Back to Fort Myers

Over the weekend Bill and I visited our good friends Wendy & Larry in Cape Coral. Naturally, we found some time to get a little birding in.

This beautiful Bald Eagle was perched just a couple of houses away from Wendy's. What a great way to begin our day!

I've only seen a Reddish Egret one other time while walking on the beach in Fort Myers with my sister. This one was at Ding Darling on Sanibel.  Unfortunately, it was about the only bird we saw at Ding Darling!

Love the hairdo!

Harns Marsh is one of our most favorite places to visit. We arrived just as the sun was coming up through the fog. There were several Limpkins making lots of noise.

We saw about 5 Sandhill Cranes and they too were loudly protesting the arrival of morning.

Harns Marsh is one of the few places you can see Snail Kites and we were not disappointed. We saw about a dozen including several juveniles.

 After our visit to Harns Marsh we walked Six-Mile Cypress. I was delighted to see this Ovenbird.

Every time we visit, the slough is different - but we always see Double-crested Cormorants.

And Anhingas

This is a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. We saw a couple of adults, but they were deep in the bushes and I could not get a decent picture.

We saw a few smaller birds, including a Black-throated Green Warbler, but the light was terrible for pictures.

It was nice to visit our old stomping grounds, but we are glad we moved to Ocala. The traffic in Fort Myers, Sanible & Captiva was horrible. Our visit was special but we were glad to get home.

A Short Visit to Fort Myers

Bill and I had an unexpected trip to Fort Myers after the couple renting our condo left early. Last year at this time we experienced a bird fall-out on Sanibel Island (http://parkersbarkers.blogspot.com/2012/04/sanibel-lighthouse-migratory-bird.html) so even before we set our suitcase down, we hurried over the causeway to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Sanibel's Lighthouse Beach hoping to see some of the neo-tropical migrants flying north from South and Central America. There were none. Looking at the empty Gumbo Limbo Tree, I realized what an extraordinary experience we had last year. Even Metro Parkway was devoid of birds!

This is the only picture I took at Ding Darling - a Catbird. Yes, there was a tiny smattering of the usual shore birds - one White Pelican, the usual Osprey, a couple of Cormorants and several Willets - but that was it! Lighthouse Beach was even more disappointing. We had planned to spend the next day on the island but went to Harns Marsh instead.

We were greeted at Harns Marsh by a Sandhill Crane family. One adult flew away and the others quickly hid in the heavy foliage.

The marsh was beautiful with the early morning light playing on the water. We usually see large flocks of herons and egrets, coots and moorhens, but there were only a few this time. It didn't matter - this Great Egret, in breeding plumage is always fun to see.

...as was this Tri-colored Heron. Look at that bright blue beak!

He was showing off his feathered headdress. I hadn't noticed this before my sister showed pictures on her blog (http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-just-cant-stop-making-purses-worse.html).

His colors were wonderful!

There were several Limpkin making lots of noise.

...and the usual Red-winged Blackbirds.

A couple of Black-necked Stilts flew over the marsh.

...and the Sandhill Crane returned and posed for pictures. Our trip to Fort Myers was short. We met with our rental agent, restocked and replaced a couple of lanai chairs, visited with friends and closed the condo for the summer before heading back to Ocala.

Next week Bill and I will head back to Colorado for the summer. We plan to travel via Route 10 through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, doing some birding along the way. I hate to see the season end as I really love it here at On Top of the World - but we'll be back!

The Other Side of Harns Marsh

After we left the part of Harns Marsh where we usually visit, we headed round the bend to the backside of the marsh where we were told the Snail Kites were.

And there were lots of Snail Kites!

They were pretty far out so these pictures have been cropped a lot. Most were too foggy to publish. I should have brought my tripod - but it's back in Ocala.

As I watched the Snail Kites, Bill decided to drive the car to the other end of the road and pick me up there. My back was hurting and he was being his usual sweet self.

I never tire of seeing these birds.

I also saw more Limpkin. This one was fairly close.

And her partner was nearby.

Then I saw them! Mom was leading her chicks back to the nest.

They were so cute! I took lots and lots of pictures as I slowly walked along the canal. Gee, I wonder where Bill got to - I don't see him up ahead.

The day was getting warmer and I was walking slower and slower - bad back. I still didn't see Bill.

The flowers and butterflies were wonderful to watch. But where the heck is Bill??!!

When I turned the bend, there he was, stuck in the sand! As I was taking my time - taking pictures and enjoying the birds and flowers, he was trying desperately to get the car out of the sugar sand. It was pretty hot and his face was bright red. I made him stop, drink a bottle of water and we called AAA.

Within the hour this huge rig showed up. They told us that they pull people out of this road all the time - mostly Realtors who say their GPS takes them this way, and birders. They also said AAA would not pay because we were more than 10 feet off asphalt. AND - they had to send for another truck! Bubba's 4-wheel drive pick-up managed to get us out of the sand trap. This was an expensive birding trip - but I got some cool pictures!

The next day, Bill was pretty sore - but he's on the mend now - off to the Cape Coral RC Flying Field this morning. This afternoon, my sister Beth arrives for a week. Hopefully our birding adventures will not include a tow truck!

Harns Marsh

Harns Marsh in Lehigh Acres is one of our favorite birding venues here in SW Florida - but we never know what we'll see.

This time of year, the water level is low - but we saw lots and lots of birds.

The Wood Storks spent the morning with their heads in the water looking for fish.

Wood Storks are huge birds with ugly heads and beautiful bodies.

These twins were moving from one pond to another.

We always see lots of Tricolored Herons. They are small - about the size of the Little Blue Herons, but have white on their necks and chests.

One of my favorite South Florida birds - Roseate Spoonbills.

Beautiful, beautiful birds with unusual bills.

We saw more Limpkin than we've ever seen in one place.

They were nesting.

This is an immature White Ibis. He will turn all white within the year. That's a noisy female Grackle in the background.

Snowy Egret, Great Egret and Roseate Spoonbill.

Everywhere we looked we saw lots of birds - all trying to get their share of the items on the day's menu. The dark birds are Glossy Ibis.

The Great Egret are about the same size as the Great Blue Heron.







While we were there, what must have been an Eco-Safari arrived to see the birds. They didn't stay very long - but took lots of pictures.

Great Egret





The Glossy Ibis wore colors that I've never seen before - full mating plumage.



The Cattle Egret are clowns. Notice the pink blush on his head and chest - mating colors.

This Wood Stork seems to be having an angry discussion with his friend - but he's just coming in for a landing.

A Little Blue Heron - notice the bright blue beak typical of mating season.

It was a special treat to see Black-necked Stilts.

We got to Harns Marsh shortly after sunrise and this photographer was already there. His name is Dave. Bill commented to him that we hadn't seen any Snail Kites. This is usually the place to see these rare birds. Well Dave, a regular, told us we needed to head down Sunshine, turn on 25th and look for the school. He told us to turn onto the dirt road and go back to the other side of the Marsh to see the Kites. We followed his directions and our adventure (!) will be in my next blog. Stay tuned.