Blue-winged Teal in red crystal waters...

I saw this beautiful Blue-winged Teal couple in the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, Florida. They were swimming in the channel off the Indigo Trail quietly moving in and out of the mangrove roots. The water was dull and murky with a slight reddish-brown cast, but when the couple moved into an area of deep shadow sprinkled with pockets of filtered sunlight, an optical illusion brought the water to life. Wherever the sun struck the murky water, fiery red color seemed to rise up from below, as if it was being lit by flaming crystals underneath...

The male Blue-winged teal left a stream of fiery color in his wake. What an unusual sight!! I'd never seen anything like it before, and on my return walk, the illusion was gone.

A male Blue-winged Teal in breeding plumage is so striking. I love spotting the white crescent-shaped mark on his face and the white circular patch near his tail. If you look sideways and combine his reflection, he looks like an eerie owl with huge white eyes. His speckled chest and sides add to the owlish look. When I was photographing him, the owl illusion really jumped out. The whole scene was surreal...creepy...and Scooby Dooby Doo-ish!

...can this water be real? You would think red "mood" lighting had been installed underneath as an added attraction for tourists...sort of like the old disco floors...

Disco ducks?

...eventually the Blue-winged Teal couple left the deep shadows....

...and came out into the light. The glowing reds left the water, but a small patch of his his famous sky-blue wing coverts became visible instead!

I photographed these birds last March. I wish I were in Florida now, though!

Marbled Godwits on the mudflats of Ding Darling...

...more from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

...standing on Wildlife Drive and looking out at the mudflats of the eastern impoundment in the Ding Darling NWR, a huge flock of Willets flew in causing quite a stir. Through the binocs, Matty and I could see a few Short-billed Dowitchers were thrown in...and a life bird for us, a Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)...

...a Marbled Godwit towers over the Short-billed Dowitcher standing beside it in the water.

...fluffing beautiful, carmel-colored feathers.

...there is no missing that long pink bill with the black tip! It's beautiful...

Marbled Godwits are stunning birds. Large and impressive, their pinkish bills really stand out, and their warm colors separate them easily from the surrounding grey-colored birds.

...a glimpse of the "cinnamon flash" of the underlining of the Marbled Godwit's wing. I was surprised how noticeable it was.

...two Marbled Godwits stand among Willets and Short-billed Dowitchers, their slightly upturned pinkish and blackish bills stealing the show!

A Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) walking the beach...

...from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Shorebird ID is always tough for me because I don't get to see them that often, so when large flocks of assorted waders fly in, I really have to think. When trying to identify shorebirds, I focus on three things to start; leg color, bill shape, and height. Since I can't identify shorebirds yet by call, and I normally see them only in non-breeding plumage, sticking to the "big three" seems to be the best way for me to ID them.

A Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) walks the shore on Captiva Island in Florida.

Short-billed Dowitchers and Long-billed Dowitchers look a lot alike, but according to my "Birds of Florida" book by Pranty, Radamaker, and Kennedy, Long-billed Dowitchers are "restricted to fresh water during winter." Since it was the end of winter when I saw this bird, and he was standing where the land meets the sea, it was easy to deduce that this fellow was the short-billed version of the bird...

The Short-billed Dowitcher's field marks are pretty clear...a medium-sized shorebird with pale yellow legs and a very long, straight bill. Check!

...another determining field mark of a dowitcher is a black-and-white barred tail.

...the two yellow-legged Short-billed Dowitchers seem to be pointing at the tiny Dunlin in front of them. It's easy to see dowitchers are medium-sized birds compared to the tiny Dunlins or Sanderlings.

...for comparison, a Short-billed Dowitcher stands next to a Dunlin. (For an earlier post on Dunlins, click here.) Size, leg color, and bill shape are different between these two birds!

...not quite The Three Tenors, but these three Short-billed Dowitchers look dapper in the sun. Our little Dunlin doesn't seem to be able to keep his eyes open!

The Dance of the Reddish Egret

...from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

A soft breeze was pushing across the shallow waters of the eastern impoundment of the tidal basins off Wildlife Drive in the Ding Darling NWR, ruffling our hair and providing cooling relief from the ever-strengthening sun overhead. It was quiet, and an adult and juvenile Pied-billed Grebe were bobbing and preening in the shallow saltwater tidal flats on the right side of the rode--the Pine Island Sound side. Matty and I were crouched in shaggy grass behind a small red mangrove stand watching the two birds, captivated by the baby as he dove every now and then under the water only to pop up nearby, water beading and dripping from his dull brown feathers (just like his mama!). Eventually, however, a bird on the other side of the drive--the eastern impoundment side, which is the brackish freshwater basin, stole our attention and pulled us across the road and into the breeze. "What is that bird doing?" Matty asked. "Dancing!" I told him, "...and fishing..." Matty had spotted one of the birds I wanted us to see most that day, a Reddish Egret (our rarest egret), and even better, the reddish-bluish bird with a half pink and half black bill was doing his famous dance!

...a Reddish Egret runs in circles and "dances" through the shallows of the eastern impoundment along Wildlife Drive at Ding Darling. He's not just having fun...or running away in terror from an alligator, he's employing the same foraging techniques used by his ancestors for centuries.

A Reddish Egret raises its wings to form a canopy over the water, casting a shadow that reduces the sun's glare, making it easier for the bird to see the fish in the water. The shadow also lures in small fish and frogs, tricking them into its "protective" shelter.

...prancing and hopping around in the shallow water with wings outstretched and flapping, running back and forth in his own ballet...all to drum up a little lunch!

...every now and then he pauses from the dance and assumes the canopy stance...luring in the unsuspecting prey churned up from his spastic movements. He also may shuffle his feet a bit to stir up the mud, releasing other tasty creatures.

