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.

Six Mile Cypress Slough

The Six Mile Cypress Slough is one of my favorite places in south Florida - and we couldn't miss an opportunity to visit while we were in the area. We didn't see too many birds on our short walk, so I took some pictures of Dragonflies.

Look at the neat colors. Now when I see beautiful colors I think how nice they would look in a quilt.



The birds are in full mating plumage. This Great Egret had bright green lores.

The swamp Iris were beautiful.

We don't see as many Osprey in central Florida as we did in Ft. Myers. This hungry hawk was eating his fish dinner atop a light post right in the middle of the median on a busy street.

It's that time of the year and this Red-bellied Woodpecker was excavating a hole in the tree to build a nest. From the looks of it, he had been working for some time.

The end.

Where has December Gone?

Bill and I spent a fabulous couple of weeks at our condo in tropical (not so much) Ft. Myers. Sister Beth and her "dh" were staying on the beach so we spent lots of time together shelling, birding, visiting with friends and the local quilt shops. Since we did not have Internet at the condo, I was not able until now to post pictures. Check out my sister's blog at http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/ for a sneak peak of what's to come here at Parker's Barkers.

Out first outing late in the day was to Six Mile Cypress Slough where we walked the boardwalk through the swamp visiting and taking pictures. Anhingas are common at the swamp, but I always like to see them posing for the camera with their wings spread out to dry in the afternoon sun.

We don't have Cardinals in Colorado, so they are a treat to our eyes.

I love the colors in the background behind this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk.

This Great Blue Heron was really displaying his colors in the sunlight.

Two of them were flying back and forth over one of the ponds.

No, this White Ibis hasn't injured his leg - they often stand on one leg, resting the other. This time of year his bill and legs are pink but in the Spring, when thoughts of love dance through his head, his bill and legs will turn bright red.

Boy did I have a hard time getting this Yellow-throated Warbler to stand still long enough for a decent picture. I also took pictures of a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher and a Common Yellowthroat, but those pictures were not good enough to post. Maybe next time.

Another busy, busy bird - a Black-and-white Warbler.

And busy, busy describes the rest of our vacation with trips to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Lover's Key, Port Charlotte, Ding Darling, Babcock-Webb, Harns Marsh, Cape Coral and Manatee Park. Ocala friends Bob and Peggy joined us for a weekend of fabric shopping and I have lots of pictures that I will post later.

Pileated Woodpeckers!

Up until last year, I don't remember ever seeing a Pileated Woodpecker. He was on my list of "must finds" for a long time until we finally saw one last year here in Fort Myers. The other day I saw one at Estero Bay. Yesterday, we walked the boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve and saw five Pileated Woodpeckers! I took so many pictures, I was sure I would run out of film.

They are gorgeous, big (almost 2 feet tall) birds with a bright red top-notch or crest - just like Woody Woodpecker. The males have a red mustache. I like this picture with the air plant and lichen on the tree and the fall colors in the background.

It was difficult getting a good picture because his head was always moving - drumming on the tree. He was probably looking for insects, but they also drum to announce their territory - and with so many others in the area - he needed to do a lot of announcing.

The red crest and moustache are clearest in this picture.

His bright red crest was easy to spot looking through the trees.

I promise this is the last picture of a woodpecker. We saw other cool things too!

There were not too many wading birds - just a few Ibis.

Look at this Red-shouldered Hawk!

He was sitting high in a tree and we could barely see him without binoculars (but we heard him!). I had to zoom all the way in to get this shot - and then crop it way down. I usually have difficulty with the focus when there are tree limbs in the way - but this one was a pleasant surprise.

A Green Heron hunting for small fish or frogs - maybe a tasty insect or two. According to my book, they "fish" by placing insects on top of the water to attract fish to catch. Pretty smart!

This friendly Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper wanted to join us on our walk.

Look at how amazing he is! His colors were beautiful. I've read that they can produce a bad-smelling odor to deter predators, but this little guy was very friendly and nicely posed on Bill's hand so I could get his picture.

