Sanibel West

A visit to the west end of the island today proved to be a rewarding and exciting experience....come along and see....

As we braved the gusty winds we marveled at the fact that the birds were able to stand still in the face of such power - heck, we had trouble walking and we are a lot bigger.

We directed our attention to the bird's features - this Caspian Tern for example and the difference that sets them apart from the Royal Tern....

the bill size/color/shape and I also noticed how the black cap reaches the edge of the bill on the Caspian - not so with the Royal.

As we looked back - we could see the blowing sand that we had felt on our skin - the salt air is very thick too, making our glasses/binos unclear to see through.

A bunch of Red Knots were hunkered down together - it's a group effort to shield one another.

The Snowy Plovers were not in large numbers but they too managed to find a clump of grass to shield them from the gusty winds.

When the wind increased even more, we decided to go to Blind Pass and perhaps catch sight of Northern Gannetts - instead we were greeted by the Sanibel Stoopers looking for shells....it looked like so much fun that we actually joined them for a while - had a blast doing it.

We then visited the pass and found this large group of Willet....

and mixed in were some Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones

and when we looked closely - we noticed some different plumage in the group....which turned out to be a couple Marbled Godwits

A few Dunlins were in the mix too...

and a few young Brown Pelicans.

Our last sighting was a Snowy Egret which was quite busy chasing bugs that were invisible from our human eyes - we enjoyed watching this bird as it crouched down low with quiet agility.....wishing we could do it too.

Bunche Beach at sunrise

Earlier this week there was an organized walk at Bunche Beach and since I was working I wasn't able to attend, though I had been thinking about Bunche and I was happy to finally be able to visit the area - the sun was about to rise and the tide was still heading out, come along and see what's happening out there nowadays....

It's always a toss up when I arrive at the beach....should I go East or West??...I headed West and periodically checked for the sun - in the meantime the sky provided quite a beautiful palette don't you think?

Some of the birds are already quite busy - this Great Egret showed me its best side.

Now, that's my kind of sunrise!

The Roseate Spoonbill seemed to agree with me.

I have to say the sun looks good on it.

One of my favorite - the Oystercatcher.

Followed by the Black Skimmers, a young one - front and center is sporting a spiffy green band.

The Piping Plover are always fun to watch, like all the other plovers - it is very fast on its feet.

A few Common Tern were discovered - adult and non breeding plumage.

A Marbled Godwit - its honey color gets quite accentuated by the morning sun.

I'm back at my starting point and spent some time admiring this Great Blue Heron, it must be used to human because it stayed put as people went by.

The wind played with its feathers - giving it a 'crest' look.

This is looking West - the Sanibel Causeway is in the far background.

The white morph of the Reddish Egret - sporting a transmitter for the ongoing study by ARCI.

I made my way East and found this pair of Caspian Tern - a juvenile with an adult.

I spotted a Spotted Sandpiper with barely a spot on.

And a cameo appearance of an....

Opposum - kind of cute and very small.

The Spotted watched and waited before resuming its breakfast hunt.

This turned out to be a great morning with some extra time for reflection - I feel blessed.

 

Harn's Marsh with the Caloosa Bird Club

Today turned out to be one of those Florida days - perfectly blue sky and warm sunshine - the type of days that is usually associated with Florida. We left early to arrive at Harn's Marsh with the sunrise, many bird folks beat us to it.

Come along and see some of the highlights of the day....

If I had embedded sound within this photo you would have heard the Limpkins calling.

This one was busy looking for apple snails.

A Tern whizzed on by several times - the sun hitting the bill and making it look like a Royal Tern but with closer study it was obvious that we were looking at a Caspian Tern - a bit bigger with a brighter 'reddish' bill.

Several coots, grebes and ducks were observed - these Ring-necked were particularly sharp looking.

In the distance, a pair of Sandhill Cranes were busy getting their nest in order.

A scope provided us with the perfect tool to observed them without disturbing them.

A Gray-headed Swamphen - aka Purple Swamphen - was in front of us playing peek-a-boo within the reeds. This Swamphen resembles a huge Purple Gallinule  with a reddish bill, frontal shield, iris and legs.

I wish I had a better photo to show you the difference between this Purple Gallinule and the Gray-headed Swamphen - however if you look closely you can see one of the difference being the legs and toes are bright yellow

One of several Savannah Sparrows.

American Wigeon in flight

Some happy yellow flowers - well, at least, that's how it makes me feel.

A Crested Caracara - one of my favorites.

More Sandhill Cranes - several were seen through the 4 mile loop - I never tire of watching them.....a great time for all. My E-Bird List for today.