Sora at the Bailey Tract

After doing the Sanibel Garden Preserves trail, I headed over to the Bailey Tract. It was unusually quiet by the North Dike, so I headed over to the Tarpon Slough. Kent, another birder, was already quite busy observing a Sora - sweet!

It had been at least a year since I saw a Sora at the Bailey Tract, I was happy to be able to watch it for a bit.

A Juvenile Little Blue was nearby, feeding - look how the blue feathers are starting to come in.

There were quite a few Mottled Ducks and Blue Wing Teal in the area still.

A Tricolored Heron in its breeding plumage came by and look how well the Sora is camouflaged along the edge of the pond.

Oh Oh! A couple of Otters came over and seemed to be heading straight for the Sora.

It was nice to see it come back out after the Otters had gone.

Preening time for the Black-necked Stilts.

As I  headed out to my car - I couldn't help but notice that The North Dike had a few ducks, a couple of Black-necked Stilts and a Green heron - standing on the edge of the pond - looking tall.

There's Kent - hard at work taking great photos.

The newest addition to the Bailey Tract.

 

 My E-Bird List for the Bailey Tract http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18118991

 

Ding Darling is Open!

Ding Darling is finally opened - it has been a long time coming.. - it is beautiful and filled with life. The new paving makes for a very smooth ride, the new water structure has already brought about new changes and the wider road and the extra parking spots will help accomodate everyone.
This little Palm Warbler welcomed me back and sat for a bit before flitting about.

The Killdeers sat too for a while and then they took off with their usual "kill-deah" sounds.

Here's a common sight of Ding at low tide...Roseate Spoonbills, Little Blues and Snowys.

The mottled ducks are back too....

the White Pelican too....soon to be joined by many more. The White Pelican is a fresh water feeder and works with others to gather up their feed - as opposed to the Brown Pelican which is a diver feeder - often seen by the ocean side.

Dreamy, isn't it?

Blue Wing Teal

Roseate Spoonbills with a seagull.

The Spotted Sandpiper - wears it's name very well as it bobs (spot)  it's tail all the time.

Great Blue Heron

Great Egrets, Snowy, Tricolored and Juvenile Ibis.

The Stork! One of 20 that I saw that day.

More White Wonders....Great Egrets, Snowy, Juvenile Little Blues, White Ibis and Stork.

I returned to Ding Darling in the afternoon - and joined a group lead by Terry, a volunteer who shared her knowledge about photography. We boarded a tram and drove through the Wildlife Drive - it was mid afternoon and it was very bright and quite a challenge for taking photos of white birds - good opportunity to discuss those points.

Terry is very knowledgable and generous with her time and patience - it was fun and I walked away with some great tips that I look forward to put into practice.....as she said.....you get to be a good photographer by practicing and taking lots of photos and by golly....I'm working on it and loving it.

Gator was there to say farewell - till the next time.....check his smile out! I don't know about you but I  keep my distance at all times.