Although one recent day off was too cold and windy to consider a trip to observe birds in the area the images in this article are from a trip to
Bunche Beach Preserve on the morning of 25 January as well as a morning visit to
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Wildlife Drive and Bailey Tract) on 27 January 2013.
The Least Sandpiper above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The tide at Bunche Beach was very low at my sunrise arrival, and thus the birds were very dispersed over the flats. I chose to head to the west channel as I would have the sunlight at my back. There were all the shorebirds expected with a mistakenly identified Short-billed Dowitcher. What I thought was yellowlegs would be an extremely rare sighting at Bunche though reported. I observed the banded Piping Plover born at Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with the bird seen at Bunche Beach Preserve many times. The Great Lake venue is in the relative neighborhood of extensive wildlife traveler
Hemant Kishan who was kind enough to direct me to rarities in my own backyard here in southwest Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.
The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Snowy Egret with immature White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Sanderling above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Piping Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Piping Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Black-bellied Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The American White Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Dunlin above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
More Ruddy Turnstones were present than usual and I was as captivated by their feeding behavior as ever. A major distraction was the camera overexposing images that were captured using continuous shooting. I attempted to solve the problem in the field unsuccessfully. I ultimately returned the camera to its factory default settings and used my user's guide authored by
Artie Morris adjusting everything to his specifications which solved the problem before my trip to Ding. After settling down at Bunche at a spot I favored that morning the birds surrounded me as usual. In an instant for inexplicable reasons, with no predator seen, the hundreds of birds around me just up and disappeared from view.
The Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Dunlin above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Spotted Sandpiper above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Black Skimmer with Forster's Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
Although my trip to Sanibel Island was with the intent of possibly photographing never personally observed species at Bailey Tract as reported by the
Stokes' in their blog, I couldn't resist a visit to Ding Darling NWR first as the tide level was low. There were a greater number of American White Pelican loafing at the dawn hour than I had been seen before at this venue. In times past, the pelicans would apparently fly from their roosts to their preferred feeding and resting area in what I had thought was almost predictable. This was the case to a degree as the flock of pelicans grew larger in my short observation as I was anxious to see what the Stokes' and certainly many dozens of other wildlife enthusiasts had already seen.
The Semipalmated Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Red Knot above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Red Knot above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Least Sandpiper above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Sanderling above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
I was surprised by the large number of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons seen which I would guess well above a dozen in number either in the flats to the east of the observation tower or skulking in the mangroves. It was interesting to observe along Wildlife Drive that birds were virtually absent to the west of the observation tower although there were many hundreds to the east of it. I could have readily spent several more hours making observations here, but again was compelled to move on. Wherever there was water along my journey this day I was of course on the lookout for
Razorbill. The species would remain elusive, but I did catch sight of a lone Common Loon on the north side of the Causeway shortly before dawn on the drive onto Sanibel Island as a stunning full moon set behind distant high altitude clouds.
The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Dunlin above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
My arrival at Bailey Tract was still fairly early. I took a brief look at the map of the wildlife area at the trailhead with thought of Clapper Rail apparently first observed by photographer William Heyd affiliated with the
Sanibel Captiva Audubon Society on 20 January. This is all I was able to learn about Mr. Heyd beyond his conducting volunteer work for the local Audubon chapter. Upon reaching the East Pond where both Clapper Rail and Sora had been observed in the previous week, a number of observers were already giving me an indication of where the excitement was hidden stealthily in the reeds. My first species seen in this immediate area, although overlooked by others understandably, was a Grey Catbird very well camouflaged in the shady conditions. I was more intrigued with a bird much more distant in a sunny open area that I knew was special by its silhouette.
The White Ibis above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Ruddy Turnstone above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in January 2013.
After studying the photos posted by Lillian Stokes, I knew I was looking at a Clapper Rail. It would be followed by a second lifer observed in as many minutes as I caught my first glimpse of Sora. Short-tailed Hawk would remain elusive as did Wilson's Snipe. The latter was my fault as I chose not to travel to its location (forgetting about it actually) as I was hurried to get home to start this report and get it done as promised. The Stoke's are soon launching what appears to be a very exciting update to their guides which should be investigated. A return trip or two will be made to Bailey Tract soon to hopefully make observations of the same species seen and more while noting the availability of water to them.
The American White Pelican above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The American White Pelican above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The Pied-billed Grebe above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
It was a treat to meet
Denny Souers and
Bill Lane while chatting with Ed Combs who told me of his favorite wildlife venues and that
Domestic Avenue Ponds is the find of
Tom Obrock (Tom is back!). On 31 January, Tom advised me that he had observed Wilson's Snipe as earlier reported at Bailey Tract. Denny mentioned that the water level had appeared to drop from his observations made the day before. For some inexplicable reason, another fellow photographer/ observer of the Sora chose to park herself directly in the line of my view of the bird. As discourteous as it was, I gave her a reasonable amount of time to get her pics, but after it was evident she would be there for long period I chose to settle down next to her at the water's edge to be able to see the Sora again.
The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in January 2013.
The Clapper Rail above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Bailey Tract) in January 2013.
The Clapper Rail above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Bailey Tract) in January 2013.
The Clapper Rail above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Bailey Tract) in January 2013.
The Clapper Rail above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Bailey Tract) in January 2013.
The Clapper Rail above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Bailey Tract) in January 2013.
The Clapper Rail above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Bailey Tract) in January 2013.
Having run out of time for publication of this article with intent to include more images, and finally caught up with the stuff I was compelled to have you see, an overflow post will be made before next week's Friday routine.
The Sora above was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Bailey Tract) in January 2013.
Addendum: Nice job with that Clapper Rail! A few ID corrections: Bird in photo 11 (Greater Yellowlegs) is a Short-billed Dowitcher. Bird in flight in photo 21 and 22 (Least Sandpiper) is a Red Knot. -- Thank you, Robert.
Please see:
Rails At Bailey Tract Overflow
