Peregrine Falcon at Little Estero Lagoon

Tuesday March 27th

Met up with Bob Pelkey at Little Estero Lagoon on Ft Myers Beach with the idea of finding a snowy plover or any northern gannets. I was aware that gannets were seen off of Captiva Island a couple of days ago. But there presence then may have been due to a weather front pushing them close to shore at that time.

Wilson's Plover were common today

A least sandpiper

The most common sight today was actually the large crowd of snowbirds enjoying a beach. We did find a couple of dozen Wilson's Plover, plus a few Semipalmated Plovers and a couple of Piping Plover.  A few Dunlins were seen and one was starting to show the dark belly. The many Black-bellied Plovers were also starting to start changing plumage. We also found a couple Double-crested Cormorants sporting the name-sake crests.

Had hoped to find any early least terns, the gannets, frigatebirds and the snow plovers, but struck-out on all of them.  Only a few Laughing Gulls and Brown Pelicans , a lone Ring-billed Gull, a lone Royal Tern and a juvenile Herring Gull were seen. Otherwise the sky was empty. It was still good birding and Bob captured a lot of  good photo opportunities including the Peregrine Falcon at rest high up the side of one the condos bordering the preserve. It may have been standing over a recent victim as well. It was too far for me to get a decent picture, but Bob should have a few good shots on his blog later this week.

Other birds seen today included Least Sandpipers, a Black-Crowned Night-Heron, a Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Little Blue Herons, White Ibis, House Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Tricolored Herons, Willets, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings and Palm Warblers

Boat-tailed Grackle

Snowy Plover - at Little Estero Lagoon

Friday, June 24th

Little Estero Lagoon

Visited Little Estero Lagoon on Ft Myers Beach early before it gets too hot. The tide was high, but I still got looks at a lot of birds.  The Least Terns, Wilson's Plovers and Snowy Plovers have taken over a lot more of the beach than they had last year.  The terns had to be in the hundreds and it was evident that they were experiencing a great deal of success.  Noted fledged birds as well as young chicks, birds sitting on nests and  some terns were still courting.

The terns had taken over so much of the beach that it was difficult to get past the nesting area without being dived at and pooped on by terns defending their territory.  Tryed to give them a wide berth, for everyone's sake. As with the terns could to see several Wilson's and Snowy Plover chicks.

Snowy Plover

Snowy chick



Dunlin



Laughing Gull

Least Terns

Snowy Egret

Wilson's Plover



Wilson's Plover



Another species I had not seen here before were a trio of Gull-billed Terns.  Had witnessed two of them fly by when I first arrived and then later sighted three resting at the lagoon with Least Terns, a couple of Royal Terns, Laughing Gulls and several Double Crested Cormorants and Brown Pelicans.  Also seen in the Lagoon was a Whimbrel in the company of several Willets. A small sampling of several species that I did expect to see right now included a lone Dunlin, a couple of Semipalmated Sandpipers, a Short-billed Dowitcher, a couple of Marbled Godwits and some Black-bellied Plovers. There were still a lot of Semipalmated Plovers and Sanderling present and most all of the expected waders, like Reddish Egrets, Snowy Egrets and White Ibis.  The Ospreys are always busy and several yard birds were present including House Sparrows, Mockingbirds, Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Ground Doves, and Eurasian Collared Doves.  Found a couple of Mottled Ducks and a Gray Kingbird up by Estero Parkway, hawking from the wires.

Snowy Plovers - Ft Myers Beach

Tuesday August 3rd

Checked out Little Estero Lagoon this mourning on Ft Myers Beach. Little Estero Lagoon is a treasure in Lee County for the birding to found there. Today was a good example. To try to avoid the August heat I got there early, but I got cooking by 9 am.  I don't understand why people enjoy getting broiled on the beach.

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover

American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatcher

Ghost Crab

Great Egret

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling

A roped-off sea turtle's nest. Plastic sheeting used to corral the hatchings to the water and to hide any artificial light from them so that they don't get lost because of a 'false horizon'.

The birding was very good with the several Snowy Plovers being located. Had good numbers Semipalmated and Wilson's Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers on hand. Found only a couple of Least Sandpipers, a couple of Short-billed Dowitchers a couple dozen Willets and six Marbled Godwits. Counted six Ospreys and five Magnificent Frigatebirds. Brown Pelicans, Double-creasted Cormorants, Least Terns, Royal Terns, and Sandwich Terns were very active. A dozen Roseate Spoonbills were present along with a dozen Great Egrets and many of the other common waders.

My List - (39) Mottled Duck, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Osprey, Black-bellied Plover, Snowy Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Gray Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Fish Crow, Barn Swallow, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow

Some Notes on the Migration
In the past week I have been lucky to find a few of the early migrants here in in Florida. We've seen that the shorebirds have already been arriving for a few weeks now. But now we see that the the small birds are arriving and I have already seen several Yellow-Throated Warblers, A Black-and White Warbler, an American Redstart, a Red-Eyed Vireo and a female Orchard Oriole. I'm looking forward to expanding my list as the migration heats-up.

