Ft Myers Beach

Monday, September 12th

American Avocets at Carlos Point

This week the boardwalk at Six-mile Cypress Slough Preserve is closed for maintenance. In August, September and October Six-mile is the default location for fall migration birding. Normally I'd be heading there almost on a daily basis in search of interesting birds, but not today.

Only birds seen in the mangroves were a
 Little Blue Heron and a Snowy Egret.

Instead I birded Bowditch Point Park at the northern tip of Ft Myers Beach, then onto Carlos Point at the southern end of Ft Myers Beach. 

At Bowditch I was interested in any migrants that may resting in the mangroves, but the action was on the beach with the expected Laughing Gulls, Royal Terns and Sandwich Terns, Ruddy Turnstones, Willets, Pelicans, Black Skimmers and Sanderlings. Several late Least Terns and a Forster's Tern were present along with a few Semipalmated Plovers and a Piping Plover. 

Forster's Tern

Black Skimmers

Sanderling

As I was still interested in locating Oystercatchers so headed to the southern end of Ft Myers Beach and was rewarded with plenty of bird life. Had watched the wires along Estero Boulevard on the drive here looking for any lingering gray kingbirds. No kingbirds, but a couple of Magnificent Frigatebirds were seen soaring over head.

A bathing Piping Plover

So much of the bird life on the beach at Carlos Point were there to scavenge the sea life tossed ashore during the recent tropical storm 

that passed through last week. Dozens of American Oystercatchers and a very large contingent of Ruddy Turnstones were rooting through the detritus. Also present were dozens of Black-bellied Plovers, Brown Pelicans, Western Sandpipers, Sanderling, Willets, Marble Godwits, a few Royal and Sandwich Terns, a lone Least Tern, some Wilson's and Snowy Plovers

Least Tern

Black-bellied Plover

American Oystercatcher

The best birds on the day were a dozen American Avocets sitting in the tidal pool with a couple of Reddish Egrets and a Great Blue Heron, Willets, Godwits, Short-billed Dowitchers and a few peeps.

American Oystercatcher tagged - CRA 29

According to Lindsey Addison at American Oystercatcher Working Group

with Audubon, this is bird 1106-29138. 

First captured and tagged at Ft Fisher State Recreation Area in North Carolina.

 It spent last winter here at  Estero Lagoon and has returned for another winter season.

The pool cleared out when a Cooper's Hawk appeared over head, and the Avocets flew off towards Lovers Key.

American Avocets