Gulfside City Park Beach - Sanibel Island

 Thursday January 9th

Gulfside Beach is a public park operated by the town of Sanibel Island. Parking is $6.00 per hour

https://ebird.org/checklist/S208610007

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull trying the Crab

Sandwich Tern

Piping Plover

Willet

American Oystercatcher

Sanderling

Brown Pelican

Ruddy Turnstone

Royal Tern

Red Tide

 Sunday, March 5th

American Oystercatcher

Yesterday we noticed reports on a large gathering of Herring Gulls at Carlos Point on Fort Myers Beach. Hundreds were seen with large numbers of American Oystercatchers, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls as well. we don't normally see so many Herring Gulls in Lee County. 

A Lesser Black-backed Gull, plus Laughing Gulls, Royal Tern and an Oystercatcher

eBird Checklist - 5 Mar 2023 - Carlos Pointe - 22 species. 

So today I drove down to Fort Myers Beach, which is still in a major recovery mode, to explore Carlos Pointe. Besides the numbers of gulls present, were so many dead fish. Victims of Red Tide. This current blow-up of red tide is not doubt to nutrient load caused by the effects of Hurricane Ian. It appears that the toxic load is so bad that even the marine worms are trying to escape.

Hundreds of these worms are seen wriggling on the surface of the sand.
 They've got the birds attention.

Wilson's Plover

Snowy Plovers

Herring Gulls

Lots of interesting species among the dead fish including a goliath grouper, other groupers and snappers, drums, snook, sea mullets, red fish, ladyfish, marine catfish, eels, worm fish, sheepshead, spadefish, cowfish, hog chokers, grunts, a blackchin tilapia, sardines and thread herrings and more

Hogchoker

Atlantic Thread Herring

White Grunt

Spotted Spoon-nosed Eel

Stripped Burrfish

Scaled Sardine

Blackchin Tilapia

Carlos Point

 Saturday May 14th

Black Skimmers

Spent a little time checking out the seabird nesting colony at Carlos Point on Fort Myers Beach today.

Parked at the Lovers Key State Park on Island as available parking at the south end of Fort Myers Beach doesn't exists. So, from Lovers Key I crossed Big Carlos Pass on the draw bridge which dumped me out onto Carlos Point on Fort Myers Beach. Hundreds of Black Skimmers, Least Terns and Royal Terns have gathered at Carlos Point. The Least Tern Colony is already nesting.  The Black Skimmers have gathered and will begin their own nesting colony activity soon.  As for all the royal Terns, most will leave soon to nest up around the Big Bend area of Florida.

Snowy Plovers and Wilsons Plover are also nesting. 

Least Tern

Today, a few Laughing Gulls are around with numbers of Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones. A couple of Sandwich Terns and a young Herring Gull were also present. Looked around for any common terns or red knots but didn't find any today.

Ruddy Turnstone

Least Terns

Black Skimmers

A young Herring Gull

Black Skimmer

Royal Tern

A male sanderling sporting his breeding colors

Royal Terns

South Florida

 Wednesday February 16th

Recently spent three days on birding trips around southern Florida.  A few pics

Yellow-chevroned Parakeets
Coral Gables, Florida
February 2022

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet enjoying some figs
Coral Gables, Florida
February 2022

Yellow-chevroned Parakeets
Coral Gables, Florida
February 2022

An endangered Stock Island Tree Snail
Key Largo, Florida
February 2022

Herring Gull
Clewiston, Florida
February 2022

Yellow-chevroned Parakeets
Coral Gables, Florida
February 2022

Egyptian Goose
Kendell, Florida
February 2022

Fort De Soto Park

 Friday December 24th

Red Knot

As a Lister, I set a goal every year, as to how many species I can locate and more importantly get that photo of. My 2021 goal is 300 species of birds. Should have easily reach my goal earlier this if not for the numbers of birds I have dipped on or hadn't worked hard enough. Some of the awesome sightings I had seen this year included Whooping Cranes in Florida and Wisconsin, Trumpeter Swans in Wisconsin and Illinois, the Iceland Gull that showed up on Fort Myers Beach, Yellow-Green Vireo at Biscayne Bay National Park, a lifer Brown Creeper in Wisconsin, Brown and Black Noddies at Dry Tortugas National Park, a Lifer Sabines Gull out in the Gulf of Mexico thanks to Dave McQuade and Edwin Wilke and a Grove-bill Ani in Cape Coral Florida to name a few. 

Tagged Piping Plover 

What have I dipped or slipped up on chasing? Dipped on the lapwing longspur that spent few days at the Venice Airport, winter wrens or golden-crowned kinglets in the panhandle, hermit thrushes, vesper sparrow, least grebe in Miami, whip-poor-will, spot-breasted oriole, American golden plover, gray-tailed tattler in the Keys, Mississippi kite, Rose-ringed parakeet, Acadian flycatcher and Red-legged thrush that was at Key West to name a few

So, with running out days on the calendar I elected to head up to Fort De Soto for the potential of seeing the last two species needed to reach my goal. Targets were horned grebe and the American golden plover reported there. Missed on seeing the plover, which was photographed in the park today.  But added three Horned Grebes. 

With the removal of the Australian Pines, the character of North Beach has really changed, Miss all the shade. But it seems that their removal may have improved habitat for shore birds. Counted at least 15 Piping Plovers, 6 Snowy Plovers and several Black-bellied Plovers, Red Knots, Sanderling, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Dunlins and a Wilson's Plover. Other species encountered included Common Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Brown and White Pelicans, Laughing, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, Forsters Terns, Kestrels and Nanday Parakeets.

Herring Gull