Red Knot - Little Estero Lagoon

Red Knot -

Little Estero Lagoon - Ft Myers Beach

May 24th

Little Estero Lagoon

  Got here by 8 o'clock am in a effort to finish up before it gets too hot. Temperature highs today are expected to be around 92 and sunny. Also arrived on a high tide. Had hoped to find my foy gray kingbird today, but this was my only miss on target birds today. Immediately had Magnificent Frigatebirds and a Bald Eagle perched high up on the facade of a multi-storied condo building. Also quickly found newly hatched Wilson's Plovers, that a photographer informed were hatched just last Friday, the 21st. Was lucky to also find a Snowy Plover.  Would end up locating a total of three snowies and getting my first ever photos. A lone Red Knot worked the shoreline and also gave me great looks. Had flybys of American Oystercatchers and Black Skimmers.  A couple of White Morphed Reddish Egrets were on hand plus about three other red Reddish Egrets. were present. A pair of Red-Bellied Woodpeckers could be seen bringing food to their nest hole in a dead palm. A lone, roped off, sea turtle nest was seen, as were a dolphin and a marsh hare.

   The big event on the beach were the couple of hundred, (just an estimate) Least Terns nesting on the beach. Wildlife management ropes off large areas of the beach to protect the nesting Wilson's Plover, Snowy Plover and Least Terns from having the nest sites trampled and to reduce the stress level on these birds.    

     Well the terns are very aggressive to any potential danger to there nests and chicks.  I was able to watch as one tern drove off a ghost crab.  These crabs are very hazardous to these nesting birds are they prey on hatchings and eggs. It has been reported that they had decimated the breeding efforts for snowy plovers at other nesting sites.

   The terns' aggression was not limited to crabs, but also too the many people using the beach. They also did not recognize the limitation of the roped off areas and had actually expanded beyond.  It seemed to me that they claimed all of the beach up to the water line. When you find yourself too close to a nest they would defend themselves with dive bombing attaches, including trying to defecate on you, coming very close to your head. It is hard not to flinch.  But what you need to do is exit the area as quickly as you can, because in-part this stress is very hard on the birds.

   The three species of birds nesting here are considered threatened to one degree or another and a great effort is being made to protect them. One tragedy last year involved a vehicle being driven onto the beach, killing a nesting tern and destroying several other nests.  Don't know if anyone was ever arrested.  But actions such as this is one reason why these birds are threatened.

Wilson's Plover are actively nesting on Ft Myers Beach

Wilson's Plover hatchling. Several were seen today. Most only a few days old.

Snowy Plover

Red Knot 

Least Terns

My List (36) - Mottled Duck, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black-bellied Plover, Snowy Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Royal Tern, Black Skimmer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Fish Crow, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow

Peregrine Falcon - Little Estero Lagoon

White-Morphed Reddish Egret at Little Estero Lagoon on Ft Myers Beach

As a county employee, I was required to take a furlough day, which is today. So I chose to visit Ft Myers Beach's Little Estero Lagoon to seek out snowy plovers. Arrived early to avoid the day's heat and the spring break crowds. The birding started out slowly. Just a few waders and no shorebirds. As I reached about midway the numbers increased, but still not very birdy. The skies were clear and only a few gulls and terns were about.  A pair of Ospreys kept busy hunting for breakfast. Had about six, high flying, but noisy Least Terns. These were the first that I had come across this season.  The beach was already prepped with demarcated zones for nesting seabirds including the least tern, snowy plovers and Wilson's plovers. So several hundred least terns should be arriving soon.

Found Sanderlings, Semipalmateed Plovers, Wilson's Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers and about six Piping Ploves.  But no snowy plovers today. Had been hearing a serinadeing Prairie Warbler and a couple of Palm Warblers were active. 

I have wondered if sedge wrens were found here. Seems that there is some suitable habitate, but I am no expert on this subject.  I have never found one to date.

The reason for the title to this article was that the Peregrine was my last siting before heading for home. Another birder had it spotted high up on the ledge of one tall condo buildings that line shore.

My List - Mottled Duck, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, White Ibis, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Black-bellied Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Royal Tern, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, European Starling, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow

Little Estero Lagoon and Snowy Plovers

Following a brief storm, this past Tuesday, headed over to Ft Myers Beach to check out the birding at Little Estero Lagoon. Was looking for a few target birds to help reach my minimum goal of 100 species for June. Was up to 90 after visiting Babcock-Webb Wildlife management Area on Monday. Good hits at Babcock included Bald Eagle, Red-Cockated Woodpeckers, Bachman's Sparrow, Eastern Towhees, Sandhill Cranes and a day-time surge of Common Nighthawks.

Arrived at Little Estero Lagoon about noon and already had a Gray Kingbird on the wires outside of the nearby Holiday Inn. Quickly located a Great and Snowy Egrets. Also had a pair of American Oystercatchers and several Wilson's Plovers, including a pair of chicks on the flats. Further down the beach was able to add Semipalmated and Back-bellied Plovers, a Reddish Egret, non-breading Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls, Least, Sandwich and Royal Terns, Brown Pelicans and Double-Crested Cormorants. Had some Magnificent Frigatebirds fly in as well. Best hit for the day was a couple of Snowy Plovers, which are lifers for me. I have been here on several occasions looking for endemic snowy plovers and had always missed out. But not today.

Little Estero is a protected shorebird habitat. Special efforts are made for the protection of nesting sea turtles, least terns and snowy plovers. These nesting sites are roped-off to keep beach goers from disrupting these sites. However, the least terns are very aggressive in defending their territories. Fact is that they are claiming much more of the beach than what is roped-off, by dive-bombing and attempting to deficate on your head.

Overall, it was a good birding day and was able to get seven new birds for the month. Only need three more to hit my hundred.