Ding Darling with the Caloosa Bird Club

It's Monday and it's Bird Club Day!

We kept our fingers crossed that they rain would stay away and it worked for the most part. The tide was low and it provided some good views along the Wildlife Drive of Ding Darling.

The White Pelicans are back in good numbers and it's lovely to watch them again.

One of those fellow was tagged with a green marker and banded on its left leg. It was originally thought that it was banded at Great Salt Lake but now there is talk that it might have been tagged in Dakota.

This Snowy Egret was quite comfortable at our feet - he paid us no attention and kept its focus on the fish.

A Green Heron was watching intently and probably wondered why there was so many people on a Monday morning.

A Group of Short-billed Dowitcher probing the ground for tasty morsels.

A Little Blue Heron shortly after eating his catch - if you ask me, it looks like he swallowed a Canary.

Back for more.

Very important discussions take place during the bird walks....it's all for the birds....literally.

"Yes, it's all about me".

After our tour of Ding Darling - we drove to the Shipley Trail to do our E-Bird List and savor our lunch. We sealed the day by taking a little walk along the retention pond by the Pond Apple Trail where we enjoyed watching a few Wood Storks....another great day of birding! Folks...go outdoors, it's worth it.

 

Bowman's Beach

It had been a couple of months since my last visit to Bowman's Beach and since my friend Libby is in town I thought it would be nice to re-visit.

Our Florida weather has been overcast lately but considering the alternatives, I'm not about to complain.

But seeing Red Knots along the shore lightened up the beach.

A Black-bellied Plover manages to stay warm by tucking its leg in and energy is restored by resting.

A Short-billed Dowitcher is following suit.

Notice how this Red Knot is tagged with a green band "XX4", I took this info to Florida Banded Bird Resighting FB page and they directed me to Bandedbirds.org where i was able to report and map this particular bird. Turns out this REKN was first banded in 1/1/07 and has been reported in N.J., S.Carolina, Ontario, Georgia, New Smyrna Beach and twice in Sanibel - previously reported in 11/23/13.

And this little fellow has "6C9" - it was first banded in 1/18/11 in Harbor Island and has since been reported in Kice Island, Fl, Ft.Myers, Georgia, N.J. Keewaydin Island, Florida and Little Estero. This was its first Sanibel report.

It is pretty darn amazing that these little fellows can put so many miles - talk about working overtime!

We saw several groups of Sanderlings - all resting and gathering some energy.

One of the Wilson Plover we saw.

A Great Blue Heron preening.

A Forster Tern with a Laughing Gull.

A Lesser Black-backed Gull in front of a Herring Gull.

Bowman's Beach is known for its shelling properties - a bonus today was a Blue Crab and a bone from a sea turtle's carapace - if you'd like to find out more about a Sea Turtle Skeleton, I found an interesting read at www.marinelife.org

Talking about crabs....I heard that a visitor on Sanibel was inquiring where she could find a beach without so many shells.....

perhaps it provided too much stimulation on her feet....

to me, there's no place like home.

My E-Bird List for today.

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!