It's Saturday morning - time to meet up with the SanCap Audubon group, this time we met at Ding Darling. A nice group of approximately 50 people showed up - we carpooled and entered the Wildlife Drive.
It was 8a.m. and quite a bit foggy - upside, the temps were in the 70s....can't complain.
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| First treat of the day was the American White Pelicans - check that wing Span (108") and those legs! |
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| Coming in for a landing. |
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| Landing gear engaged. |
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| Did you see that? Not bad for a landing, hey? |
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| Several Yellow-crowned Night Heron were seen by the mangrove roots.....great spot for breakfast fish....and lunch....and dinner. |
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| Front and center - a Double-crested Cormorant in breeding plumage....backdrop of Semi-palmated Plover (far right), A Least Sandpiper and 4 Dunlins. |
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| A group of Willets surrounding the Marbled Godwit, on the forefront an adult White Ibis. |
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| The Marbled Godwit stood and walked - pleasing everyone that was watching it.....what a beautiful bird! |
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| Red-breasted Mergansers - a female and a young male. Those diving ducks are hard to capture sitting still and fun to watch. |
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| More American White Pelicans by the Tower. |
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| An Osprey was observed flying with nest material - he must be doing some sprucing up. |
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| Willets, Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlins and White Ibis and Marbled Godwit too. |
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| White and Brown Pelicans. |
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| Snowy Egret busy chasing fish. |
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| The star for the day - Marbled Godwit. |
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| Double-crested Cormorant |
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| A close-up of the Willets with Short-billed Dowitchers in front. |
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| Oh, Look! What do we have here? |
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| A Magnificent Frigatebird! A large seabird with a wingspan of 90"....always a delight to see. |
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| A Brown Pelican molting its neck feathers and getting ready for breeding plumage which will be chocolate brown. |
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| Well, what do you know.....a gator strolling by and checking out the lunch menu. |
My E-Bird List for today http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16841384
What a wonderful outing for you and the group! Great bird sighting, the white and brown pelicans are cool. And I love the Godwit shots. Wonderful post, have a happy day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen, any day birding makes for a happy day! Heading to Bartow tomorrow - that should be fun.
ReplyDeleteWell I learned something by your pictures... I thought the white pelicans was all white. I was wrong they have black on there wings. How different the brown pelican looks so different when molting.
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