Stay at home day!

Some days, you can just stay home and get all the photos you need, at least at my house!  Our yard is pretty much a zoo most days.  I was taking pics of the baby ducks when my neighbor noticed an eastern screech owl in their bird box.  Just a few days before a woodpecker was inside this box tossing out 4 eggs on the ground.  

There were 4 little baby ducks following Mom around.  I couldn't get a good photo of all of them because the mom was herding them to safety!  They were adorable, though.

The two baby osprey (orange eyes) are getting big.  It won't be long before they will be testing those wings and leaving the nest!

The next photo is just to show the yellow-crowned night heron sitting on a nest on the upper right tree limb and the anhinga on a nest on the limb underneath.  Both limbs are hanging out over the lake behind our house.

I took this photo of the two woodpeckers from my back door.

There were 2 Ibis in our tree, but I could only get a good photo of one them.  It seems to be posing and smiling in the morning sun!

Black-Necked Stilt babies and much more!

So many birds to photograph!  We started out the morning seeing two eagles in a nest on Sanibel just as the sky was getting light, then on to the Bailey Tract where we saw many birds, including a Black-Necked Stilt and her 3 babies.  We saw several other birds, including one of my favorites, the Roseate Spoonbill.  Now, who doesn't love seeing a big pink bird fly over your head?!  While we were there, a very nice lady walked over to talk and asked if I were Beverly.  She was from Wisconsin and visiting the island.  She was so complimentary of my photos and it was great to hear from one of the 41 people who follow my blog and also isn't one of my family, close friends, or neighbors!!

This momma and her 3 babies were the hit of the photographers and birders this morning.  Look closely and you'll see an extra pair of legs under the momma.  The other two babies were a little more bold and exploring.  I missed getting a photo of all three babies with their mom.

After a while, the little one came out from hiding under momma's skirts.  They certainly look different when young!

They are so adorable, though!!

This Black-Necked Stilt was being a bully on the other side of the pond.  He made his presence known to all the others!

He came around behind this Ibis and bullied him to fly.  Look at the Tri-Colored Heron's reaction!  His hair stood on end!

Sometimes, you just have to shake it off!

A quick drive through Ding didn't produce many photos.  I did get this one of either a Little Blue Heron in its white phase or maybe a Reddish Egret in its white phase.  It just seemed a bit big to be a Little Blue Heron.  I'm sure our friend, Hugh, will tell me in the comments section!

Just as the sky was getting light this morning, we saw an eagle in this nest on Sanibel.  There is no way to get close to the nest, so the pics are grainy.  Even with the long lens, all I can do is crop in as close as I can.  It's still exciting to see a Bald Eagle.

The sun started coming up and we changed our vantage point.  I snapped this photo without realizing there were two eagles in the nest.  I apologize for the quality of the photos.

I love the broad-chested bad-ass look!

And then we saw this Swallow-Tailed Kite in the early morning light.

The moon was so bright and pretty this morning just before the sun came up!

I can only imagine that you are tired of scrolling through my photos right about now.  But, I have some photos from a fews days ago to share, if you want to keep going.  My apologies for so many photos!

My neighbor let me take pics from her deck of the Osprey babies feeding.  Look at those two mouths, wide open and waiting for food!

Hmmm, looks like he was expecting a bigger bite!

Now it's time for some "wingersizing"!

Talk about a chip off the old block . . . those eyes!!

The butterflies and bees are super busy on all the blooms right now!

Pond Apple Trail bike ride

We took a bike ride through Pond Apple Trail today.  It was a great day for photo ops!  We saw many Anhinga, Common Gallinule with their babies, Mottled Ducks and babies, a gator, a turtle, and the Juvenile Black-Crowned night Heron below.  Our friend, Hugh, will correct me if I'm wrong on that identification, though!  It was bigger than I would have thought.  When it first flew to this branch, I thought it was a young Limpkin, but then realized that the beak wasn't long enough.

The light was really harsh and I couldn't get a good clear shot of the little Common Gallinule family, but I grabbed this snapshot of the parents and five little babies.

Bet you can't look at this next picture and not say, "Awwwww!"

This turtle never got into a position for a good photo.  His shell was probably about 12 inches across.

This small gator kept an eye on us.

This female Anhinga perched on a branch right over our heads so we could get some photos.

I usually have a hard time getting photos of a cardinal.  They just won't sit still for me.  This one was very accommodating, though!

I believe this is a Great Crested Flycatcher.

The Anhinga is still taking care of the nest in the tree behind our home.  Hoping for babies soon!

Eagles, Owls, and Kites . . . oh my!

This morning, we saw a Bald Eagle land in a tree on the island.  Through my long lens, I realized that the eagle was sitting in a large nest!  There was a juvenile eagle flying nearby, so maybe the juvenile came from that nest?  Now that I know where the nest is, we'll keep an eye on it for future photo ops!  The tree is quite a distance away, so the photos aren't as good as they could be.

I got a quick snapshot as he flew away.

A couple of Swallow-Tailed Kites were soaring around above our house.  This one had nesting material.  We are seeing a lot of these beautiful birds in our neighborhood this year.

A big thank you to my neighbor who told me about the pretty little Eastern Screech Owl in the nesting box in his yard.  She doesn't seem to be shy at all.

She gave me a little wink!

If I close my eyes, maybe you'll move along!

It's time for the Frangipanni plants start to blooming!  Yay!

The trunk of this old bottle brush plant was broken off just above the ground during Hurricane Irma.  Now, a short 6 months later, it has green leaves/stems growing and one flower blooming.