...flicking the wings...and prancing....

...more flicking of the wings...and prancing...

...charging through the water... (These shots always make me laugh. It looks like he's shrieking in the stereotypical "I just saw a mouse" posture...or maybe the standard, "snake...")

...getting ready...

...direct hit!

Matty and I saw this bird on March 22, 2011. For last year's visit to Longboat Key, Florida, and another post on the Reddish Egret's fishing dance, click here.

Dunlins hunting in the mudflats...

...from the Captiva Island, Florida posts.

Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

While two little Dunlins were busy scouring the muddy shores of one of the salt-water marshes and mudflats in the Ding Darling NWR, Matty and I were watching a Reddish Egret hunting and dancing in the blue waters much farther out. We didn't even know the two "best buds" were so close until we happened to look down. A total surprise, they were about 15-20 feet away, systematically probing the soft, creamy mud for invertebrates...

...could these little sandpipers be any sweeter? I love Dunlins with their gently down-curving bills and their beautiful little faces.

Although still mostly garbed in his dull, "dun," non-breeding winter colors, the beautiful russets and reds of his spring breeding plumage are starting to show.

Dunlins are predominantly visual hunters (pecking) during the day and tactile hunters (probing) at night. Matty and I sat on the grassy embankment and watched the Dunlins for a long time. We saw both feeding methods. Maybe because the mud was so soft and creamy they did a lot of tactile feeding, their long bills resembling straws that let them probe deep into the muck and slurp up their prey!

Click here to read a very interesting article about the Dunlin's hunting methods in the Journal of Avian Biology 25: 55-62 by K. N. Mouritsen titled, "Day and night feeding in Dunlins Calidris alpina: choice of habitat, foraging technique and prey."

I don't think this is the Stink Eye. I think it's a curious What's-making-that-clicking-sound-above-me Eye!

Matty and I watched these birds on March 21, 2011. It was so warm in the Florida sun, and we were able to sit down, relax and just study the little birds. Such a welcome relief from the cold, nasty weather still waiting for us back home...

Usually when we saw the Dunlins at Ding Darling, they were in huge mixed flocks out on the mudflats, but these two birds were hanging by themselves. Sometimes they would split up for a few minutes, but they always came back together. At one point, we were further down the road watching a Tri-colored Heron, when a large flock of Dunlins ripped over our heads trailing energy, sound and even a breeze in their wake. It was so sudden and unexpected--and the experience was made even more thrilling because they flew from back to front and only a few feet over our heads. It was like all the energy of their flock washed over us. In a split second they were in front of us zipping and turning together at breakneck speed, flashing and zig-zagging until they lighted on the mudflat further out in the marsh. It was the first time I ever felt that kind of energy...I'll never forget it.

P.S. After dinner this evening Rick and I headed over to the Little Miami River to see what neotropical migrants we could find, and...oh my gosh...first up was a Canada Warbler!! He was so gorgeous...and SO CLOSE...and stayed around for so long. Even Rick the Reluctant Birder was sold. We then saw a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Blackburnian Warbler, two Wood Thrushes, two Hermit Thrushes, a Swainson's Thrush! (directly overhead), an Ovenbird (really, really close too)...our Northern Parula was still there, a Baltimore Oriole, Red-eyed Vireos...tons of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, two Phoebes...an Eastern Wood Pewee...a Barred Owl...the list goes on and on. Rick attributes the incredible views of the Canada Warbler to the fact I didn't have my camera with me. It was misty...and foggy...and evening was falling hard, so I thought I'd be "free" and just bird with binocs. I knew not having the camera would guarantee something cool...

A Cormorant taking off from the water...doing the Cormorant Hop!

...back to the Captiva Island, Florida posts!
Birding Sanibel Island and the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge
Cormorants are always fun to watch. I like to follow them when they are diving for fish, but watching their take-offs is sometimes even more entertaining. They don't pitter-pat, pitter-pat, pitter pat across the water in a running motion before eventually hauling their stout and dripping wet bodies out of the water and into the air--they hop, hop, HOP!

A Double-crested Cormorant swims the waters of the Ding Darling NWR.

His sparkling turquoise-colored eyes and orangish face mask command attention...

...hmmmm...that water looks like it's starting to boil. Something must be going on with those feet!

SPLASH! Cormorants use both feet at the same time to push off the water when they are taking off, basically hopping their way in huge leaps across the water. If you follow the splashes you can see this fellow's progress...a big splash, then undisturbed water, then another big splash, etc. (One of my favorite bird reference books is the National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America by Mel Baughman. I like this book because is discusses bird behavior and general information instead of bird ID. You can read more about the cormorant's take-off method in this book.)

...the hops are getting further apart...and you can see his two feet working together!

...do we have lift off?

...no, but almost...one more really big hop should do it...

...see you later C-bird!

...these photos were taken on March 22, 2011 at the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, Florida. It was so beautiful...warm, sunny, and blue!

A Study of a Prairie Warbler...

...continued from the Captiva Island posts.

I heard Prairie Warblers singing throughout the park every time I visited the Ding Darling NWR this March, but they especially seemed to like the shrubby habitat and mangroves that bordered the Indigo Trail about a quarter mile down the crushed seashell path. This fellow was singing his heart out, and he came so close too...

A Prairie Warbler sings heartily in a mangrove tree on the Indigo Trail...

The crushed seashell path along the Indigo Trail in the Ding Darling NWR.

The shrubby habitat and mangrove trees that border the Indigo Trail were a favorite of the Prairie Warblers I saw there. (Just a touch different than the cedar barrens and scrubby fields they like in Ohio.)

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