Lighthouse

One of my very favorite things to do on Sanibel is to go to the lighthouse beach just before the sun comes up. I have never been disappointed. Today was my last visit to the lighthouse this year and I was rewarded with a special treat. Just as the sun broke the horizon a Magnificent Frigatebird appeared. It was riding a gentle thermal and circled between me and the lighthouse. As per usual, my camera was ready and I captured the silhouette of the bird as it passed the light of the Sanibel Lighthouse. That is all from Sanibel until next year.

Birds in Flight

Undulating back and forth, up and down and doing this without running into each other. Breathtaking to say the least. Featured in this show are Dunlins.

Prairie Warbler

In Illinois, the prairie state, the Prairie Warbler is a rare visitor. In fact, this bird is not well named because it favors dense second growth and thickets, not open prairie. It is common in Florida and frequents the mangrove swamps. This guy was feeding on little green worms in the mangroves lining the edge of the wildlife drive in Ding Darling NWR. We had never seen a Prairie Warbler so this was quite a treat as she darted from branch to branch.

Wilson's Plover

In Southwest Florida in the winter months there are four small plovers to be seen. The largest of the four and the one with the biggest bill is the Wilson's Plover. I have never seen this plover on Sanibel Island. The one pictured was taken at Fort Desoto Park.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

A nocturnal heron of the southern swamps and coasts, the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron can also be found breeding along wooded streams northward to Indiana and Illinois. Even though I just said this is a nocturnal bird I often see it feeding in the daytime. It moves very slowly along the waters edge looking mostly for crabs. This slow movement makes it fairly easy to photograph.

American Oystercatcher

The previous post showed an American Oystercatcher with a group of shorebirds. Pictured here are close ups of this very unusual bird.

American Oystercatcher

Featured in this photo is the American Oystercatcher who has a bright red bill, black head, brown back and white belly. True to its name, it is specialized in feeding on bivalves (oysters, clams, and mussels) and uses its brightly colored bill to get at them. Its habitat is the coastal islands, beaches, and mudflats.

Ducks

Pictured are a Redhead and Ring-necked Duck. I will let you guess which is which. Well one hint is the Ring-necked has a white ring around its bill, consequently the name ring-necked. Confused? Well the Ring-necked does have a light brown ring around its' neck which is hardly noticeable. We spotted these ducks with others in a pond along the road to Fort Desoto State Park. Located south of St. Petersburg, we found this park to be quite lovely and hopefully we will go again next year and explore it with our grandson Zachary Cole Ezetta.

Bald Eagles

In August of 2004, Hurricane Charley blew through Southwest Florida destroying many homes. One of the homes destroyed was the tree that housed a Bald Eagles' nest. So, they relocated to an Australian Pine next to the Dairy Queen. The last four years I have intently observed the eagles who would care for their young and do daily house maintenence. This year, however, other tree branches have grown in front of the nest (anyone got a chain saw) and a couple the dead trees on which they used to perch have blown down. Consequently, I haven't been able to see or, more importantly, photograph them - until this morning. They were both sitting together on a dead snag. It was a foggy, misty morning so I gave it my best shot.

American White Pelican

The White Pelican does not dive for fish as the Brown Pelican does. Instead, it dips its head underwater to scoop up fish. Several pelicans may fish cooperatively, moving into a circle to concentrate fish, and then dipping their heads under simultaneously to catch fish. As they do this they usually attract a crowd of other birds such as Ibis and Egrets which can make for a spectular site. I was lucky to witness such an event yesterday.

Two Spoonbills

I recently posted pictures of Roseate Spoonbills but I thought this picture showed off their name sake bill from the front, the side, and even the inside. This is truly a very beautiful but a bit prehistoric looking bird.

Osprey

Osprey were once threatened due to the use of DDT and loss of habitat. DDT has long been banned (in the U.S.)and man has helped provide nesting areas by building platforms. The bird pictured was sitting on a dead snag and I captured the lift off. He has what appears to be a direct bead on me!

Three Skimmers

I combined three pictures of the same Black Skimmer preparing to lay down. Most Skimmers I have seen stand with their head tucked back against their body to rest, so this guy laying on the sand seemed a bit unusual.

Roseate Spoonbill

The Roseate Spoonbill is a bird of the Southeastern U.S. coasts. Its pink feathers and spoon shaped bill make it a big attaction to the birders and tourists of Sanibel. Tourists are the ones who call it a Flamingo. In the pictures I took today
I show the bird landing, feeding (it sweeps its' partially open bill back and forth in the water until feels something to eat), preening (cleaning itself), and taking off.

Lighthouse Cafe

The Lighthouse Cafe, located on the East end of the island, is famous world wide for their great breakfast. Each wall is covered with pictures of different lighthouse pictures that have been given to Mike, the owner, over the years. This year, it was my turn to have my Sanibel Lighthouse picture hung with care in a very prominent location. The picture posted shows the front of the cafe with a very cute young Mother and a very cute young baby looking out the window. They look very happy to be in sunny Sanibel instead of rainy Portland, Oregon. They have enjoyed their breakfast.

