Babies, Coyote, Oh My!

We've been under a deluge these past couple of weeks and the landscape has changed quite a bit due to the excess water - causing some of the birds to change their hangouts. I ventured out this morning and I was lucky to stay dry however for the time being I had to rename the Bailey Tract to MosquitoeVille....if you go be prepared. Come along and see what was on my path today.....

Now that is interesting - I've never seen the Black-necked Stilts on the grass before

The chicks are really growing up fast, one of them even attempted to fly

I kept watching and I couldn't believe my own eyes that they were venturing down the street!

I hope they stay safe and are able to make their journey back south safely.

Not too far from there I caught sight of a family of Killdeer.

On my way back I spotted a Coyote in the distance, I think it spotted me at the same time too.

It did not let me get very close before sprinting out of sight and into the field - the field is flooded and I could hear two of them running away from me.

After getting back to my car for more mosquito spray - I decided to take a quick drive to the Indigo Trail at Ding Darling.

A family of Yellow-crowned Night Heron seems to be doing well.

Those chicks are growing up fast too.

Not too far was another Yellow-crowned Night Heron pair.

A pair of Green Heron that recently fledged their nest.

Back for another look of those Yellow-crowned Night Heron - it's hard to stay away from watching those two.

They have such cute expressions that begs captions.

A Great-Blue Heron made a quick appearance.

And this concludes my visit for today - stay tuned for my next adventure.

 

Home stretch - recap

Migration is winding down and we're on the home stretch now - I had the opportunity to go to the Lighthouse and to travel through Ding Darling in search of the latest migrants, this year we are not seeing the birds in great numbers which, in essence, means the birds are finding some favorable conditions for traveling north - we wish them well. 

One exception though was seeing the Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks by the dozen - that was quite exciting and OH! what eye candy they are.

A Yellow-crowned Night Heron probably wondered what the fuss was all about - however it paid us no mind and went about its feeding business.

The Scarlet Tanager on the other hand truly stole the show!

I found another along the Shell Mound and this one was sound asleep and all tucked in behind 1000s sticks, it was probably exhausted from the trip and needed some rest before resuming its journey.

Another visit to the Lighthouse and this time we found a female Scarlet Tanager....

a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak and....

a few males around the corner - they were not so generous with us and kept hidden for the most part.

This morning I returned to my ole stomping ground - the Bailey Tract - where I observed several Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings.

Of course the regulars came into play too and it was most enjoyable to watch this Mottled Duck family come straight toward me - I stood still so as not to spook them and they walked right by me.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker caught my attention when the sawdust started to fly around.

Along the edge of the Sanibel River several gators were seen getting their sun rituals, I pointed them out to the visitors and they were quite delighted to see them.

Around the corner a Black-necked Stilt was spotted on the nest, soon we will have little chicks walking around.

Those Stilts are just so elegant looking.

As I was heading out a group of Least Sandpipers landed along the island within the Ani Pond - sweet! This day at the Bailey Tract this morning turned out to be a fantastic spree - I tallied up 56 species - a record for me at this location. See my E-bird List for today.

Ding Darling - Wildlife Drive

Several interesting birds have made an appearance in Sanibel this past week - One Brant was seen and photographed along the Wildlife Drive by one person. A Hermit Thrush was reported at the Sanibel Garden preserve, I've made three separate attempt to locate it, unfortunately it lived up to its name for my sake. And then, yesterday, a Long-tailed Duck was photographed off Colon's Point at Ding Darling. I figured three's the charm and hoped to see a new bird - so off I go.....

It was in the early morning hours and the tide was low - a perfect combo for a drive along Ding Darling. The first pond provided great views of the Yellow-crowned Night Herons.

At the Mangrove Overlook -hundreds of white birds could be seen in the distance.

And so were the White Pelicans, we are glad they are back.

The White Ibis were in great numbers as were....

the Snowy Egrets.

Some Hooded Mergansers had been reported too however I managed to spot 3 Red-breasted Mergansers instead. This may not have been my luckiest week for finding some of those sought after birds - all in all though I can't complain because, after all, I live in sunny Florida where I can still see plenty of beautiful birds, I am blessed.

 

Bits and pieces

Sea Turtle Season is once again upon us and I've been busy with meetings and getting things ready - something that I love to do and I've had to rearrange my schedule and my birding time has changed some. Don't get me wrong, I can't stay away from birding but I also can't be spending as much time as I am accustomed to. In as much - I've gathered up the little bits of pieces of this past week - so come along and see what came down my neck of the woods.....

A visit along the Indigo Trail at Ding Darling brought me to observe this Yellow-crowned Night Heron which has been trying to nest - the first nest was destroyed by an Anhinga and now the YCNH is rebuilding.

The Green Herons were plentiful - check the breeding colors on these legs!

One Green Heron nest being tended to.

 

This weekend I found myself around Island Inn Rd area in Sanibel - a Red-shouldered Hawk was really glowing in the early morning light.

A Marsh Rabbit - did you know that rabbit can swim! Marsh Rabbit are especially good at it.

It also blends very well in this particular spot.

A young family of Killdeer was really sweet to discover - I wish I could spend more time with them but they were quite distraught for the short few minutes that I was there.

I knew too that all that raucous would alert some predators - so I quickly retreated.

and so did one of the little ones....

"now you see me.....

now you don't."

A Swallow-tailed Kite was seen gathering some nesting material.

And who do you think is deep within this cavity?

If you guessed Common Grackle, then you were right on.

More Swallow-tailed Kites seen in that area.

A beautiful Cape May Warbler in the tree top - talk about eye candy!

A Gopher Tortoise was checking things out by the Lighthouse.

Check the dewlap on this Anole!

A Native Green Anole - we don't see those very often.

An Eastern Kingbird by the Lighthouse - check the white band at the end of the tail, always a good clue for i.d.

 

Along the Shell Mound Trail - a young White Ibis is holding down the fort - king of the sticks.

A pair of Screech Owl was well hidden from prying eyes, can you find them? I hope you are getting out there and finding some treasures of your own - life is short - go outside!