Pelicans, Anhingas, and more

Our trip through Ding and around Pond Apple Trail yesterday provided several different birds to photograph. Starting at Ding with the Little Blue Heron below.

This time of year, the white pelicans are always present

Then a quick stroll around Pond Apple Trail

Seeing a Green Heron is always a treat

These cormorants below quickly dispersed when a gator showed up. He looked very disappointed.

There were a couple of Wood Storks keeping their distance from us

I rarely have much luck getting photos of the small birds. The flit around so quickly that it is hard to find them through the long lens. The teeny warbler below landed on the rope fence right in front of us and posed long enough for me to take a few pics. Our bird expert neighbor tells me that it is a Palm Warbler. They are here in the winter and migrate to the very far north for the summer.

There’s always an abundance of Anhingas around Pond Apple Trail. As long as you do not make sudden moves, you can usually walk within a couple of feet of them as they dry their wings. If their long neck is a lighter brown, they are female.

The two photos below are of a healthy Bobcat that walked by the wildlife cam in our backyard on Friday afternoon.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2020

We’ve had a few beautiful days on the island. It’s been nice to have cooler, less humid weather.

Coming in for a landing!

Looks like the gang made it to the party.

It was a day for spider webs. I saw the one below as we were leaving Ding.

And then this one in our back yard.

Thanksgiving night, just after sunset, it was so nice and clear that I couldn’t pass up getting a couple of photos of the moon, even though it wasn’t quite full.

Almost Thanksgiving 2020

On our drive through the Ding Wildlife Refuge today, we saw a few white pelicans along with ducks, osprey, anhinga, roseate spoonbill, great egret, and others. A raccoon ran across the road and disappeared before we could get a photo. It’s always fun to drive through the refuge.

The process of a white pelican cleaning its bill pouch by pushing it inside out against its neck is strange looking the first time you see it! Maybe the second and third time you see it, too.

Several ducks all tucked in for a morning nap.

If I stand like this do I look thinner?

Wait . . . he said what???

Strutting around on a Saturday morning

Little spotted sandpiper bobbing his tail and looking at his reflection.

Osprey nests tend to be made of miscellaneous items, but the look on this osprey’s face says that even he is disgusted with this one.

Overcast November Saturday

The morning started out as overcast with lots of no-see-ums. But, we were able to see our first white pelicans of the season, so it was worth it. The white pelicans have been back for a few weeks, but this was our first glimpse of them this season.

I’m always amazed at how large the white pelicans are. Compare them to the size of the ducks that are floating around in front of them in the photo below.

Brown pelicans can be pretty, too!

Little Blue Heron with the biggest shrimp catch of the day.

Mmmmm. Down the hatch.

The gator below could barely be seen in the water. If you click on the photo and enlarge it, you’ll see that the gator seems to have an injury over his right eye. Maybe a battle wound? I realize there’s not a frame of reference here, but the tip of his nose was at least 12 to 13 inches from his eye ridge. The number of inches equals the number of feet in length of the gator. He was big, for sure.

We watched a fisherman catch a large redfish along the culvert near the observation tower on Wildlife Drive.