Another Visit to Ding Darling on Sanibel

Before we left Sanibel Island on Monday, we decided to revisit Ding Darling to see if we could spot any of the migratory birds there. On Sunday, there had been quite a number. I have yet to identify the one small bird that I did see but we did spot at least one bird that had eluded me this visit (below).

To the left is a female Red Breasted Merganser.  I haven't really seen these birds out of the water before.

This was the male Red Breasted Merganser.

This is a Reddish Egret which is one of only two of the common wading birds that I hadn't seen (didn't see a Green Heron at all).  The light wasn't great at this time of day but his bill is a lot bluer this season of the year (above the yellow).

Here he is showing his fishing behavior.  He tricks the fish so he can catch them by causing large shadows with his wings.  He did this quite a bit while we watched.


We finally headed home to one of Bill's wonderful dinners and fell into bed, intent upon going to Harns Marsh early the next morning.