Friday, November 15, 2013

Tigertail Lagoon, The Lighthouse, And Harns

In this article, a report of observations with photography is made from Tigertail Beach Lagoon, Point Ybel (or the Sanibel Light), and Harns Marsh Preserve.


The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.

Upon the creation of this latest entry, I realize that I have a mishap in the chronology of observations as I attempt to present them in order. The morning visit to Tigertail highlighted here should have been reported last week while the afternoon visit to Little Estero Lagoon highlighted last week should have been noted this week. C'est la vie.


The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Belted Kingfisher above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Magnificent Frigatebird above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Green Heron above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.

Frank Constantin visiting from Quebec made the Tigertail Lagoon trip with me on the morning of 10 October. Burrowing Owls were observed in vacant lots near the entrance to the park. The tide would not be at a low until an hour after our departure, so the birds observed in the lagoon itself were limited and very well dispersed.


The Willet above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Willet above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Osprey above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Osprey above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.

Frank and I made a visit to the Sanibel Lighthouse on the morning of 11 October in hopes of observing some late warbler migration action. Palm Warblers were seen in abundance with my best observation at Ybel Point a Merlin perched in a tree in good light. There were as many as four Merlin seen on this visit.


The Sanderling above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Willet above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The watercraft above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Royal Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The scene above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Turkey Vulture above was photographed at Tigertail Beach Lagoon in October 2013.


The Osprey above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.

It was good to again meet up with local wildlife enthusiasts Janet and Aaron Kirk, and France Paulsen. Primary observations made from the base of the Sanibel Light were well rewarded. It was here that France and I saw a bird that confounded us. I observed what may have been the same subject a short while later in the mangroves that was clearly Bobolink at its closer range.


The sunrise above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Reddish Egret (white morph) above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Merlin above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Merlin above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Merlin above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Osprey above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Bobolink above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The Giant Swallowtail butterfly above was photographed at Sanibel Lighthouse in October 2013.


The sunrise above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.

Harns Marsh Preserve was visited on the morning of 12 October again with Frank to find some accommodating Sandhill Cranes. The species was heard calling from different directions throughout our stay. The Crested Caracara were not observed perhaps missing them by mere minutes. The dancing behavior on the part of the juvenile cranes was very interesting.


The Boat-tailed Grackle above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The American Kestrel above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Loggerhead Shrike with American Kestrel above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.


The Eastern Phoebe above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.

An American Kestrel in pursuit of a Great-crested Flycatcher was the highlight observation for me at Harns on this visit.


The Sandhill Crane above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in October 2013.

7 comments:

  1. Some lovely images. I especially like the one of the Tricoloured Heron preening.

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  2. Wow wow wow. The shots of the sandwich tern with a fish are simply incredible. So many great shots, it's hard to mention each one, but all are stellar for different reasons. I stalked a snowy egret yesterday for over an hour and she never produced a fish, dangit! I guess I need to work on my patience. Maybe getting out there earlier in the day would help, since I really ran out of light (and patience). :)

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  3. Very nice en spectacular images!

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  4. Incredible photography! Everyone a masterpiece!

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  5. You did it again Bob! The Sandwich tern throwing/cathing the fish in the air.... I wish I'd seen it. Thank you for sharing all your beautiful pictures all the time!!!

    Regards,
    Marianne

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  6. O equipamento é bom, o olhar é excelente e a fotografia é soberba.
    Bom trabalho.
    Cumprimentos

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  7. Thank you all for your interest in the wildlife of southwest Florida. It is of course a passion of mine to attempt to document it for the natural history record, and hopefully entice you to visit this remarkable place where you will acquire unforgettable memories.

    ReplyDelete