Estero Preserve

Where does the time go?? I meant to blog about my bird outing at the Estero Preserve and somehow it got lost in the shuffle, well....there is not better time than now, so come along....

as it is customary for me - I arrived before the sunrise and I was granted golden views of this American Bittern along the 'little pond' aka Wigeon Pond - however the pond was almost devoid of ducks except for a handful of Blue-winged Teal and one....

Green -winged Teal, now that's a beautiful duck!

A Blue-winged Teal showing its blue feathers.

More views of the American Bittern.

While searching for rails and sparrows, we found White Pelicans flying overhead and....

a handful of American Wigeons.

We (Elaine and I) found a pond that we had never seen before and in it were a few Wood Storks,

several Killdeers,

American Avocets and Greater Yellowlegs.

I never get tired of watching Avocets - I could easily spend an entire day with them.

Estero Preserve can be challenging with mud, water and lack of marked trails.

However, it is well worth the effort as the time spent there is truly priceless.

 

Happy New Year to all!

Wow, can you believe it....another year has arrived...where does the time go?? I know personally that since I started birding that time seems to fly as I'm enthralled with each day as well as the promises of new adventures.

And...since I keep reporting my sighting to e-bird, it also means that the year list start anew....the race is on, here we go!

I hooked up with my friend Elaine and we started the day at the Shipley Trail - it was bright and early, humid and very warm. We spent some time observing this young Woodstork and also had the good fortune of seeing two Bald Eagle mating - I'd say that was a great way to start the New Year.

My E-Bird List for the Shipley Trail and My E-Bird List for the Bailey Tract. I saw a lot more birds than I took pictures this time around - in any event it was a great way to start the day.

 

 Then, or course, another day comes along and more birds to be seen - I returned to the Bailey Tract bright and early with double duties this time, other than keeping my eyes open for the birds I am also looking for Coyote scats. You see, we have a growing Coyote population on our island and the University of Georgia has enlisted the help of local volunteers to collect scat from different locations with the aim of studying the DNA and figuring out how many families we are dealing with. Those Coyotes have been feasting on Sea Turtle eggs during the summer and have eliminated our Least Tern nesting population. In any event - I found no scat this morning and few bird sightings - but oh - look at the promises of this brand new day!

On my way out of the Bailey Tract, this female Common Yellowthroat bid me farewell. My 29 species E-Bird List for the Bailey Tract. Then I'm off to the Wildlife Drive in Ding Darling.

Awww....you gotta love those pink Roseate Spoonbills and how they brighten up the day.

A young Raccoon along the drive was poking his nose in the dirt - probably looking for some small insects. This Raccoon did not look well and was moving rather slowly.

I arrived at the Tower - the tide had been coming in for at least 3 hours according to the tide chart - but there was still enough low areas for several shorebirds to rest/eat/preen. The Reddish Egret "Ding" always draws plenty of attention.

The White Pelicans always take my breath away with their size and majestic look.

As I'm watching I see in the corner of my eye something come for a landing - I look and I look again - sure enough it's a.....

Redhead! How about that sighting!

This is not a common duck at Ding Darling - this is a treat and it will go nicely on my new list.

The sun is bright and the view is just fabulous.

Try these on for size - White Pelican versus Brown Pelican.

The Redhead found the Blue-winged Teals and stayed close by.

A preened Pelican is a beautiful Pelican....

well technically their lives depend on it - those feathers are their lively hood - without them they can't be flying or dive for food so it's important to keep those feathers in tiptop shape.

More White Pelicans coming in....

"Oh look guys, Thelma and Louise have arrived".

One big happy family.

The triple notes that I had heard previously had made me think of the Greater Yellowlegs....and sure enough...

here they are - two of them among the Willets...

Look at the size difference between the Yellowleg and the Willet - amazing!

Well, folks, I'd say this was a great start into the New Year - more to come....so many places....so many birds and so little time....I'm already looking forward to tomorrow....stay tuned!       My E-Bird List for Ding Darling Wildlife Drive.

 

Estero Bay Preserve

It has been almost a year since I visited the Estero Preserve, reports of several ducks and other species made me itch for a visit.

Before heading there I made sure that I was prepared for the hike - water in the trails and insects in the air - we armed ourselves with boots and bug spray, two of us were glad to have a head net because the deer flies were in great numbers.

A beautiful sunny sky with a rainbow greeted us as we entered the preserve....our first stop....pond..

This is the pond where the American Wigeons have been seen, so....we quietly approached the pond...

because the ducks are known to be skittish and fly off if they are disturbed.

Well, not only did we have Wigeons but also Northern Pintails - sweet!

Not long after that the ducks took flight....we were glad to have been able to see them before they left for the day.

We traveled another mile or so before finding the second pond....

This pond is much larger than the other one and as you can see a lot more species....

Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Ducks and Buffleheads - oh my!

After exploring the big pond we ventured toward the Bay - walking gingerly on different types of terrain - we spotted small peeps....can you see them?

How about now? Isn't it amazing how well they blend in?

Semi-palmated Plovers are one of my favorites.

My birding partners and where we've been....don't you just love the expanse of this property? I highly advise not to venture alone, the trails are not well defined and one can easily get lost without a good sense of direction. Also, some areas are really muddy and very easy to sink in and loose your boots if you're not careful.

Another sweet spotting today: American Avocet.

A Dunlin receiving some sweet notes from a Semi-palmated Plover.

A group of Western Sandpipers.

A Greater Yellowleg.

One more area to venture through water and mud before reaching the edge of the shore.

Positioned by the shore we could see how many White Pelicans were across while a whole group flew above our heads.

Also, quite a few American Avocets far off.

These two were very close to us....what a nice gift!

This was indeed a very sweet visit and I look forward to return and explore the sparrows and rails territory.

What will you see when you visit? Check my E-bird List for the species we saw, also within that list you can click on "map" to see where it is. Happy Birding!