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Tuesday, May 2nd, continued
I left the refuge and went to Captiva Island. Based on the ornate
landscaping, I surmised that at least part of the island was occupied by people
of means. I drove toward the beach at the end of the island. Before I got there,
I got a good bird. The Common Ground Dove. The parking lot was full and I had to
wait a good while before a spot opened up. Finally went down to the beach. It was not like I
remembered - much more development further down. On the beach, I saw
Black-bellied Plovers, Killdeer, and Ruddy Turnstones among other birds and my
first confirmed gull - a Laughing Gull. An Osprey flying low overhead was
thrilling.
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But the highlight was a Great Blue Heron standing near the water. It allowed me to get as close as four feet from it. Took a lot of pictures of it. It was difficult to select the ones to put on the web but you can see more by clicking here.
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Then on to the Bailey Tract. This is a separate area of the Ding Darling
National Wildlife Refuge and gave me another conditioning exercise as the trails
are only accessible by foot (or bike). I do not think that many people visit
this part of the refuge. It has quite an assortment of habitats. There was an assortment
of vegetation -cattails, spartina, mangrove, ferns and other stuff. It
is very peaceful and serene. I left the heavy equipment behind, ignored the
heat, and thoroughly enjoyed my walk there.
There were a good number of egrets standing around at the first pool. Very little activity from them which added to the peaceful feeling. However, the Black-necked Stilts were busily feeding and I enjoyed watching them carefully placing their long legs as they walked about. Common Moorhens paddled along very slowly in another area. A Belted Kingfisher gave its rattle call and then flew by. A Common Ground Dove crossed the path; a little further along, a big black snake did the same. The Common Ground Doves are a lot of fun too watch. They are so small, but explode into flight showing black tails and rufous wings. I passed many groups of them throughout the walk.
The highlight of the Bailey Tract had
to be the Ospreys. There was a nest platform that was erected on one branch of a
dead tree. Another branch was sawed off to provide a landing surface. I watched
an adult fly in with a fish and put it in the nest which had an immature bird
that had reached its full size but not yet fledged. After a few minutes, I heard
an Osprey cry and the adult flew away. Another adult then replaced it. It, too,
was carrying a fish but instead of going to the nest, it landed on the other
limb and proceeded to start eating the fish itself. The baby started squealing
for attention and food, but the adult continued eating for about five minutes.
Finally, it flew to the nest and started feeding the baby.
As I was leaving the Bailey Tract, I heard a thin buzzy sound. I was hoping that it came from a Gray Kingbird or a Black-whiskered Vireo, both specialties of the area. It took a lot of searching before I saw the source of the sounds, several Blackpoll Warblers.
| I then went back to the main refuge for a third go round. I was hoping that with the tide going out, the waders might have returned. Most did not, but there were more Reddish Egrets than before. Each staying in a different area. Again, it was nice to watch them. Saw another Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (or probably the same one since it was close to the area where I saw the first one). By the time I got to the other side of the road, it was gone. Saw several other birds but did not spend too much time there. Near the end, I saw a car parked and the occupants looking into the water. I parked and looked at the rather large alligator. It was the first and only one that I saw in three go rounds of the refuge. The gator started going down stream and I heard branches breaking as it went along. |
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Just as I left the park, I saw a baby alligator, maybe three feet long, crossing the road. And then I saw a Pileated Woodpecker on a utility pole. Saw another on a pole a little later. That one was actually inside the refuge. It was now 6:30 and I decided it was time to eat something.
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