The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Festival Park in February 2012.A morning visit was made to the west channel at Bunche with a favorably low tide and a breeze from the east. The wind from that direction is ideal for observations and photography in the morning with the rising sun at your back. Upwards of 75 Black Skimmers loafed before us for hours. After getting the Red-breasted Merganser at this same location last week, Frank advised me that he had since observed about a hundred of them along the Sanibel Causeway. Surprisingly few shorebirds were observed at Bunche while a lone Herring Gull remained. A pair of laggard migrating Short-billed Dowitchers were seen. Forster's and Royal Terns made there way through. A small flock of Dunlin and Piping Plover passed by early in the morning. Omnipresent Laughing Gull were showing signs of sporting their breeding plumage. The color in the lores of the egrets passing by was striking. A decline in the numbers of Marbled Godwit was noted as well while the unexpected happened. A Horned Grebe appeared seemingly from nowhere less than 35 feet from Frank. The species which was personally seen for the first time in the wild made frequent dives under the water's surface for minutes at a time. It remained within our view for about 15 minutes. While the Brown Pelicans put on a magnificent show a pair of American Oystercatcher flew onto the scene. An Osprey captured what may have been Sheepshead unexpectedly behind us while we failed to capture its image at extremely close range. The lens micro-adjustment is still in order. It is so unfortunate Artie Morris has not been impressed with his observations at Bunche.
The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Festival Park in February 2012.
The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Festival Park in February 2012.
The Dunlin with Piping and Semipalmated Plover above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Marbled Godwit above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Ring-billed Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Horned Grebe above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Horned Grebe above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Horned Grebe above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Forster's Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Short-billed Dowitcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Reddish Egret (White Morph) above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Herring Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Great Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Great Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in February 2012.
