Migration Action At Bunche Beach Preserve

A visit to Bunche Beach was made this week with anticipation that the unexpected would be observed.

The Marbled Godwit above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Such was the case about an hour after my arrival and trek to the west channel.

A rain storm appeared from nowhere as the sky appeared accommodating for outdoor activity with merely puffy clouds from horizon to horizon.

The Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

I was prepared for such an eventuality with a trash bag at the ready to cover the camera.

After observing a lot of shore birds closer to shore as the tide was fairly high, but receding, I made my way into San Carlos Bay to have the sun behind me.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

With the flats of the bay still under water, the birds were concentrated in several areas fairly close to shore.

I made my study of Short-billed Dowitcher that were in great numbers among a good number of Least Sandpiper.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

With the trash bag on the gear, I made an attempt to photograph the birds in the rain which was a first attempt at this.

That was an interesting experience and will try to do better when the next safe opportunity arises.

The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

I thought of Chris Baker visiting from Great Britain this past winter when we were in the same vicinity at the Preserve running for cover unprepared.

Black Skimmers nearing a dozen in number flew into the area which was a nice surprise as I hadn't seen this species in a long while as well.

The scene above above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

They would stay mainly distant and didn't offer many flybys.

Bird migration is certainly underway with reports coming in of warblers observed on the east coast of Florida.

The Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

A lone Black-bellied Plover was observed at the Preserve.

A solitary Brown Pelican was observed as well while they are typically seen in better numbers in the winter months.

The Semipalmated Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

After the rain passed, I had the opportunity to photograph a Least Tern hovering above the channel.

I had to aim toward the sun requiring a negative exposure bias as the background was considerably dark.

The Forster's Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

I find this a very entertaining characteristic of the species which it almost always has been observed to do before diving for a fish.

I was torn between devoting my time to the study and photography of the shore birds and wading birds that were all around me.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

It wasn't until in the very late afternoon that the first signs of a powerful thunderstorm appeared.

A particular bolt of lightning was observed to the east that flashed for upwards of two seconds.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

The clap of thunder was not heard for a long while which placed the approaching storm at about five miles.

I devoted some time to photograph a lighting strike unsuccessfully while the birds in the bay became much more active seemingly sensing that they had little time left to capture their prey.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

A pair of Roseate Spoonbill flew in from the west after the first arrived about fifteen minutes earlier.

None of the spoonbills were banded nor were any other bird observed which was somewhat of a disappointment.

The Least Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

There were surprisingly few White Ibis that landed in the area with a few more that in flight from the Gulf seemed content to head directly to their roosts.

The unmistakable call of a Great Blue Heron was heard before I saw the bird.

The Snowy Egret juvenile above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

It landed behind me and made its way slowly among the twenty or so egrets and herons already in the immediate area.

Several Tricolored Heron opted to take flight as the Great Blue approached them.

The Least Sandpiper above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

They may have been juveniles that considered it a threat.

There were a couple of water craft that made there way into the bay from the Activity Center with their occupants undeterred as the storm approached.

The scene above above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

A small number of fellow visitors to the Preserve that ventured close to me were either collecting shells, observing the wildlife, or finding something fresh for dinner.

As was typical, I experienced crabs nipping at my knees in the mud which I'm still not accustomed to and likely never will be.

The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

The storm approached as close as I'd allow before I was compelled to call it a day.

I made it to the car minutes before the worst of the deluge.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

I noticed this week that the parking ticket at Bunche Beach Preserve prints with Bowditch Point (across the bay) as the location.

This makes a visit to both parks possible without incurring a parking violation.

The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

A Lee County Parks and Recreation non-transferable parking sticker is currently available for $60 per year.

I very much would like your opinion by participating in my poll question of you that can be seen above in the right margin.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Estero Lagoon Summer 2011

I was very pleased to receive such a quick reply to my inquiry about the banded Roseate Spoonbill observed this past week at Bunche Beach Preserve.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Dr. Jerry Lorenz, Director of Research for Audubon of Florida, gave me insight to the bird with his banding of it at Sandy Key in western Florida Bay 17 December 2008.

