Ft. Myers Beach and Trip to Sanibel

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

We drove down early to Lovers Key State Park and took a walk along Big Carlos Pass with a view of the bridge and the south end of Estero Island where we were staying.

We watched boats going out of the waterway and could see the wide expanse of beach we walked on yesterday at the south end of our long walk along the sand spit.

We watched this boat go out and then walked back past a marshy area where some birds were feeding, but except for this white heron, the light was not right for photography. Exploring further there didn't look too promising, so we headed back for breakfast and made plans to go pick up Wesley for the trip to Sanibel.

We drove to Sanibel and took the scenic drive through Ding Darling state park.

We found a lovely specimen of blue heron at one of the tidal relief waterways. He took flight and we got to watch his graceful departure.
A unique feature of Sanibel is the population of white pelicans in Ding Darling park. They are larger than the more common pelicans and rank as the second-largest bird in North America after the California Condor.

There we found a flock of about two dozen of them resting on a sandbar out in the bay.

We stopped at the observation tower about halfway through the park for an overview of the waterways and mangroves.

There was an osprey circling overhead. This long-necked white heron looked like he was tiptoeing through the wildflowers. Not the environment we usually see him in.

Looking out across the waterway I saw a large mass of brown, which I initially took for some kind of seaweed mass. It turned out to be a large flock of the long-billed wading birds I had been seeing on Ft. Myers Beach. It was really a surprise to see so many together since I had only seen them one by one, foraging along the water's edge.

This cormorant was swimming and diving in a waterway beside the road. When he turned and swam right toward me the hook on the end of his bill was more evident.

This anhinga was perched close to the road at one of the tidal openings. Sherry said it appeared to be a young one - it does look sort of soft and fluffy on its top half.

The noticeable difference between an anhinga and a cormorant is the straight bill of the anhinga. The cormorant's bill has a small hook at the end as shown above.


Wednesday at Ft. Myers Beach
 Index

2011
  Nave Album Go Back