Wild Wednesday

I started my day with a visit at Ding Darling - wanting/hoping to see the White Pelicans. Some days you get what you want and today I got something else :) It was incredibly buggy this morning and resorted to birding inside my vehicle and taking pictures through my windows....note to self....make sure to keep windows clean.

A Yellow-Crowned Night Heron landed near me and made me smile - I love these guys.

By the tower - a group of Woodstorks were busy preening and getting ready for the day.

A Great Blue Heron was nearby - watching others.

Some Short-billed Dowitchers

A Black-bellied Plover without its black belly

Another Great Blue Heron

The morning treat: A Kingfisher lady landed not too far from me and stayed for a while. I noticed the two white spots in front of its eyes - making me think of headlights.

Watching the blue sky and in deep thoughts perhaps.

I also made a stop along the Caloosa Trail and spotted a Magnolia Warbler who made the sweetest sound ever - it moved way quicker than my ability to photograph it - however this visual and sound was accentuated with a heavenly smell from these flowers and it truly made for a perfect stroll, never a boring moment.           

 After a break and some refreshments, I headed out to the Bailey Tract and had a grand time....come and see.....

A gator across the pond and from the look of it, I believe it probably measures close to 10 feet, I wouldn't want to mess with that one.

Soon after, I noticed a family of Raccoons heading in my direction and I wondered how close they were going to get.....

Before I could think any further, they veered to the right and disappeared into the bushes...

This little fellow seemed to lag a bit behind, then....with a sprint....he bolted forward "Wait for me!"

Now, here's a funny sight! A Little Blue Heron taking a cooling bath.

I thought he was in quite deep.....

only to see it go even deeper. For a minute there I thought he was going to get his head under too, but at last he turned and headed away - most likely to do some deep preening.

My attention got turned around when I heard a high-pitched twittering and I knew who that was....

A Bald Eagle - what a grand way to end the birding day!

 

Birding Bailey with Birding Buddies

It's another beautiful day in sunny paradise and I've been invited by Dotty to go birding the Bailey Tract with her friends, Suzanne and Elaine from Texas- I am a happy camper.

The Red-shouldered Hawk was one of our first visitor on the trail.

Shortly thereafter, we spotted and heard several House Wren, some of which were young birds.

The Palm Warblers were a dime a dozen, here they are feasting on bugs within the Goldenrod.

The Phoebe sang his heart too.

We made our way through the Bailey Tract and made a skip over to the Sanibel Garden Preserves and in the process bumped into another group of birders - Ruth Parks, her sister and two friends - so we joined forces and added more eyes on the trail.

This Anhinga posed for us nicely and the Dragonfly decided to join in as well.

A lady Kingfisher with a bad hair day.

The lady Kingfisher is one of the rare birds which sports more color (rust on breast) than the male.

"Enough of that, I'm outta here."

Brown Pelicans overhead.

Bald Eagles chattering away - we saw 4.

An Anhinga in the woods drying its wings and blending with the twigs and branches.

Here's the rest of my gang also trying to photograph the Anhinga.

A Tricolored Heron - with feathers every which way - did I tell you it was a windy day? 

 

As always, it was a great day and today was blessed with good company as well - it doesn't get any better than that. My E-Bird List for today http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20352225

Saturday Stroll at Sunrise

Looks like the Blue-winged Teal are starting to arrive.

The ladies have more subdued colors than the male.

This is definitely my peaceful place and those colors really speak to me.

Common Yellow-throat were quite vocal this morning.

The Mockingbirds were in great numbers, they have been expanding their families.

Some wasps are busy and looking forward to expand as well.

A beautiful Queen Butterfly.

Palm Warblers with their golden hues.