Florida trip 3/3

I am writting the last part of this trip report, as the temperature is currently frigid here in Michigan! (temperature in Celsius)

Ding Darling Wildlife Trail, Sanibel Island

Ding Darling Wildlife Trail is a a wonderfull 5 mile road (cars, walkers and bike users are sharing this road at very low speed) crossing the Ding Darling Refuge, a rare conservation gem (and birding hotspot) of south Florida. Birds are just impressive (shear number of birds, as well as species variety). Most of the waders were found (including reddish egret, spoonbills, Yellow Crowned Night Herons) as well as lesser and yellowlegs (surprisingly enough, we did not find these birds in Fort Myers or Bunch Beach). The big stars of the day were obviously the white pelicans, hard to find outside of this area. Another very interesting sighting was 2 Ospreys harrassing a Bald Eagle, close from the visitor center. 2 White Winged Doves were also seen on a Sanibel Island Road.

White Pelicans (Pelican d'Amerique), digiscoped

Brown Pelican (Pelican Brun), digibinned

Lover's Key State Park


Ok, this park is a wonderfull beach, and was only a mile or two from the hotel. Beside a few hundred sanderlins, a little blue heron and a nest of Osprey, there was not much to be seen the day we went (maybe because we spend most of our time relaxing and reading on the sand). We had a great view of an Osprey nest, though, so I did a little bit of digiscoping experiments

Osprey nest, digiscoped

Obviously, there is room for improvement! In particular, I absolutly need an adaptor between camera and scope (I am working on it right now)


Estero Pass Preserve



This park is located on the Fort Meyers Key itself, and is basically the last remaining stand of Mangroves of the key. We found this preserve extremely interesting, as we were able to find some good passerines, specially on the south east part of the park. Prairie (lifer!) and Yellowthroated warblers (1 each), Mockinbird, Eastern Phoebe and Blue Headed Vireo, as well as dozen of Blue Grey Gnacatchers were seen, a nice change from the gulls and shorebirds of the week. A flyover of Magnificent Frigatbird and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was a nice add to the list

Mockingbird, digibinned

Eastern Phoebe (Moucherolle Phebi), digibinned

6 mile cypress in Fort Myers

This was the last birding site we visited, just before taking the plane back to the frozen tundra of michigan. Great park with about 2 mile of boardwalks, but birds were not very active in the middle of the day. We had great views of several anhingas, though, and also found a few passerines (Great Crested Flycatcher, Palm Warblers). A wonderfull experience was to see a male Anhinga swimming underwater. Is it cool or what?

White Ibis (Ibis Blanc), p&S camera

On the way to the airport, we spotted (at last!) our final birds for the trip, Loggerhead Shrikes (many of them on electric wires) and Cattle Egrets

TRIP LIST

Mottled Duck Canard brun
Red-breasted Merganser Harle huppé
Pied-billed Grebe Grèbe à bec bigarré
American White Pelican Pélican d'Amérique
Brown Pelican Pélican brun
Double-crested Cormorant Cormoran à aigrettes
Anhinga Anhinga d'Amérique
Magnificent Frigatebird Frégate superbe
Great Blue Heron Grand Héron
Great Egret Grande Aigrette
Snowy Egret Aigrette neigeuse
Little Blue Heron Aigrette bleue
Tricolored Heron Aigrette tricolore
Reddish Egret Aigrette roussâtre
Cattle Egret Héron garde-boeufs
Green Heron Héron vert
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Bihoreau violacé
White Ibis Ibis blanc
Roseate Spoonbill Spatule rosée
Wood Stork Tantale d'Amérique
Black Vulture Urubu noir
Turkey Vulture Urubu à tête rouge
Osprey Balbuzard pêcheur
Bald Eagle Pygargue à tête blanche
Cooper's Hawk Épervier de Cooper
Red-shouldered Hawk Buse à épaulettes
American Kestrel Crécerelle d'Amérique
Black-bellied Plover Pluvier argenté
Snowy Plover Pluvier à collier interrompu
Wilson's Plover Pluvier de Wilson
Semipalmated Plover Pluvier semipalmé
Piping Plover Pluvier siffleur
Killdeer Pluvier kildir
American Oystercatcher Huîtrier d'Amérique
Spotted Sandpiper Chevalier grivelé
Greater Yellowlegs Grand Chevalier
Willet Chevalier semipalmé
Lesser Yellowlegs Petit Chevalier
Long-billed Curlew Courlis à long bec
Ruddy Turnstone Tournepierre à collier
Sanderling Bécasseau sanderling
Western Sandpiper Bécasseau d'Alaska
Least Sandpiper Bécasseau minuscule
Dunlin Bécasseau variable
Laughing Gull Mouette atricille
Ring-billed Gull Goéland à bec cerclé
Royal Tern Sterne royale
Black Skimmer Bec-en-ciseaux noir
Eurasian Collared-Dove Tourterelle turque
White-winged Dove Tourterelle à ailes blanches
Mourning Dove Tourterelle triste
Burrowing Owl Chevêche des terriers
Belted Kingfisher Martin-pêcheur d'Amérique
Red-bellied Woodpecker Pic à ventre roux
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Pic maculé
Downy Woodpecker Pic mineur
Northern Flicker Pic flamboyant
Pileated Woodpecker Grand Pic
Eastern Phoebe Moucherolle phébi
Great Crested Flycatcher Tyran huppé
Loggerhead Shrike Pie-grièche migratrice
White-eyed Vireo Viréo aux yeux blancs
Blue-headed Vireo Viréo à tête bleue
Fish Crow Corneille de rivage
Tree Swallow Hirondelle bicolore
Carolina Wren Troglodyte de Caroline
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Gobemoucheron gris-bleu
Gray Catbird Moqueur chat
Northern Mockingbird Moqueur polyglotte
Yellow-throated Warbler Paruline à gorge jaune
Pine Warbler Paruline des pins
Prairie Warbler Paruline des prés
Palm Warbler Paruline à couronne rousse
Black-and-white Warbler Paruline noir et blanc
Common Yellowthroat Paruline masquée
Northern Cardinal Cardinal rouge
Painted Bunting Passerin nonpareil
Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscale des marais