Soggy Sunday

Sunday....and it's almost sunrise.....I can hear the thunder in the distance, see a glimpse of the sun and feel the call to be with my feathered friends.....and so, I go.

Five minutes later, I'm on the causeway - just in time to catch the sun before it got shadowed by the clouds and rain showers. Then I drive ever so slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of the Black Scoters which have been seen for the past couple of days.

Made my way under the main bridge - paying attention to the structure and life as it unfolds....

A sailboat under sail goes by and I smile as I think about the fact that it's Sunday and it's a day off for a lot of folks and the fact that a little rain is not stopping them from doing the things that they enjoy doing.

Aha! I'm seeing movements.....a bunch of Mergansers are swimming by - I counted 11.

A Royal Tern enjoying his free shower.....easy does it.

Whoa!! This guy is HUGE! I grab my bag and look for my book - darn, it flashes before my eyes and I see it sitting on the kitchen table .... note to self "leave a book in my bag". So, I made sure to take plenty of photos so that I could identify when I got home.

The Sanibel Lighthouse - under the spell of a glow amidst the showers.

A Great Blue Heron - watching the fisherman nearby and me too.

A Great Egret - he had a fish tale that had been discarded - he tried to eat it and finally left it behind - there are better fish out there after all.

I know....very poor photo and very far away....I kept following this common loon, he would come up just long enough for me to put my camera on it and before I could focus and shoot, he was back down under.

Another group of Mergansers - swimming by the edge of the beach....sweet!

The Osprey with his fresh catch - yum.

I find the "HUGE" seagull again - I make a point of noticing the size difference between the other gulls and the terns....more photos...

There it is, in its splendor....A Great Black-backed Gull. It is more common on the Atlantic coast than here. It is the largest and most bulky gull with heavy bill and broad wings, it has pink legs and dusky iris.

This was the first time that I went birding during a rain storm - it's true that I stayed in the car while slowly cruising up and down the causeway, however I must say that I truly enjoyed myself. I also noted that the birds didn't mind the rain at all, actually I thought it was quite the opposite. Also, it made me smile to see so many people enjoying themselves in spite of the weather....fisherman knee deep in the water, sailboats floating by and a bar-b-que being fired up when I left the area....life is good.

 My E-Bird List for this trip