With Turner Beach on the Captiva side, and Blind Pass Beach on the Sanibel side, you are offered a significant amount of real estate to make observations of the birds in their environment. Fishing, shelling, and swimming are popular activities here as well.
It is unfortunate that a $6.00 bridge toll (for cars) is required to get here from the mainland with $4.00 an hour parking fees at public parks on the islands for many visitors at the time of this writing. An advantage of the fees is that the venues visited on the islands are near pristine and are typically uncrowded.
In my research for this article, I learned that some surplus monies from the Sanibel Causeway Bridge toll revenues are being set aside for a new bridge over Big Carlos Pass. This seems like an extremely low transportation priority to me.
Of possible additional interest is my recommendation that you purchase a Lee County Parking Sticker ($60 annually at the time of this writing) if you are going to be visiting parks in Lee County for an extended period. This Lee County Parking privilege is not valid at all Sanibel/ Captiva venues, however.
Be aware that pets are not allowed on Captiva Island's public beaches although they are allowed on Sanibel beaches when leashed. Also as a reminder, pets are also prohibited at Bunche Beach Preserve close by on the mainland. Some local venues have notoriously bad biting insects (no-see-ums, mosquitoes, and deer flies) under certain conditions, so be prepared for that.
Two great wildlife venues that are affiliated with the annual parking fee program are Turner Beach and Bowman's Beach. I am not a sheller, but based on observations made in the past I would recommend Bowman's Beach for that activity. Bowman's Beach is also better for shorebird nesting activity in the late Spring to Summer months.
Well, the purpose of my visit to Turner Beach on 17 December was of course to observe the birds and their behavior. My immediate impression was disappointment as there wasn't a Razorbill as seen on a previous visit to this stunning place. A Razorbill was reported heading south near Cape Canaveral about a few weeks ago as I recall which gave me optimism for another encounter with this species which is especially challenging to keep up with while walking along the beach.
It wasn't long after my arrival at Turner Beach that I realized a good day was at hand. There were relatively few shorebirds on the shoreline than I am accustomed to seeing at the beaches such as Bunche Beach Preserve or Little Estero Lagoon, but there was a lot of activity over the water.
Immediately observed at Turner Beach were two Magnificent Frigatebirds, an adult male and an immature bird that appeared very attentive of the space below them. Their purpose I would soon thereafter discover was to steal the fish from Royal Terns working the water's bounty for their own survival.
It was especially rewarding to have an extremely close view of a frigatebird chasing a gull, in my face as one might say. There is no man made entertainment spectacle that can compare to wildlife observations like this.
As is the norm in my routine, I settled down at a stationary position adjacent to the jetty for the images presented in this article. The wind was from the south while I think the ideal direction of it would be from the north for sunrise photography at Turner Beach.
The engagement between Bald Eagle and Osprey is always a show stopper. I wish you could have seen all that I observed at Turner Beach this day. It was one of my most memorable visits to the Florida Gulf Coast beaches I have had with the large flock of scoter a bonus.
The observation of the Red-breasted Merganser as seen above was particularly fun to photograph. I had initially seen five of the species fly in from the south after they had passed me. They took flight further to the north ten minutes later. The birds presented here may be of another group as I did not see them fly in. So there may have been a total of 13 of the species seen as eight of the mergansers drifted toward me from the near exact same location nearly an hour later.
There can be no argument for a fellow participant of observations offering mutual benefit. I fondly remember British traveler Chris Baker who readily expounded on his experiences. Most memorable was his technique for the moment. He would say something like "Bird at nine o'clock." A technique very much missed when making observations alone. Chris, I assure you I did not intentionally inform you the opposite direction.
There was a particularly interesting silence on this day of observations. That is without regard to the trilling call of several Royal Terns. On this subject, one of the great "stories" of the year was written by Jeffrey A. Gordon in the American Birding Association's June edition of their magazine, Does birding need "rules" at all? Be sure to join the American Birding Association when you are able.
Please be sure to be reminded about this weekly Southwest Florida Wildlife Blog with the email gadget located at the top of the page.
