Happy Father's Day!

I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there - I hope that you get around to take time for yourself and enjoy the day.

I went out with the crack of dawn for some reflection and just to enjoy the beautiful gifts that a nature walks provide.

And it all began with a beautiful sunrise.

A Southern Leopard Frog leaped by my feet - oh how captivating!

The Swallow-tailed Kites are always a pleasure to catch a glimpse of.

This lady Pileated Woodpecker was rather frazzled about something as can be seen by her crest.

I never get tired of seeing those - do you?

A Zebra Longwing - I love how they seemingly float in the air and how they bring instant peace when I see them.

A Brown Anole aka Cuban Anole

A Great Blue Heron - I find it interesting how skittish they are especially for their size, it was quite a distance away yet reacted to my movements.

Down the trail I discovered some turtle eggs that had been dug up - most likely eaten by the local Coyotes.

One of three generations of Common Gallinule - I watched them this morning and marveled how the younger Gallinules were helping to take care of the brand new chicks along with the parents.

A walk through the Bailey Tract would not be the same without those lacy Dragonflies.

A Green Anole blending in on a new green shoot.

A Green Heron - I see a lot of them this time of the year....young and old ones.

This Osprey was relishing his fresh catch of the day - which reminds me that I'd better get home and fix a nice breakfast for my hubby - it's the least that I can do to thank him for being a great dad to our children for so many years.....Tony, you rock!

 

Bailey on Sunday

My home away from home is definitely the Bailey Tract - as soon as I set foot on the trail, it just feels right and today was no exception. I had a great time listening to all the songs surrounding me....the chuck-will's-widow for one and the Common Yellow-throat - oh, how I love his spring tune.

I was glad that I had enough light to see him.

The sun is coming up and my favorite color is aglow.

Along the Middle Dike, the Common Gallinule family was awake and ready for the day.

Oh my! What a nice surprise! An American Bittern in the tall reeds - somewhat blending in with its surrounding...

I was far enough away to observe it without disturbing it. I later reported my bird list to e-bird and I was surprised to get a 'rare' box, supposedly this fellow should have left to northern grounds by now.

Not too far away, a Prairie Warbler alerted me to its presence by singing - what a bright sunshine they are!

A skip over to the Sanibel Garden Preserve provided me with great views of the Swallow-tailed Kites.

How lovely to have them sitting still and preening away!

And here's another sweet surprise - a Cape May Warbler in its breeding plumage - most likely on its way north.

And the lovely Killdeer family - sweet!

I was going to delete this photo until I saw the smiley face - do you see it?

I'm smiling as I look at these Sabatia and thinking about my friend Elaine Jacobson, her spirit lives on.

A Dragonfly hanging on and seemingly floating in the golden air.

Peek-a-boo from a Common Buckeye

A lovely Peacock Butterfly stealing the 'star' show.

My last sighting - a Blackpoll along the Bailey Tract - a nice treat that will go on my 'Bailey' list. Another great outing - now I'm ready to face the day.

 

A beach morning walk along Sanibel shore

An early rising brought me to the beach and as always I was pleased with my encounters. Come along and see....

A couple Dragonflies were spinning around before they landed by my feet, I watched for a bit before they flew off again.

 I'm not quite sure what that was about, so you be the judge. 
I was then drawn to a 'shell' art - just beautiful to see this gratitude message with the shorebirds on top.

Then, the sunrise in all its glory - nature is beautiful just as it is.

A small group of Sandwich Terns - take a look at their bill and see how it looks as if they dipped it in mustard - of course the last one on the right has yet to reach that stage since he's still maturing.

A little pool within the sandy beach was a perfect spot for this Snowy Egret's breakfast.

It was hard to peel away from the Snowy at first but I soon was distracted by the Black-bellied Plover and the Sanderling.

Shortly after I went to the Lighthouse to check things out - a walk along the dirt trail provided good viewing of a Skipper.

Isn't it amazing how they look when we can see the details up close - I didn't realize how 'hairy looking' this guy was.

I then went near the pier and saw this Loggerhead Sea Turtle - well, what's left of it. It most likely suffered from propeller injuries and then became food for the sea life.

The turtle was reported and will be removed from the beach after detailed information is taken and recorded with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Take a look at this back limb -isn't it just incredible that they can create a perfect cylinder chamber to deposit their eggs in with such a large flipper? Isn't nature just amazing?

On the other side of the Pier, a dark morph of the Reddish Egret with Snowy Egrets - all seemingly waiting for a hand out from the fisherman.

A Willet was nearby - a one leg willet.

On my way back to the car, I heard and saw several Eastern Kingbird - I though he looked a little scruffy - so, he cleaned up his act ....

"How's that!"