Sweet shore

My plans changed several times within the last 24 hours or so and the winning location turned out to be south Ft.Myers Beach - the traffic has diminished a great deal and heading on that busy street is now doable. Come and see what was on the shore today....

A small raft of Scoters has been reported along the shore and it didn't take long for us to notice them.

We found one Surf Scoter - "rare" according to e-bird. This is a young male which is noticeable by the white and orange bill, when the male becomes an adult it will have a white patch above the bill and behind his head.

This lone Surf Scoter was hanging with 5 female Black Scoter which are really brown, however the male Black Scoter is black.

Several Wilson Plovers were spotted this morning,

the male (on the right) has a darker band below the neck, the female remains brown.

A lone White Pelican was observed, it looks quite young and will most likely stay behind for the time being.

I always find this amazing when I see their pouch and how thin it is when highlighted with the sun.

More Wilson Plover prints.

The Ruddy Turnstone were found in big numbers today - soon they will leave our area and migrate to the High Arctic Tundra of N.Amer where they will nest for the summer.

While we were watching the Ruddy Turnstone a Whimbrel made a brief landing before taking off again - perhaps next time I'll get to see it a tad bit longer.

The Least Terns have arrived and they were quite vocal - a trait that I had forgotten about. They were seen diving in for tiny fish and eating on the fly.

One of them on the right is banded - pale blue over yellow on the right leg.

A White Morph of the Reddish Egret in breeding plumage - take a look at that bubble gum bill!

A pair of Cattle Egret also in their breeding plumage.

A beautiful sunny day makes it enticing for a dip in the Gulf.

Or for a rest on the beach - the Black Scoter seems to know just how to do that. Happy Birding folks! My E-Bird List for today.

Beach & Bird

This is the week before Easter and traditionally it is one of the busiest time for tourism in and around the island - making traffic unbearable at times and as such I spend more time closer to home and enjoy observing the local shorebirds.

And it also happens to be the beginning of Snowy Plover season.

And the Royal Terns are putting on their bright bill and darker crest.

A female Snowy Plover taking a break.

This is what I mean by the height of tourism - birds and humans co-existing.

The Bald Eagle found a shady spot along the beach too.

The Willets were blending quite well, I almost missed them.

One of the new enclosure for the Snowy Plover nesting - a Fish Crow having a good laugh as he says: "boundaries does not apply to me".

 

Then a visit to Bunche Beach with the hopes of locating the Curlew and the Whimbrel but no luck this time, the usual suspects were present - the White Morph of the Reddish Egret with the transmitter was present as well as 6 Dark Morph.

Black Skimmers and a young Great Blue Heron with Fort Myers Beach in the background.

Usual sighting on Bunche - Black Skimmers and Royal Terns.

This one has bands - I could only make out "88".

Sanderlings by the 100s today - most likely getting ready to make their northern journey back.

Well, folks, it's almost migration time - stay tune....it may get exciting.

Merry Christmas

From me to you.

10/23/13 By the Pier at the Lighthouse

 I went out birding every day last week - trying to take advantage of the cold fronts moving through and hoping to catch sights of more migrants. I tend to start out on the beach to witness the beginning of a new day - this particular morning, the colors in the sky were just incredible and even the usual beach bird crowd had a special glow.

Terrific Thursday

What a beautiful sight this was this morning - look how this Oriole just glows in the sunlight! I needed to witness all of these creatures this morning - to remind me that life IS good.

The White Morph of the Reddish Egret - seems like he has made a home by the pier at the Sanibel Lighthouse because he is always there when I go.

This was one of the winning prize this morning - A Swainson's Warbler. He was being secretive and it was very difficult for me to focus my lens on it, I'm just happy that it is somewhat decently clear.

I was also very fortunate for the fact that  Vince M. and Anne T were present on the trail today - going birding with people in the know is extremely helpful for me as a new birder on the field and for that I am grateful.

Here is another shot of that Swainson's Warbler - Look how well he blends in.

The Ovenbird of the day - I recall when I saw a photo that the Stokes posted in the spring about seeing an Ovenbird at Ding Darling and I remember thinking....wow.....I wish that I could see that myself.....and my wish has come through because this past month alone - I've had the opportunity to set my eyes on several Ovenbird - the first being as glorious as the last one.

Eastern Kingbirds - two were visible at the top of the branches - not knowing that there were several near by as it was visible when they all flew up following the construction noise that was taking place by the lighthouse.

Western Kingbird - that was a special treat and very interesting to see it perch so close to the Eastern Kingbird.

It's funny because this morning I went to the Lighthouse, thinking to myself that I would spend only a bit of time before my exercise class - HA! So much for planning - there was so much migration action that I couldn't possibly leave - my exercise class will still be there later but migration is fleeting.
My E-Bird List - A great list for me because I've had the most species in sight ever and I've added many more life birds to my list as well.