The group of wildlife enthusiasts, participating in Ding Darling Days 2009 above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.This year's event may have again gone unnoticed if I didn't encounter the troupe of enthusiasts at Bunche Beach Preserve that approached thirty strong.
I had to comment to the group that I was disappointed I didn't know of their activity. It was my loss by not reading the local papers and staying abreast of current events.
The Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.I started this morning by visiting the Sanibel Lighthouse and its surrounding area. I had hoped to see some hawks as recently reported by Florida birding enthusiast, Tom Obrock. Such was not the case.
It was interesting to observe that there are birds living in the pinnacle of the lighthouse. I didn't recognize them from the distance I saw them, but believe I got a shot that will allow possible identification. There was some green iridescence on the shoulder of one of the birds poking its head out of its domicile.
The sun bather above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.There may be an incredible record of the inhabitants of the "bird house" which could be a significant history of the 125 year old light house surviving weather damage, particularly from lightning strikes.
I walked the beach and boardwalks around the lighthouse to the small fishing pier on the North side of the point. There were about a dozen Snowy Egrets in a group there. It was the largest concentration of the species I've seen.
The White Ibis above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.The beach at Sanibel Lighthouse is noted on a sign there to be among the top three locations in the world for shelling. The sign noting this fact was in great disrepair.
The highlight of my journey around the lighthouse was very shortly after I had made my way back to the parking area and was meandering my way through different access points to the beach.
The Reddish Egret above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.I had nearly missed some incredibly great action of what was at first a few Laughing Gulls in flight. There were two pursuing the one with a fish in its beak. Within a moment, there were upwards of ten involved in the frenzy.
The fish had been dropped on a couple of occasions and perhaps retrieved by a less dominant bird of the species on each occasion. I was never able to observe the outcome of the meal as the birds ultimately went out of range. The event was much fun to attempt to photograph.
The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2009.Back at Bunche Beach, I wasn't given a warm reception by one of the leaders of the group (I was told there were several by one of the participants) when I was told it was a scheduled event. I got the message that I couldn't participate and was more than happy to move on.
The birding at Bunche Beach each was extraordinary as usual. While I didn't see a number of regulars of the venue, I quite possibly saw many more to make up for it.
The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.The smaller shore birds are the ones that I need to study. It was a thrill see a number of different species that I will likely remain challenged by in identifying.
The Reddish Egret was present at Bunche Beach today. My recollection is that I hadn't seen it on at least my last two trips there.
The Reddish Egret above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.The Reddish Egret is an incredibly fun bird to watch as are the Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret (common here) which are extremely animated in their feeding habits.
In my observation of the Reddish Egret today, it was able to capture the pinfish. I'm not sure of the fish that egret was chasing through the water on two other occasions which was quite amazing to watch as the fish was extremely mobile in its launch over the water and in one of those instances got away.
The Reddish Egret above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2009.I had the opportunity to take a few pictures of travelers around San Carlos Bay today. While a couple of photographers identified themselves from Germany, it was a treat to meet fellow photographer and local pbaser, Jeff Doden.
Construction of the facilities at Bunche Beach is progressing slowly.
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