After countless trips to
Bunche Beach Preserve in Fort Myers, Florida, my favorite venue to observe wildlife, I didn't expect the visit on what appeared to be an average early Fall day on 18 October to be the most enjoyable yet.
The sunrise above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2012.
A walk to the east channel was made in search of more banded birds as a primary objective. Not a single shorebird was personally observed to have been previously handled by a researcher on this day. I got word from Mary Bomberger Brown, affiliated with the School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, that the banded Piping Plover observed at Bunche and presented in
last week's article was banded as a chick on 16 June 2011 near North Bend, Dodge County, in the lower Platte River in Nebraska, USA. Mary noted that she has received reports that the plover has been previously reported at Bunche which she finds interesting. Mary's comment immediately had me investigate whether I had seen this bird before at Bunche where I found that I observed this
particular bird in early January of 2012. The morning visit to Bunche at a very low tide was offering overcast conditions requiring high ISO settings of 1000 and above to keep the camera's shutter speed reasonably quick to stop the action. While
Tom Obrock had told me the day before of his hope to see American White Pelican for the fist time this season, he notified me on 25 October of a large flock he observed at Bunche. He noted that the Long-billed Curlew was observed that day as well. I haven't seen these two species as of the publication of this article this season. Master wildlife photographer
Bob Blanchard has advised to be on the lookout for the curlew at Bowditch Point if the species is not seen at Bunche. Remember that your paid parking privileges are shared at both of these venues. The American Avocet that Tom was hoping for as well on the 17th was missed by us both that day, but was personally seen on the 18th. Tom notified me today that he observed the Long-billed Curlew at Bunche at this article's publication time. The avocet was interestingly tolerant of overflight by Laughing Gulls within inches that merely made it flinch. While it was a thrill to see this species so infrequently seen, the highlight of my few hour visit was the overall observations. There was a lot of action with the birds approaching like I wasn't even there. It was of course helpful to be in a stationary position for an extended period of time. As the Laughing Gull is want to do, one of the species stole a worm from a Little Blue Heron. A battle for the worm between two of the gulls immediately ensued. A Snowy Egret, which is one of the very few species observed not to be intimidated by the gull, seemed to referee the fight. The pics in this article are hopefully at least fractionally representative of what I was seeing all around me. An extremely concerning development was more evidence of broken glass observed on the beach.
Stunning stuff, particularly some of your Forster's Terns. That huge marine worm is completely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThe action was quite an experience to view in real time, Steve. One of the images taken of the gulls with the worm, if you look closely, show the marine creature wrapped around the neck of the gull at left. This behavior of the worms is commonly seen when it wraps itself around the bill of its predator. I was told a remarkable story this week involving what I believe a Great Blue Heron, based on its description, where a snake wrapped itself around the bird's throat in a fight for survival. I encouraged the storyteller to put his video, that he said was captured, on youtube.
DeleteAmazing! as usual. You must have the patience of Job to get the shots you do. Loved the tug-of-war over the worm. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletePreciosa y linda serie de imagenes a cual de ella más bonita, buen reportaje algunas fotos me ha quedado sin habla al verla.
ReplyDeleteSaludos abrazos y buen fin de semana.
Bob -- exquisite photographs! Love the avocet and tern shots!
ReplyDeleteI like the brown pelican ... and the others .
ReplyDelete