Well, here it is, all in one picture -- no flipping back and forth between images!The ones peaking on the far left are the ibis, with their curved pink bills. They also come in black (glossy ibis) and pink (scarlet ibis) and all three varieties are down in Ft. Myers Beach. The third is very rare down here as it is really a bird from the Caribbean but there are a couple of them that have been spotted each year. The second bird is the Great Egret with its yellow beak and black legs and he stands heads above the other two. The one on the right is the Snowy Egret who has bright yellow feet and is of course quite a bit smaller. There were also a small Blue Heron and a Great Blue Heron visiting this afternoon.
The Great Egret is not even a little shy especially when he (or she) spots skinks (of which we have many, many). While I was standing there for maybe three minutes, he caught three and downed them. I was about 3 feet away from him while he was hunting.
This was a very silly and very confused immature pelican who came to get treats from the fisherman who feeds the birds while he is cleaning is daily catch out back. He waddled all around the yard and was holding his wings out at an odd angle. This was not typical pelican behavior. He is on the driveway in front in this shot. I was about six feet away from him.
I may be wrong but I believe this is a spotted sandpiper who doesn't look too spotted to me but he isn't spotted too heavily in the bird book either! He was by himself in the back rather than on the beach with the other shore birds.
This is my egret again with one of his catches -- a pretty good sized skink!I took my long walk this morning down the beach and saw my favorites which are the black skimmers -- beautiful flock type birds with bright red beaks and beautiful black and white markings. Of course, no camera. My cormorants were in their usual place and there was one shorebird I didn't recognize so hopefully I will remember the camera tomorrow and hopefully it won't be raining (which it is supposed to do).
This evening was spent with my lovely sister in her condo down here with her resident chef (and hubby) preparing yet another fabulous meal.
Oh, and for all you northerners, it is sunny and 80 degrees with cool Gulf breezes -- doesn't get much better!
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10 comments:
Great photos!
Love the photos!
Your Egret seems to be enjoying an anole, looking at the mottled color of its tail. Skinks are chunkier, very slick or shiny-looking, usually dark green or blue-black. Lots of us call the Anole a Chameleon because of his ability to change color to match his background.
Both are neat, but the Anole is a lot more willing to sit on your finger and look back at you than the skink.
Thank you! I was looking up the differences between the Great and Snowy Egrets, and found your picture, with the added benefit of the Ibis!
Thanks, I had mistaken mine as a form of stork since it was bigger than the cow egrets that I am accustomed to seeing.
thank you for sharing your thoughts & Tom S. regarding anole! wonderful pics, identification, conrext. my camera sucks & birds too skittish to open the door, would fly away.
Thank you for making this clear and simple!
Thank you Beth. I've seen tall white birds in our Wilmington, NC, front yard at about this time (December) over the last ten years. Based on your info, I think they might be white egrets. (Before, I always thought Ibis.) My photos are never close enough, or I would send one.)
Well, if you see more of my blog, you will see that I spend the winters in Kure Beach. The most common bird we see in the yard across the street is the Ibis, but if your birds don't have the big curved beaks, they are definitely not ibis!! There are a lot of Great Egrets hanging around Wilmington -- my daughter has them in her back yard and I saw literally 100s of them off Masonboro Loop a couple of weeks ago.
Very good information, thank you very much. I love the birds.
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