Sanibel Island Florida

Sanibel Island Florida a photo journal

I took a photo workshop in the Florida Everglades just before Christmas. It offered photography instruction by a professional photographer, computer classroom instructions and night photography.

I flew into Punta Gorda, Florida (just north of Ft Myers) and since I had an extra day before the workshop I stayed on Sanibel Island and spent the day at the J.N. Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge.

Sanibel Island, Florida

J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

White Pelicans and Cormorants enjoying the fine Florida weather. I timed my stay to coincide with low tide which exposes these sand bars. The birds find lots to eat at low tide.

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret catching a shrimp then defending it from a Gull. The Egret won.

Click photo to enlarge. After enlarging you can move through the series by swiping left/right. To return click on the " X " in the upper righthand corner.

Spotted Sandpiper

These small birds are probably Spotted Sandpipers (I know, they don't have spots but it is not their breeding plumage). They would take off as a group and fly really fast in a circle several times then return to the same spot. The odd bird out is of course a White Ibis.

White Pelicans

As the tide went out more and more of them would arrive at the sand bars. They spent their time grooming until one had the great idea of going fishing and then, as a group, they all went fishing.

Note the fish diving as the pair come in low to land.

Great Ibis

They are numerous and easily identified with their long, curved beaks. They are insect eaters.

Speaking of insects, there was a very little bug called "no see-ums" that had a very fierce bite. They were there by the thousands and the natives wore netting to avoid the assault - repellant did not repel them!

Osprey

This Osprey landed in some shallow water and splashed around. He would then fly away for awhile then return to the same spot. There diet is fish but I never saw him catch a fish. Some call them Fish Hawks.

Seeing this Osprey was a great prelude to the fantastic sight of seeing them in the Everglades a few days later as they built/repaired their nest from previous years.

Great Egret

Great Egrets wade in shallow water (both fresh and salt) to hunt fish, frogs, and other small aquatic animals. They typically stand still and watch for unsuspecting prey to pass by. Then, with startling speed, the egrets strike with a jab of their long neck and bill.

Cormorant

These birds diet almost entirely on fish which they catch by swimming under the water. They will completely submerge for several minutes before surfacing yards away from where they entered. Take note of the hooked beak which they will use to "hook" a fish.

All pictures taken with a Nikon d810 and a 200-500mm f/5.6 lens.

Visit my Everglades Trip photo journal.

Ding Darling Park National Wildlife Reserve website.

Sanibel Island, Florida website.

Some of the bird descriptions/facts I got from this website:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Created By

DAVID EBLEN

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Credits:

All photos by David Eblen