Gulfside Park in Sanibel

I purposely took time away from the hustle bustle that the island has been experiencing with the spring break which of course brought in a lot of folks to enjoy our beautiful beaches and weather - I took an early beach walk and was totally entertained by the birds and distracted by the shells - what a great way to start the day!

I arrived just before sunrise and was able to capture the sun as it started to peek up from behind those buildings across the way.

Here's something that I don't see too often - an Octopi, unfortunately it expired.

A Ruddy Turnstone in its perfect environment.

An Eastern Willet

A Snowy Egret in the beginning stages of breeding plumage - its lores and feet are more orange and will turn even brighter to almost red.

A Lesser Black-backed Gull - they look so sharp with their 'tuxedo' and bright white shirt on.

The Sanderlings were feeding in quite a frenzy.

This one caught a small shrimp.

The perfect clam size for this Ruddy Turnstone.

A Black-bellied Plover.

And of course Gulfside Park wouldn't be right without its Plover enclosure.

I saw a total of 5 Snowy Plovers, two of which were banded.....

soon they will be mating and that's a good thing.

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.

Christmas gifts

And so this is Christmas....another beautiful day in sunny paradise on earth - I am blessed to be living in such a beautiful island that happens to be my home in this day in time and so today I took a few short excursion to BE with this beautiful world.

I went to the Lighthouse point to observe the sun rise and watch as the wildlife became alive with a new day.

As always - I never regret getting up early in order to catch the beginning of a brand new day filled with new promises.

The Lighthouse in its Christmas glory.

I got back home for breakfast with my husband and I was glad to catch the perfume of the Orchid Tree as it drifted by - what a divine smell!

Later on, we made a quick visit to the Pond Apple Trail retention pond - I was surprised to be in the company of so many birds considering that it was mid-day.....and the fact that this Black-crowned Night Heron was out feeding.

I also noticed a few months old gator catching the rays.

This Snowy Egret strolled by - only a few feet away.

And then, this Green Heron stole the show for the day - right out in the open - giving us fantastic views. Holidays are different nowadays however nature is ever present and gives me much to reflect on.....peace on earth.

Ding Darling - Wildlife Drive

Several interesting birds have made an appearance in Sanibel this past week - One Brant was seen and photographed along the Wildlife Drive by one person. A Hermit Thrush was reported at the Sanibel Garden preserve, I've made three separate attempt to locate it, unfortunately it lived up to its name for my sake. And then, yesterday, a Long-tailed Duck was photographed off Colon's Point at Ding Darling. I figured three's the charm and hoped to see a new bird - so off I go.....

It was in the early morning hours and the tide was low - a perfect combo for a drive along Ding Darling. The first pond provided great views of the Yellow-crowned Night Herons.

At the Mangrove Overlook -hundreds of white birds could be seen in the distance.

And so were the White Pelicans, we are glad they are back.

The White Ibis were in great numbers as were....

the Snowy Egrets.

Some Hooded Mergansers had been reported too however I managed to spot 3 Red-breasted Mergansers instead. This may not have been my luckiest week for finding some of those sought after birds - all in all though I can't complain because, after all, I live in sunny Florida where I can still see plenty of beautiful birds, I am blessed.

 

Bowman's Beach

It had been a while since I last visited Bowman's Beach and I thought I'd better get over there before it gets crowded. Come along and see what I bumped into.....

My first group turns out to be Short-billed Dowitchers, sweet!

As I turned around and looked to the East I can't help but fall in love with the sunrise.

Oh, what a nice surprise - my first of the season Common Loon is just a few yards away.

A nice group of Red Knots passed me.

This pair of Osprey is getting ready for their new family.

A Brown Pelican just chilling on a No Wake buoy.

More Red Knots by the sea shore.

One of many Snowy Egrets that I saw this morning.

The Snowy Plovers were all hanging out together...

Some Black-bellied Plover wanted to hang out with them too.

I love to watch the little Snowy form a bowl to sit in to rest and blend in.

A Cormorant was drying out after his fishing extravaganza.

I love his serious expression.

I got lucky to have all 8 Snowy Plovers in this frame.

Cute pair, no?

A not so lucky Sandwich Tern - on the other hand the Ghost Crab looks pretty smug.

Now that I work at the Shell Museum I can't help myself but pay more attention to the sea shells - especially when the mollusk is still alive within this beautiful Lightning Whelk.

Here's the pair - busy at getting the nest ready.

It's time for me to wrap it up but before I go - one more look at this beautiful vista.

I believe it's time for breakfast.