There were a couple of Double-crested Cormorants sitting on a float out in the lake. He appears to be singing - doesn't he?

And our resident alligator was resting by a fallen tree on the far side of the lake. You have to look closely as the reflection in the water is a perfect mirror of what is above water. This alligator is named "Grampa" and is about 14 feet long.

It's just a bit cooler here today - which is a nice break from the record-breaking heat we have been having. Bill is off to the R/Sea Hawks Flying Field and I'm sitting on the lanai enjoying the ducks swimming on the lake. Our friends, Dorothy and Mary Jane arrive today from the cold north and it will be good to see them.

Back to Nature

Things are finally returning to normal here in Fort Myers after our "flood" and we have re-directed our attention to the outdoors and getting back to nature.

Earlier this week we went to one of my favorite places to walk on the beach - Lovers Key. The weather was perfect, the tide was low and the water was warm, perfect for wading. I concentrated on picking up lots of shells while Bill joined a guided beach walk led by a local Naturalist. The Sanderlings were running back and forth with the waves as I bent over again and again picking up shells - Scallops, Figs, Spiny Jewel Boxes, Olives, Tulips, Whelks, Jingles, Slipper Shells, Murexes, Cones, Nutmegs, Clams - but not one Junonia.

And Sand Dollars - I've never seen so many Sand Dollars on the beach! There were hundreds and hundreds scattered everywhere in the sand and in the shallow surf. I would have loved to bring some home - but they were dark-colored meaning they are still alive so I threw them back into the waves. It is illegal to collect live shells here in Florida. I did find one light one which was dead. I brought it home and, along with my other shells, soaked it overnight in a 50% solution of water and bleach.

Another day this week we went to Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve to walk the 1.2 mile boardwalk trail through the 2500 acre wetland. There were only a few wading birds - possibly because the water is too deep - but we saw quite a few turtles. We also saw lots of squirrels playing in the trees and some small birds that wouldn't stay still long enough for either of us to get a decent picture.

The pond cabbage was blooming - and it is beautiful.

One of our resident alligators napping in the water.

We had to go over to Cape Coral to register our car in Florida, so I wanted to check to see if the Burrowing Owls were still there. We only saw a couple - but they are as cute as ever sitting by their burrows.

We are back to the gym to try and lose the pounds we gained while on route and Bill is back flying with his buddies at the R/Sea Hawks Park. We had our bikes out a couple of times - riding to the store and back. The pool beckons most afternoons and we relax on the lanai in the evenings with an adult beverage and the early mornings with coffee. Life is great.

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

After Bill returned from the flying field on Cape Coral, we headed to Six Mile Cypress Slough to walk the boardwalk through this wonderful nature preserve. Today is overcast and we weren't sure if we would see anything special - we were just going for a nice walk.

This Little Blue Heron was shopping for lunch at the lake. Little Blues are pure white for their first year of life so this must be a full grown adult.

Look at this fabulous Red Shouldered Hawk! He was sitting close to the boardwalk and I was able to get some great shots!

Further along we spotted this cute little baby turtle. There are lots of adult turtles that we see basking in the sun right along side of birds and even alligators - but this is the first baby I've spotted.

And my favorite - the Great Blue Heron. I really like taking pictures of them in a natural environ-ment like this.

It is so relaxing walking through this preserve and watching the wildlife. We met a volunteer guide and talked to him for awhile. He told us there is a 14 foot alligator named "grandaddy" who lives in the Slough. He is usually spotted at the 2nd observation point at the first lake. At 14 feet he should be "Grandaddy-SIR."

This is a Great Egret - a beautiful tall, stately bird. At one time it was hunted to near extinction for its long white plumage. The name "Egret" means "ornamental tufts of plumes."

This Anhinga just caught a fish and we watched it for sometime while he shook it and banged it on the log - I guess to kill it before he ate it.

It was a great day at the Slough! We saw more interesting birds and critters today than we have ever seen - and it wasn't crowded!

Bill is making ribs for dinner and the beer is cold - gotta go!