Cooper's Hawk

I was on a bike ride late this afternoon when I spotted this Cooper's Hawk sitting in a tree down by the Lighthouse Park. Of course I wasn't carrying my camera on my bike. Praying that he would hang tight for a little while, I rode home, grabbed my camera and jumped in the car, hoping against hope that he would still be there when I arrived back at the Lighthouse. I was really pleased to see that he was still on his perch and I got a few shots before he flew. Cooper's are hard to distinguish from Sharp-shinned Hawks. The Cooper's Hawk is larger than a Sharp-shinned Hawk and the Cooper's tail is more rounded at the bottom. They prey on mid-sized birds like pigeons, robins and flickers. They also dine on the occasional reptile and small mammal. If the birds at your bird feeder suddenly disperse in a panic, it usually means a Cooper's Hawk has landed nearby.

Snowy Egret

The Snowy Egret is easily recgonized if you can see its black legs and golden feet. Graceful plumes on head, neck and back are striking and sunlit feathers show off this beautiful bird. This bird was photographed by the fishing pier trying to steal some bait.

Sun Rise over Hood

My last post reminded of a picture I took several years ago of the Sun rising over Mt. Hood or was it setting. Oh well I thought it made for very interesting photo.

Sun UP

At the Lighthouse beach every morning a few people gather just to watch the sun come up. It means getting up before the sun (prerequiste) but it is always worth it unless it is cloudy.

Magnificent Frigatebird

The Magnificent Frigatebird is a long-winged, fork-tailed bird of tropical oceans. It is an agile flier that snatches food off the surface of the ocean and steals food from other birds. It breeds mostly south of the United States, but wanders northward along the coasts during nonbreeding season. This bird was photograghed early this morning flying along the beaches of the Sanibel Lighthouse.

Big Green Lizard

We were in the Everglades yesterday mostly looking for birds to photo, when we came across this big green lizard. Pretty sure he/she is a not bird. Pretty sure I don't have a clue to what his/her real name is but thought it was neat.

Piping Plover

The Piping Plover a small shorebird which is on the endangered and threatened list of birds. Its story is similiar to lots of animals were its habitat is being lost, mostly to development along the coast. The bird pictured was taken at Bunche Beach which was saved from developers by the City of Ft. Myers a couple of years ago. Good for them.

Yellow-throated Warbler

The name fits the bird because he indeed has a yellow throat. During migration, this bird is in Illinois but usually is high in the trees and is heard more often than seen. Well, it's January and I am in Florida and my wife noticed this guy jumping around on a Seagrape next to our driveway. Yellow-thoated Warblers are located mainly in the southeastern United States and fairly common to Florida.

Snowy Egret

It was warm this afternoon and this Snowy Egret needed a cool drink. I liked the circular ripples the water made as the bird drank.

Black Skimmers

If you want to see Black Skimmers, and lots of them, go to Bunche Beach. Bunche Beach is located between Sanibel Island and Ft. Myers Beach, FL. I estimated between 300 and 500 in a group today and they were very close to where people sunbathe. Bunche Beach is a public beach. We were extremely pleased when the powers that be prohibited dogs on this beach. Irresponsible dog owners would allow their dogs to run offleash and chase the birds as they fed and rested. This is also great place to view other shore birds feeding out on the sandy flats when the tide is low. Not all the birds pictured are Skimmers. There are also a couple of Terns in the group.

Great Egret

What do Great Egrets eat? Well, they eat long skinny fish and they eat fat fish. After watching this Great Egret swallow a fat fish whole, you might say he then had a lump in his throat for awhile. Great Egrets were hunted for their beautiful feather plumes in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Their numbers decreased by 95 percent. They are now protected by law and their numbers are stable. The Great Egret is also the symbol of the National Audubon Society.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Herons are found in wetland habitat. The ones shown(one is an immature) were taken in Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. As the name somewhat implies they feed mostly at night and dusk and since they use the same habitat as other herons who feed in the daytime there is less competition for the food. This is not an uncommon bird but is often hard to see in the daytime.

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plovers feed and nest just above high tide lines. This is also the place people like to walk and sunbathe, so they are competing with humans for habitat and, as usual, the Snowy Plovers are on the losing end. On Sanibel, Snowy Plover breeding areas are marked and protected. The bird pictured was part of a group of six which have stayed in the same general area for the last few years. These birds are very small and blend in beautifully with the sand. Snowy Plovers are really fun to watch as they run about on the beach, looking for food.

Burrowing Owl

CUTE! This is one word that best describes the Burrowing Owl. They live underground in tunnels which they dig themselves or use burrows dug by prairie dogs, skunks, tortoises, or armadillos. They usually hunt at night but are often seen in the daytime standing near the entrance to their burrow. The birds pictured here were taken in Cape Coral, FL. Their burrows are mostly located in the empty lots of residential neighborhoods. They seem to coexist with man as long as man just leaves them a hole or two to crawl into.

Woodpeckers

Pictured are a Pileated and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. These birds reside in Illinois but the ones shown here were photographed today on Sanibel Island, Fl. For whatever reason, the birds here are much more approachable than at home in Illinois and I was less than 10 yards away when I took these pictures. Both birds were on the same palm tree. We will be here for a month and I will hopefully post many more photos of the birds here on Sanibel and in the area. Tomorrow, I will be looking for the Burrowing Owls in the neighboring town of Cape Coral.