Birding with My Sister

It's so nice to have my sister, Beth, and her impish husband, Warren, in town! I wish they could stay, but since they head north to Kure Beach, NC next week, we've been busy checking places off our "must see, must do" list.

On Tuesday, Beth and I left the boys to do their own things and we checked out the Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area at the southern tip of Fort Myers Beach before crossing over the bridge and going shelling at Lover's Key. I took great pictures of several Plovers (Killdeer, Semipalmated, Wilson's), a gorgeous Reddish Egret and colorful Tri-colored Heron and a group of Mottled Ducks - but Beth got the same (and better) pictures so let's all take a short break while you check out her blog at http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/ - but please come back when you are finished!

This big homely gull was standing at the shoreline. If you look closely at the picture, you will see he is making a strong statement about his opinion of me taking his picture! Beth and I were not sure about his identity - but after checking my books, I think he is an immature Ring-billed Gull. Let's see if my sister agrees.

The dolphins were playing in the waves and chasing the fish right up to the shoreline. They attracted quite a crowd and some of the on-lookers were close enough that I think they could have reached out and petted them!

After a quick lunch at Beth's, we headed over to the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel.

We saw lots of beautiful White Pelicans out on a sand bar. They were closer than usual - so I was able to get better pictures.

They are larger than their brown cousins.

This Snowy Egret was standing by a bridge just begging to have his picture taken. I was taken at just how bright yellow his eye, the back of his legs and his feet are.

Look at that color! It looks like he stepped in Caterpillar (the tractor, not the bug) yellow paint. The yellow stripped legs and bright yellow feet are the key in identifying a Snowy Egret.

These are Blue-winged Teal - the first time I have photographed and identified them. The male (to the right) has a white crescent in front of his eye. Back towards his tail, you can see a spot of the blue that gives him his name.

Raccoons are a common sighting at "Ding." This one is a baby who was following his mama along the side of the road.

After collecting the boys, we all went over to Cape Coral to hunt for Burrowing Owls. Beth read "Hoot" and wanted to see the diminutive owls for herself. Bill quickly found a couple sitting by their burrow and we got lots of pictures. They are so adorable! (Every time Beth or I say this, Bill and Warren mock us.)

Our day ended with a delicious dinner at Ariels Seafood Restaurant. Later, I'll post pictures from our Wednesday trip to Corkscrew.

Six-Mile Cypress Slough

As most of the nation is enduring some of the coldest weather of the year, it is sunny and warm here in southern Florida. Bill spent most of the day yesterday at a friends house building and repairing RC airplanes and today he is at the flying field. Since, at the moment, we only have one car, I'm home - doing more than my usual blogging.

My sister Beth came over yesterday and we walked the boardwalk at Six-Mile Cypress Slough. The water table in the swamp appears higher to me than this time last year - even though SW Florida is below normal in rainfall. We saw few wading birds and fewer small birds.

It's always a good day when I get to see a Black-crowned Night Heron.

Late in the day, the sunlight danced on the trees and this Great Blue Heron.

This may be one reason we didn't see as many birds - island maintenance.

I always love the reflections.

The turtles were lined up!

And so were the Ibis.

As we were leaving, flocks of Ibis flew over the lake and landed in the trees. Beth called it the Ibis tree. I had to check to learn what the plural of Ibis is and learned from Wikipedia that "the collective plural is Ibis and the classical plural is Ibises."

Our Trip to the Everglades

Yesterday at o'dark-thirty, Bill and I along with my favorite sister, Beth, headed south to the Everglades. Beth had just taken her hubby, Warren, to the airport so he could hurry back to Rochester, New York just in time for the year's first blizzard.

We started our sight-seeing adventures on Janes Memorial Scenic Drive - an 11-mile dirt road off Route 29 at Copeland - through part of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve. It was foggy early in the morning, but the sun quickly burned through the moisture to produce a picture-perfect day.

This was the day of the hawks. It's easy to see them when they are out in the open, but we spotted several of these beautiful raptors even when they were well camouflaged in the dense woods.

This photo is of a Red-shouldered Hawk who was drying his wings before taking off in search of small rodents. You can see there was still some fog.

Another beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk - posing under the crystal clear blue sky.

And another...

This was quite a surprise. We saw something up ahead that, from a distance, looked like a large branch. It was actually two alligators crossing the road. The larger one was about 8-feet long. We did not get out of the car when we pulled up alongside them.

This is the larger of the two friends.

Wood Storks are endangered here in the U.S. so protecting them, especially during breeding, becomes an important issue at the preserves we visit. Storks may skip a breeding season or desert their eggs if there is too much or not enough rain, effecting the supply of fish.

This Little Blue Heron was looking for lunch.

As was this colorful Green Heron.

I take far too many pictures of Great Egrets - but they are so beautiful, I can't help myself.

This is an adult Black-crowned Night Heron.

And this is also a Black-crowned Night Heron - only this one is a juvenile. We were so proud of ourselves - being able to spot birds hidden in the trees!

