Birding in Southwest Florida

After comparing our schedules, we found one 3-day stretch that both our Bonita Springs friends and we had open to bird at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel before they return to Pennsylvania in April. How can retired people be so busy? And then we got the weather forecast: thunderstorms the day we planned to go there. What the hey, we’d drive down anyway, bringing games, cards, and books for entertainment if we couldn’t go outside.

On the way down, we lunched, as usual, at Woody’s River Roo on the Manatee River, in Ellenton. The weather was lovely, so the restaurant was packed. At first, Grant found a table near the stage with a guy doing 80’s covers. But I watched, and as soon as I saw a table farther away, and even better, in the sun, we moved. We shared a grilled mahi-mahi Ruben on marbled rye and an order of sweet potatoes.

That afternoon, we visited Marsh Trail, east of Naples, off US 41. Not many birds until they all began flying in to roost. Hundreds of white ibis, snowy egrets, great egrets, and little blue herons, each species circling in its own flocks, finding their own set of mangroves, just as the sun began to set. Much squawking and clacking. Thankfully, just a few mosquitoes and no-see-ums.

As billed, the next morning was rainy and cold. Which gave us an excuse to laze around and have puff pastry topped with Gouda, ham, and egg baked for breakfast. For lunch, Kyle packed grilled cheese sandwiches, made with my sourdough bread.

They have a little plug-in cooler which he could switch to heat so the sandwiches were warm when we stopped for a picnic.

By noon, we’d arrived at Ding Darling, and the sky had cleared off. Between the rain and coming at high tide, the birds just weren’t around. I thought they might come out as the afternoon progressed, but I was wrong. We did see a juvenile bald eagle in our scopes. White pelicans, short billed dowitchers, the usual ibis, herons, and egrets. A royal tern was hunkered down on rocks at the water edge on one trail. I’m pretty sure it was dying, but some other walkers were going to try to get it to a wild bird care center. Just as we were leaving, a roseate spoonbill flew over, and a mature eagle was sitting on a tree on the way out. 

Since the rain had gone, we drove to Hanes Marsh in Lehigh Acres. Still not many birds, but we got the scopes out and saw a pileated woodpecker, 2 red shouldered hawks and a pair of gadwalls. The edge of the water was littered with apple snail shells, so there were limpkins but we didn’t see any, and I was surprised, didn’t hear any. This time, the roosting birds were hundreds of turkey vultures landing in the cypress trees. A flock of shore birds (dowitchers?) circled in the distance, but didn’t come close enough for us to identify them.

Monday, after breakfast of eggs baked in little silicone muffin cups, dried sausage, cheese, fruit, and toast, we headed home. I wanted to stop at the Celery Fields near Sarasota, but as soon as we got on I-75, it began to rain, which continued until we turned onto I-4. I should just plan a day trip over in the next few weeks. If I can find a place in our calendar. Busy, busy.