There are lots of photos with this post, all of them in galleries which you can only see if you’re on the website, not if you’re reading this as an email. And… if you really like bird pictures, you can see lots more of my Florida shots in their original full size on my Smugmug site, click this link. (You’ll see quite an improvement in detail since they always lose definition in the process of posting them in Bird of the Day)
18 December 2014. Estero Beach, Lee County, Florida. We set out to walk the length of Estero Beach hoping for some wintering Snowy Plovers. This wave-lapped beach stretches for miles in both directions, it seems to suit people and birds equally well with its seashell littered shoreline, wide expanse of sand-dunes and shallow, back-water lagoons. Along our way we came across several wonderful sightings: A Reddish Egret with its back turned to a White Ibis and stoically overseeing the comings and goings of wanderers like us; Groups of loitering Wilson’s Plovers and little platoons of Sanderlings wandering around and picking through the white sand.
Best sighting, and truly a wow moment, was a pair of placid Roseate Spoonbills. While I have seen the European Spoonbill in Holland and had some idea of what to expect, it doesn’t compare to this, its American cousin. The European Spoonbill with its spatulate bill is something of a head-turner, but it’s really just another large, white, heron-like thing standing in the water. Since a picture’s worth a thousand words, I hardly need describe the Roseate Spoonbill. What made these birds special was not only our surprise at finding them, but also the gift of a setting with the dark mangrove background framing these blushing birds. I spent a long time on my knees in the foreground sludge watching and clicking. Here are a couple of my best shots.
As I worked, a couple of Dunlin came and settled beside me, it took a bit of effort to tear myself away to get some shots of them too. Any other time, Dunlins would be warmly welcomed, but they had stiff competition. Still, here they are.
As for the Snowy Plovers, we eventually made our way to where a large group of them were whiling away the winter resting in the soft, white, sun-soaked sands of Florida. Spending their winter days like this they may just be the original Snowbirds, a term now used to describe northerners like us who pay a lot of money for that pleasure.
