Harn's Marsh in Lehich Acres with the Caloosa Bird Club

Before I begin today I want to express my gratitude to all of you who follow my blog on a regular basis, it brought a huge smile when I realized that the 100,000 views rolled over, so Thank You All, I could not have done it without YOU!

 Now, without much further adoo, let's move on to today's expedition.

It had been a couple of weeks since I went out with the bird club and several months since I visited Harn's Marsh - it was with great anticipation that we started our bird outing today. Come along and see what we feasted our eyes on .....

I love the big expanse of land and water and the peace that this space provides, don't you?

Harn's Marsh wouldn't be Harn's Marsh without all the Black and Turkey Vultures greeting us at the beginning.

The Boat-tailed Grackles wanted to make it more personal too.

Several Glossy Ibis can be seen around the Marsh.

And the Sandhill Cranes! Oh My!

We got a huge treat when they started their dance rituals while calling one another.

The Savannah Sparrows are always fun to watch too - up one minute and down the next.

The Gray-headed Swamp hen are alive and well.

More Crane action.

Harn's Marsh has a trail that loops around and if you have the energy you can easily walk it - all 4 miles of it. As a group, we signed up and had special permission to drive around but as you can see we all get out of our cars and spend time observing what takes place.

Another bunch - just how beautiful are they?

They granted me a group photo, thank you!

Other than large Crane, some tiny butterflies were observed as well - a Barred Sulphur is seen here.

My favorite: a bright yellow happy flower :)

Did you know that birders are great listeners?

How about an American Bittern - always hiding - but this time one of our members spotted it.

You can see how they can easily be missed.

A Limpkin - a regular at the Marsh.

More great spaces.

Looking for a Spotted Sandpiper - instead we spotted a Hooded Merganser and several Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

A Greater Yellowlegs sat long enough for me to capture it, the Lesser not so much.

Another Hooded - sweet!

Our last sweet bunch - Least Sandpipers! When you get a chance, make sure to visit Harn's Marsh - it will provide you with priceless time filled with beautiful creatures - big and small.

 

Christmas Bird Count with the Caloosa Bird Club

Brrr....the prospect of walking through muddy and wet salt flats in 45 degrees was daunting to say the least - I put my big girl pants on and off I went. I was in good company with Charlie Ewell, Karl Werner, Susan Cohen and Libby Wolfe - all excellent birders and I've learned something from each one of them. Thank you!

Our first sought after specie was a success....

A Saltmarsh Sparrow, check! We ended up spending about 2 hours there and saw a total of 37 species (see my E-Bird List)

Off we went to the Causeway - looking for a Peregrine Falcon....

Check! We also scoped the area and were able to find Common Loons, Mergansers & Horned Grebes among 35 species (see my E-Bird List)

Next on our list of places to be was Bunche Beach - we spent 3 hours there - our first sighting a Ruddy Turnstone.

A very special sighting - one of many Marbled Godwit

Black Skimmers with the Causeway in the background - leading to Sanibel Island.

Piping Plovers wearing their bands and flags.

They were much faster than I and their numbers eluded me.

The Long-billed Curlew came to be counted too.

He surely sparkles.

A Wilson Plover enjoying a Mangrove Crab.

The amusement of the day was to watch these sandpipers eating from a bowl size cavity in a mound of sand as if someone had put food there for them.

Everyone is equal here and all are happy to be able to share a meal.... Sanderling, Least Sandpiper and Western Sandpipers.

Short-billed Dowitcher came to investigate and share the bounty.

A Great Blue Heron came to seal the day. Another list for this portion - 45 species in all (see my E-Bird List). A fantastic day was had by all, we put forth an effort and truly enjoyed the experience.

The Salt Marsh

Plans sometimes are meant to be broken - Libby and I left this morning with the intention of visiting Bunche Beach because the tides were right for the venue, however on our way there it started raining and I suggested that we spent a bit of time at the Salt Marsh while the rain storm passed through. Turns out we spent a good 3 hours at that location with much to feast our eyes on in spite of the weather.

One of the first Sparrow to see - our first guess had been Saltmarsh but after further study and some discussion, it was deemed to be a Wilson's Sparrow.

Several Yellowlegs were seen - Lesser and Greater.

Then a Saltmarsh Sparrow - very sweet!

A House Wren drew a lot of attention.

Semipalmated Plovers and Least Sandpipers - resting/sleeping.

A Killdeer all fluffed up and resting too.

Bob Pelky - a blogger and photographer - was seen heading further unto the salt marsh with the hopes of getting a closer look of the Merlin.

More resting birds.

And off they went! We watched and stood still as they swirled around us, letting us feel their wind and hear their wing beats....wow....it always amaze me and takes me to a higher plane.

Soon they came back and rested again. We looked for that Merlin and figured that it might have moved from its perch and was probably the cause of disturbance.

Least Sandpipers

As we headed back to Sanibel, we cruised the Causeway and observed some Ruddy Turnstones and Willets. A Great Blue Heron was a nice surprise around the corner - check it out.

Check those plumes and blue lores - mother nature is perfect just the way it comes.

What a nice way to end the day.

As I dropped Libby off - we took a quick look at the Gulf to see if the Scoters were still there and sure enough there they were. We are still debating whether they are Black Scoters or White Winged Scoter.