Bowditch Point

Plans are sometimes meant to be broken and today was one of those days. As of yesterday I became an 'official' volunteer for the Lee Co Bird Patrol and my friend Elaine and I had planned to go to Lakes Park and do some data collection. Well, with some delays, some thunder/lightning and rain, we ended up tweaking our plans and decided to go to the Bowditch Point in search of the White-crowned Sparrow that has been reported there lately.

We arrived at the beach and had no problem finding a parking spot - we set out toward the point and watched 11 Wilson Plover braving the elements.

A banded Piping Plover was spotted on the beach too. Those little bands tell a story - so I went to a few sites, asked some questions and have received the clues to my questions after contacting plover@umn.edu - this is what Alice Van Zoeren shared:
It's one of the chicks that was captive-reared last summer after one of the parents disappeared (probably caught by a Merlin) and the nest was abandoned. When that happens the eggs are collected and incubated at our captive rearing facility at the University of Michigan Biological Station near Pellston, MI. The resulting chicks are raised until they are flying well, then are released with wild-reared chicks of similar age. This chick was released at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on North Manitou Island..

Some rain showers were observed in the distant shore.

A colorful Brown Pelican cruising by - notice the neck feathers and how they are now chocolate brown.

A few of them have prime waterfront property.

This side, with a different message is taken at face value.....

as we can tell by the way the Black Skimmers are passing by.

I like the name of this sailboat! Funny that it came into view because I've been thinking about Sea Turtle Season and how it will begin in just a few short months.

After spending time searching and finding the White-Crowned Sparrow (sorry no photo) with Ed Combs, we walked over to the parking lot and Ed mentioned to come over and take a look at the Common Loon - who sang to him.

It swam by several times and found some juicy morsels to munch on.

Well, folks - what is not to like about this Common Loon! Our plans were apparently meant to be broken and in the process we were rewarded with sweet surprises. Thank You!

Happy Birding! My E-Bird List for today.

Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte with Caloosa Bird Club

A great outing with the Caloosa Bird Club with many stops along the way. Our first stop was on Zemel Road in Punta Gorda - the dump site.....who knew that so many birds could be observed at this location, take a look....

As soon as we stepped out of the car, we noticed this Red-shouldered Hawk who was obviously watching something very intensely....'hawk eye'.

Sandhill Cranes on top of the mound

soon they started their "karooo karooo karooo" sound - which could be heard yards away.

Several Bald Eagles and Laughing Gulls were observed as well as

multiple Cattle Egrets and Wood storks.

Soon after we moved on down to Colony Point Dr in Punta Gorda to observe some ducks....a spotting scope comes really handy when looking for ducks - here were 100s of Lesser Scaup in the distance - hardly noticeable by the naked eye however with my Canon SX50 I was able to bring it much closer which helped us to make the identification.

A few Cormorants were lined up on the bank

This body of water attracts several ducks during the winter, we observed Lesser Scaup, Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teals, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe and a Canvasback. Soon after we headed to our next stop.....Ponce de Leon City Park in Charlotte County.

Greeting us with a personal grin .... a Wood stork and a Black Vulture.

The Yellow-crowned Night Heron welcomed us and gave us the yellow glove treatment....

as he pointed us into the right direction

"Welcome one and welcome all".

We made our way down by the dock and along the small beach to observe the others, several Ruddy Turnstone in winter plumage were spotted.

Brown Pelicans were lazily floating down the river.

Another Ruddy Turnstone.

A Great Blue Heron focused on his next meal.

A Pelican nap with a water view.

On to our next stop - the Ollie Pond in Charlotte County - where a shady trail takes us around a large lake - what a great way to observe nature such as this Corn Snake above our heads in an Oak tree.....we could hardly make heads or tails about it.

Blue-winged Teals were in great numbers

so were the Coots

and the Hooded Mergansers.

Pale yellow Lilies in the lily pads

and a Tree Frog asleep in the tree.

Colorful Tricolored Heron performed some Reddish Egret moves for us while trying to lure his lunch.

Several Ring-necked Ducks floating and diving around the lilies

they sure are stricking....its name refers to a brownish "ring" on the neck which is barely visible.

Our mascot bird was seen several times today - the Green Heron.

As with most bodies of water in S.W. Florida - a few gators were sighted - this one being oblivious and young to boot - sleeping away while a group of people watched.

After being on the road for 7 hours - respite and lunch by the Peace River was very welcomed.

 

Fort Myers Beach area with the Caloosa Bird Club

We are blessed with a beautiful sunny day today with mild temperature - armed with binoculars, scopes and cameras our group of 23 headed out to the beach.

It's low tide and looking promising.

Every which way - there was something to see - humanoids included.

An Oystercatcher

A Wilson Plover - chunky bill and pinkish legs.

The Green Heron blending well with its surrounding.

Adult Oystercatcher

Double-crested Cormorant with their beautiful emerald green eyes.

Another Wilson Plover - this one getting cooled off by the vegetation.

A Great Blue Heron shooting the breeze.

A Ruddy Turnstone wearing its brown winter coat.

A Semi-palmated Plover with its orange legs.

A Piping Plover

More American Oystercatchers

Ruddy Turnstone - These 9.5" birds are so called because they turn and flick stones/shells while looking for whatever food morsels might be hiding under.

A Piping Plover - similar to the Snowy at a quick glance, the piping has orange legs and the snowy has black ones.

This adult American Oystercatcher is sporting Green "X" bands and a silver band on the left foot.

An adult Brown Pelican

A Tricolored Heron

A couple of Bald Eagles were observed on our walk back.

A White-winged Dove.

A flock of White Pelicans gave us a good show - switching leaders and changing the formation pattern too.

We made our way to the Mound House for our lunch and bird list recap - while eating we saw this adult female Cooper Hawk land right over our heads.

Afterwards we followed Penny into the learning center - we learned about the Calusa Indians, how they lived and the tools they used.

These fossils were part of the wall - which demonstrated layers upon layers dating back thousands of years.

The lecture was fascinating and filled with interesting facts, please visit their website www.moundhouse.org

On the way out, I spotted an adult Iguana - he spotted all the people coming over to see it and started to disappear before I could get a good photo of it....but you can still see its scaly skin, its spines and its claws....it was bright green and probably had been basking in the sun for some time.

Elaine stopped at Matanzas Pass Preserve and we took a lovely walk along the boardwalk....

At some location we could feast our eyes on the Estero Bay.

This map was at the Matanzas Pass Preserve and you could use this map as a reference point for the locations that we visited today....we started with Little Estero Island CWA and then visited the Mound House and finished with Matanzas Pass Preserve. A lovely day birding, as always. My E-Bird List for today.