We took the lead from all the birds we saw - and stopped for lunch at our favorite Cuban Restaurant. The food is great. We eat outside so we can see the Brown Curly-tailed Lizards playing in the yard. Locals say that they blew-in from Cuba and the Caribbean during one of the hurricanes.

Another of my favorite birds - probably because he is so photogenic - an Anhinga.

Look closely - there is a small alligator resting atop the log. He was about 3 1/2 feet long.

Sister Beth and I posed for Bill to take our picture. Check out Beth's shirt - she buys plain white shirts and dyes them. This is one of my favorites. Beth has a blog with information about quilting and fabric dyeing. Today we will have what she calls "dueling blogs" as we both report on our trip to the Everglades. Be sure to check her account of the day at http://quilterbbethsblog.blogspot.com/

Walking along the boardwalk in another part of Fakahatchee - we saw this Wood Stork thrashing around and shaking his head. We thought he was trying to kill and eat a snake that he caught. It wasn't until I got home and enlarged my pictures that I could see that the snake had wrapped himself around the stork's bill and his neck. I'm not sure who had who - but I'm pleased to report we saw the stork later and he was free - but we don't know if the snake was lunch.

Another alligator - but this one was a baby. He was only about 18 inches long.

Bill and Beth walking back on the boardwalk.

We had a very full day and spotted all sorts of birds and animals. Our skills were honed! We could see a new variety in the distance while driving down the road at 60-miles an hour - which is how we saw the next very rare bird.

Bill made a quick u-turn and headed back so we could identify what we hoped was another life bird. When we stopped to take pictures, the locals started pointing and laughing. Why do you suppose that was????

Harns Marsh with the Caloosa Bird Club

Today, bright and early, Bill and I joined the Caloosa Bird Club at Harns Marsh for one of their regular Monday field trips. I was disorganized - didn't have the right map, forgot my birder hat and didn't have time to make lunch. We were already late, which is unusual for me and unheard of for Bill. We still got there in time to head out on foot around the various lakes.

We've seen several Wood Storks around Fort Myers and now that we've had so much rain, maybe they will stay through the mating season. They need lots of fresh fish to raise a family.

The birds must have known that lots of old people were coming today as the buzzards were out in force. I love to watch them glide on the thermals high in the sky. There are two kinds of Vultures - the more common Turkey Vulture with the red head and the Black Vulture. The black and silver under the wings indicates this is a Turkey Vulture. Black Vultures have pale white at their wing tips.

This was a pleasant surprise - Sandhill Cranes! We saw maybe five in a small group up ahead, just off the trail. I wish my sister had been with us as one of her goals this trip is to see a Sandhill Crane. Another goal is to see the Burrowing Owls in Cape Coral - and I think we can make sure both of those goals are met before she heads back to her beach house in North Carolina for Christmas.

One lonely Roseate Spoonbill! We could see the bright pink across the lake and high in a tree - even without binoculars.

Mottled Ducks are found only in Florida and along the Gulf Coast - in either fresh or salt water marshes. We have a couple of regulars that visit the lake behind our condo.

We saw several Limpkins and heard the "kareeow, kareeow" screams of even more. This one was high in a pine tree.

We saw every variety of heron, ibis and egret. This is a Great Egret.

There were lots and lots of black and white Coots swimming on the ponds.

Not So Sunny and Warm Florida

I've been in Florida for 5 days and haven't taken a picture yet. The weather has been lousy - cold, windy and rainy. The rainfall in Fort Myers was 16 inches below normal when we arrived - and I think we've made up the deficit in the last couple of days! I actually had to wear long pants yesterday and today I have on a sweatshirt - but that doesn't mean I have not been having a great time!

My sister, Beth and her hubby, Warren are in town and we have gotten together every day for lively conversation, camaraderie and Bill's fabulous food. Last night, for a change in scenery, Beth took us to Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grill located under the bridge that leads to Ft. Myers Beach. The restaurant is named for "Doc" Ford - the hero and main character in several of Beth's favorite novels about Southwest Florida written by Randy Wayne White. The restaurant is one of two that White opened in the area. The food was excellent. I am usually disappointed when we go out to dinner because I am so spoiled by Bill's great cooking - but this place was definitely the exception.

Bill is out flying this morning - so I am playing catch-up. I have some pictures I wanted to share from our last days in Colorado - and the last time I saw the sun.

This female Wigeon was hunting for seeds and insects in a park in Pueblo that Bill's daughter, Laura and husband, Tim took us to on the Sunday before we headed south. I like this picture and the way she blends in with the background - but Bill says it's too busy. He likes the ducks on the water.

There were Wigeons everywhere! These are the more colorful males.

On the way home, we stopped at Prospect Lake in Colorado Springs.

The lake is home to a variety of ducks, swans and geese. Most are fairly tame as families come every day with leftover bread to feed them. As soon as the birds spot someone that appears to want to feed them - entire flocks emerge from the water and surround the source of the food. To me, it's kinda sad to see these beautiful wild birds reduced to beggars.

I'm still in awe with the beauty of the Wood Ducks. Even the female has great coloring.

But the males are magnificent!