Sanibel Lighthouse Hawkwatch: Fall 2011

With migration of raptors well underway, I made a trip to Sanibel Lighthouse when I was confident the threat of rain from the latest storm had passed.

Walter Powers above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

The sky looked brighter than it had all day though was still heavily overcast as I traveled over the causeway.

The parking areas around the lighthouse showed evidence of the very heavy rain that had fallen the day before while I chose to park in the most flooded lot north of the lighthouse.

The Sanibel Lighthouse above was photographed on Sanibel Island in October 2011.

Before doing that I met an artist named Walter Powers from St. Petersburg sketching the lighthouse.

Walter told me he was an 80 year old retired firefighter from New York with a good pension that allowed him to travel.

The beach enthusiast above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

He noted that he had last been to this area 20 years earlier not making good use of his timeshare.

Walter's favorite work as I recall him saying was of a European castle he had painted while observed during snowy conditions.

The fisherman above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

The wildlife at the lighthouse on the eastern tip of Sanibel Island as always offered the regulars on the beach which was extremely windy at the time of my visit.

I took refuge from the wind on the south side of the fishing pier directly in front of the lighthouse which was more tolerable.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

My greatest hope and anticipation was the sight of raptors that might be passing through in migration.

I would later learn reading Tom Obrock's wildlife blog that the place to be was Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve earlier in the day where upwards of a dozen species of bird I've never seen before were observed.

The Tennessee Warbler above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

My reward for the trip to the lighthouse was my first sighting of a species of bird called Northern Parula which was identified for me by Vince Lucas and Tom with much thanks.

The parula had worked its way through the vegetation onto the dune that required great care on my part to avoid kneeling in sand spurs which was impossible as it turned out.

The Northern Cardinal above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

A low flyover of an American Kestrel caused the parula to disappear from sight which was actually well timed as a four foot snake quickly made its way directly in the path of the bird.

Another intriguing species of bird just before this event had made a landing on a branch directly in front of me, but I wasn't able to capture its image for positive identification.

The Northern Parula above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

There was a small swarm of Chimney Swifts that I attempted to photograph for over a half hour unsuccessfully with the birds flying much too fast and erratically for me to get a decent image though I'm including a shot as it's a lifer species for me seen in the wild.

Fishermen, shellers and other visitors to the lighthouse were seen in greater abundance than the birds in the stormy conditions.

The Florida Black Racer above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

I also devoted much time attempting to photograph about a half dozen Bottlenose Dolphin that were feeding in the shallow tide water of the late afternoon.

The raptors which I had the greatest hopes of observing were apparently not meant to be seen this day while 3423 were reported the day before during the Florida Keys Hawkwatch.

The Great Egret above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

I had let Tom know that I had planned to be at the lighthouse for upwards of four hours, but cut my visit a little short and just missed him as the sky again began to darken again making photography extremely difficult.

From my observation point I decided to work my way along the causeway with the hope of making some interesting observations from the car.

The Willet above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

Sanderling were in the company of Laughing Gulls at my stop after crossing the causeway bridge where conditions were surprisingly calm.

With no flyovers other than by Brown Pelicans I continued to the last pullover opportunity before the shopping centers.

The Chimney Swift above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2011.

At this point a pair of Roseate Spoonbill were observed actively feeding in the bay with no other action to be seen with thoughts of my great fortune before calling it a day.