Oystercatchers At Little Estero Lagoon: Part I

Little Estero Lagoon unquestionably remains one of my favorite wildlife venues in the southwest Florida area.


The 1st summer Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.

Images presented in this article were captured on the afternoon of 13 July 2012 and the morning of 14 July 2012. This magnificent beach venue is offering observation opportunity of the abundant and diverse wildlife that has overcome the destructive wrath of Tropical Storm Debby. Wading birds are of course the most obvious inhabitants, as predators and prey ply their trade for survival. The nesting of terns and plovers at Little Estero Lagoon has been commonplace in my more distant past observations with these species dwindling to very few numbers since the storm. The extraordinary nesting of a pair of American Oystercatcher has captivated my attention for documentation of this rare event. Both adults have shared the responsibility for the incubation of a solitary egg laid. Close observation of the iris in the eyes of the oystercatchers led to my ability to differentiate the adult male from the female. A female oystercatcher is thought to commonly have a distortion of the iris which is an interesting anatomical detail believed to occur in a limited number of other aves species.


The 1st summer Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Snowy Egret juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron juvenile above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Willet above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Osprey above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Osprey with prey above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher, very quick to sit on the egg when it began to rain, above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Wilson's Plover above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The scene above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The sunset above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The Osprey above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The White Ibis above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The 1st summer Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher with Willet above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.


The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Little Estero Lagoon in July 2012.

Please see Oystercatchers At Little Estero Lagoon: Part II.
Please see Oystercatchers At Little Estero Lagoon: Part III.
Please see Oystercatchers At Little Estero Lagoon: Part IV.

Early-Summer Florida Birding Tour

Florida's mainly year-round warm climate is especially so in the summer months and thus allows for more elbow room when observing aves wildlife at this time.


The Black-bellied Whistling Duck above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.

Snowbird tourists and winter residents won't be returning in great numbers for several months. This event will coincide with a return of migrating birds from the far reaches of North America. In most cases, the birds will continue a trek further southward while people will stay. On a relatively cool day of late, with thunderstorms keeping the sun at bay, Tom Obrock and I made a multi-County birding tour as far north as Withlocoochie State Forest. Other stops which were a first for me included Power Line Road, Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, and Celery Fields in Sarasota. Other venues visited with an account of the wildlife seen are described in more detail by Tom here. Many dozens of species of bird were accommodatingly present and I would observe and photograph Red-headed Woodpecker and Mississippi Kite for the first time on this trip at Power Line Road. Tom noted that with a third set of eyes and ears, we should have easily surpassed 100 species of bird encountered while otherwise limited to 89. My thanks to Tom for leading this trip.


The Limpkin above was photographed at Celery Fields (note the several recently deposited pink Apple Snail egg casings at far right) in July 2012.


The Limpkin above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Red-winged Blackbird above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Limpkin above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Wood Duck above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Least Bittern above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Black-bellied Whistling Duck above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Least Bittern above was photographed at Celery Fields in July 2012.


The Red-shouldered Hawk with juvenile above was photographed at Cockroach Bay Preserve in July 2012.


The Black Tern above was photographed at Cockroach Bay Preserve in July 2012.


The Black Tern with Least Tern above was photographed at Cockroach Bay Preserve in July 2012.


The Black-necked Stilt juvenile above was photographed at Cockroach Bay Preserve in July 2012.


The Red-shouldered Hawk juvenile above was photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The Little Blue Heron juvenile above was photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The fishermen above were photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The Osprey above was photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The Osprey above was photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The Red-eyed Vireo above was photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The Northern Parula above was photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The Northern Parula above was photographed at Lettuce Lake Park in July 2012.


The Mississippi Kite above was photographed at Power Line Road in July 2012.


The Mississippi Kite above was photographed at Power Line Road in July 2012.


The Mississippi Kite above was photographed at Power Line Road in July 2012.


The Eastern Bluebird above was photographed at Power Line Road in July 2012.


The Red-headed Woodpecker above was photographed at Power Line Road in July 2012.


The American Kestrel above was photographed at Power Line Road in July 2012.


The Magnificent Frigatebird with dolphin above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in July 2012.


The inbound boats above were photographed at Fort De Soto Park in July 2012.


The Gray Kingbird above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in July 2012.


The Least Sandpiper above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in July 2012.