My sighting of the spoonbill placed it about 115 nautical miles from Jerry's observation at Sandy Key.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Jerry told me that Roseate Spoonbills are studied with interest for their plumage variation as the birds age while focused on their movement.

Jerry noted that when he placed the "AO" PVC band on the spoonbill, he was also required to place the metal band (with its unique USGS number) on the bird as well.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

The United States Geological Survey Bird Banding Lab in affiliation with the Canadian Wildlife Service has very strict regulations for the banding of birds.

Birds that remain in Florida year round are very likely to have a significant lightening of their plumage.

The Snowy Plover above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

A link to a close up view of detail of USGS metal bands may be viewed here.

Another opportunity for me to visit the Gulf beaches led me to Estero Lagoon this week.

The Least Tern above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

Arrival at this other remarkable venue was made in the early afternoon with high tide to crest within the hour.

I devoted some time looking for an opportunity to capture an appealing image of a white wading bird that would benefit from a very significant overexposure of the subject.

The Western Sandpiper above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

The sun was still high in the sky which was a good time to do this.

A Snowy Egret offered me this chance, but I was never able to get the image near pure white for the effect before post processing that I was looking for.

The Mourning Dove above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

It was, however, in the line of sight of a colorful umbrella on the beach which made for a neat effect.

I continued my walk further south to the area I had last observed newly hatched shorebirds in mid-June.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

There were no very young birds observed on this visit.

I settled down at a place that would have easily been a comfortable observation point into the sunset hours.

The Snowy Plover juvenile above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

Least Tern, Ruddy Turnstone, Snowy Plover, Wilson's Plover, Osprey, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Tricolored Heron, Western Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Mourning Dove, White Ibis, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, and Willet were viewed before a sail kiter entered the scene.

Virtually all of the birds took flight and were not to return into view as the kiter made his way through the south lagoon numerous times.

The Least Tern 1st Year above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

At one point an alarm was heard which I thought was a warning for him to leave the critical wildlife area, but he carried on.

As the birds didn't return after I thought they would, I made my way back to the north lagoon.

The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

An American Oystercatcher was foraging there and after finding a worm immediately took flight.

I had considered heading back to Bunche, but thought the tide would still be too high for prolific wildlife activity while I left the Lagoon much later than I expected to.

The Wilson's Plover above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

Afternoon thunderstorms held off on this day for a very rewarding opportunity to observe the juvenile shorebirds.

They will be gone or perhaps unrecognizable before I likely have the chance to observe them again at this ideal plumage stage.

The Sail Kiter above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

It was reported today that most regional wildfires have been extinguished by the summer rains.

Local firemen are expected to head out west to return the favor to those that came here to help this year and help with the less favorable conditions that remain in Arizona in particular.

The kite above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

Thanks to Vince Lucas for likely ID on the Western Sandpiper.

Tom Obrock told me Western Sandpiper to be a good sighting in July.

The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

It was a thrill to observe what I think were first year Least Terns.

The kiter certainly meant no foul and regrettably wasn't well educated on regard for wildlife.

The Least Tern 1st Year above was photographed at Estero Lagoon in July 2011.

Banded Spoonbill at Bunche Beach

A trip to the beach for some wildlife photography this week was made fortuitously in the late afternoon.

The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

An unusual opportunity it was with fair weather as afternoon thunderstorms have been quite the norm this month.

With even more good fortune there was a very accommodating low tide in San Carlos Bay late in the day about an hour after my arrival.

The White Ibis juvenile above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Bird activity was extremely sparse over the great expanse of the mudflats exposed in the bay as I walked toward the west channel.

The iridescence seen in the tips of the primary feathers of a juvenile ibis was welcome.

The Wilson's Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Wilson's Plover that were in numbers less than a couple of dozen were almost difficult to distinguish as they were very well camouflaged.

Upon my approach to the channel I was quite surprised by an adult visitor to Bunche Beach Preserve running on relatively high ground alongside the channel toward the bay.

The Snowy Egret juvenile above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

A child's behavior doing the same would have been more understandable.

I was too far away to distinguish what bird species in all were harassed into flight.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Upon my arrival at the channel, a Great Blue Heron standing at its edge kept a close eye on me as I carefully made my away around it to have the sun behind me to the extent I considered acceptable.

