Metro Parkway

We found a new place right here in Fort Myers that's full of tropical birds. It's at the intersection of Metro Parkway and Six Mile Cypress - beside the Orange Juice place. We first saw it from the road - then I checked http://swfloridabirder.blogspot.com/ and he confirmed this was a place to see!

There was a huge variety of birds: stilts, herons, egrets, spoonbills, kites, ibises, storks and pelicans.

This is an immature Little Blue Heron.



I can't get over how red the bill and feet are on this breeding White Ibis!

I never get tired of seeing Black-necked Stilt. They are so cute - maybe it's the long pink legs.

The pond was clear so I got some nice reflections.

The way this Snowy Egret is all puffed up - I think it must be a juvenile.

The Roseate Spoonbill in the middle is a 1st year juvenile and the ones on either side (with the bright red stripe on the wings) are breeding adults. White Pelicans are swimming and feeding behind them.

White Pelicans - right here in town!

This immature Little Blue Heron had me stumped - because of the crown feathers - but after looking at my pictures, the adults also have these.

White Ibis sporting their best breeding plumage.

Tricolor Heron canopy feeding: they shade the water with their wings to better see the fish.

I was surprised to see so many Wood Storks. The staff at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary reports that the Wood Stork did not nest again this year - a very bad sign for the species.



I know the Great Egrets are common - but I never tire of seeing them.

It's a happy day in the state of Florida when the Swallow-tail Kites return in March. They are so cool to watch - but we are told they are very nasty birds - king of the sky.

These three babies (at least I think they're babies!) have me stumped. They were on one of the islands in the pond - so that probably rules out Cattle Egret as they prefer dry land.

I can't see their bills well enough to see the shape - could they be Roseate Spoonbill chicks? We saw several Roseate Spoonbill adults and 1st year juveniles in the vicinity. There were also lots of Great Egrets around - but their babies shouldn't be pink. Please let me know if you know what they are!

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.

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Sanibel's Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is a short $6 ride over the Sanibel Causeway from Fort Myers. Ding Darling features a Wildlife Drive through the 6,400-acre refuge. It is open to visitors everyday BUT Friday. Guess what day we picked to go. Another $6 - and we were back on Monday. Since I have a National Parks Lifetime Senior Pass, the $5 per car admission was waved.

This Red-bellied Woodpecker is enjoying the berries on a bush by the side of the road. He is named for the tinge of red on his belly - which I have yet to see. He is often misidentified as a Red-headed Woodpecker which has an all red head and solid black back.

Ding Darling is home to a large flock of White Pelicans. Their cousins, the Brown Pelicans, perform the wild aerobatics - diving head-first into the water - that visitors find so entertaining here in Florida. White Pelicans just kind of stand around in big groups looking pretty.

Loggerhead Shrikes are common around here. I like this picture because you can clearly see the hawk-like bill.

Another common Florida bird is the Osprey. They are large eagle-like birds and the only raptor that plunges feet-first into the water to snag fish. I usually see them flying overhead or sitting in a tree - so it was a treat to see this one standing in shallow water.

I love the profile of the Belted Kingfisher - his head looks too big for his body. He is sitting in a tree over-looking a large tidal pool deciding which fish he wants for lunch.

Little Blue Herons are fairly common near both fresh and salt water.

I think this is the rarer, slightly larger Reddish Egret, also part of the heron family.

Isn't this grumpy old man just wonderful? He is actually an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

There was a large group of Pied-billed Grebes on the water but they did not want to be photographed and quickly swam away as I got closer.

I know these are just common Mourning Doves - but it is so rare to get a picture of them in a tree instead of on their usual perch - overhead wires. The nest-like mass on the limb is an air plant.

These two doves were singing love songs back and forth and did not seem to notice me.

I saw several Roseate Spoonbills and an outstanding male Magnificent Frigatebird flying overhead - but did not get decent pictures of either. Maybe next time.