.  Had to park on the shoulder of Grange Hall Road.  There was no where else to park.  It was already starting to get warm, the sun was shining but the grass and plants were still wet with dew.

Once I got to Leonard Lee Road, I had to turn around and followed the same route back to Grange Hall Road where my vehicle was parked.

The trail went roughly parallel to the Little Manatee River on the south side of the river.  It never got close enough to the river to see the river. 

Went through a mixture of woods and old fields that are filled with palmettos now, with some trees starting to take hold.  The wooded areas were for the most part old live oaks.

 Close to the beginning had to wade through a low spot filled with water.  It was about one foot deep.  Had wet feet the rest of the walk.

This is what the trail looked like part of the way.  There was much variation.

There is a sand hill crane in the middle of the photo trying to lead me away from his mate and two chicks. 
 
 Here is the mother sand hill crane and two newly hatched chicks.  The chicks were covered with a brownish orange fuzz.

Here is a series of photos of the mother sand hill crane and two chicks.  The mother was still catching bugs and feeding them to the chicks.

Here are a couple of photos of one of the chicks who did not want to follow his mother. 

 It is hard to spot but one of the chicks is near the middle of the photo in the grass.  They blend in well.

 This is an unnamed stream flowing north into the Little Manatee River.  The view is looking north towards the river.

 Here is a view looking upstream of the unnamed stream.  I suspect the sand deposits are laid down during floods.  The river level probably backs up into this stream causing the water velocity to drop and letting the sand settle out.

 This is the gate on the east side of Leonard Lee Rd where the trail starts.

 Here are a couple views near the east end of the trail which is a two track.

 After about an hour hiking the sun gave way to clouds and the weather slowly became threatening as a front moved in.  Could hear thunder in the distance and it slowly worked it's way closer.  About half way back to Grange Hall Road light rain started and steadily got heavier and lightening got closer.  The temperature dropped a few degrees also.  Had to put my poncho on to keep the camera and phone dry. 

 Overall it was a nice hike.  The highlight was seeing the sand hill crane chicks and being able to photograph them.