There were at this point in time about 60 White Ibis feeding in the exposed sea grass on the east side of the channel with a few dozen more of the species working eight inch deep water on the west side.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

These birds appeared to be for the most part second summer juveniles with very few adults (indicated by brighter red coloration of the bill and legs) and first summer ibis (dark brown feathers overall) among them.

I would end up devoting a lot of time and effort in attempting to photograph these birds successfully in flight as they made there way back and forth over the channel.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

There were during my visit a total of what I believe to be eight distinct Roseate Spoonbill that would come and go.

At one point I was quite surprised to see that one of the birds was banded.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

This was a highlight of the trip as banded birds of any species are very rarely observed.

I was captivated by the large distinctive blue band on the spoonbill's upper right leg that had the designation "AO."

The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

The bird after further observation was noted to have a small metal band on its lower left leg as well.

It's with regret that I was not close enough to the bird to be able to crop an image to see the engraving on the metal band offering further details about the bird's history.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

A 30MP camera as Canon's next generation of technology rumored to offer might allow an informative cropping of an image when a similar opportunity arises in the field again.

I have found personal research on the subject of banding to offer virtually no relevant information as to a bird's history unless the sighting is reported.

The White Ibis with Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

And with surprise, as a testimonial of my last reporting of a banded bird, it led to the inquiry of me for further information weeks after its report.

Well, leave it to me to deduce that the letters AO on the spoonbill's band possibly represent Avocational Ornithologists.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Most likely a wrong conclusion as further research led me to Dr. Ann Hodgson at the Florida Coastal Island Sanctuaries Office.

I've sent her an email in anticipation of a reply with details about the banded spoonbill's sighting.

The fisherman above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

It was at the Florida Ornithological Society website that I discovered that banding of spoonbills to the north in Tampa Bay is made with red bands while birds captured and banded in Florida Bay have yellow, white, gray, blue or black bands (an effort begun in 2003).

Each of the colored bands placed on a Roseate Spoonbill is noted as distinctive and jives with my sighting as the band was observed on the bird's upper right leg as is protocol for banding of spoonbills by Audubon of Florida on the bird's tibia, or mid leg.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Although I thought I had observed the colored band on the spoonbill from angles that would allow a view of numbers as indicated by the Audubon website, I was only able to observe letters so I'm still perplexed by the meaning of the code on the band.

In addition to the birds seen at the Preserve, Snowy Egret in varying stages of development as indicated by the yellow coloration on their legs were present.

The White Ibis juvenile above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

A juvenile Little Blue Heron was also seen with its dull yellow legs and pure white coloration in its feathers.

Least Tern remained present in greater numbers than Laughing Gull as a few Brown Pelican made flybys.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

There were a few Tricolored Heron as well while another unexpected treat was the presence of four Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.

Outside of a roosting colony, I had never seen so many YCNH in close proximity to each other before.

The Least Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

Observing these birds with three on one side of the channel and the fourth on the east side, I made my first observation of a Raccoon at Bunch Beach Preserve.

The raccoon would disappear into the mangroves as one of the YCNH made a find of a large crab.

The Raccoon above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

It was interesting to watch the bird consume its meal while the low light at this point made it difficult to document the bird's actions in breaking the crustacean's shell.

A pair of fishermen were active in this area after my arrival and had caused virtually all of the birds to take flight inadvertently as they made their way along the channel back toward shore.

The sunset above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

The fourth Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was still present as I made my own way back to shore and seemed quite brazen as it approached me while stopping to photograph it in extremely low light.

I had to back off a couple of times to keep the bird in the frame of the camera.

The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

I wish I had read Artie's blog post about panography before this visit as I would have attempted to create a more appealing "stitched image" of the bird.

I recommend that you remember this technique as I hope to do so.

The White Ibis with Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

You may very likely utilize the technique as I'm still merely attempting to master the capture of a basic image.

Bunche Beach Preserve is one of those wildlife venues in southwest Florida that I could visit every day and never tire of.

The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2011.

After publishing this blog, I went to the Audubon of Florida link included above to report my sighting and found that they had the slash in their hyperlink (not clickable) backwards which I suspect led to especially minimal reports received by them.