Down to the Beach

 Thursday May 14th

Did some birding today at Bunche Beach and Bowditch Point Park.  These are some of the birds seen today.

Bunche Beach

Bird List eBird Checklist - 14 May 2026 - San Carlos Bay/Bunche Beach Preserve - 20 species

Reddish Egret with a Red-finned Needlefish

Dunlin. Most numerous shorebirds today

Bowditch Point Park

Bird List eBird Checklist - 14 May 2026 - Bowditch Point Park - 21 species

Semi-palmated Sandpiper

Semi-palmated Sandpipers

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderlings and a Ruddy Turnstone

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird seen at the butterfly garden

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

Bunche Beach

 Sunday September 6th

Bunche Beach bird list

A typical visit to Bunche Beach at a low tide.  The best time to bird here is at low tide. Especial early in the morning on a hot day.

Fish Crows

Black-bellied Plover

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret

Semipalmated Plover

Piping Plover

Short-billed Dowitcher

Sanderling

Marbled Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Wilsons Plover

Willet

Fort Myers Beach

Sunday August 14th

Recently stopped by Bowditch Point Park on Fort Myers Beach. Not many pelicans, gulls or terns were present.  Had heard from Dave McQuade about a recent pelagic trip out into the Gulf where they had found absolutely zero pelagic birds, aside from frigatebirds. May mean that their food source has become scarce. 

Semipalmated Plover

Did find lots of Sanderlings and a few Semipalmated Plovers, Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpipers. 

Reddish Egret

Ruddy Turnstone

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Western Sandpipers

Spotted this lone Short-billed Dowitcher

Counted four Spotted Sandpipers who had probably just arrived from up north

Lots of sanderlings and turnstones

Laughing Gull

USCG Crocodile 

Bunche Beach

 Saturday July 23rd

Haven't been out to Bunche Beach for a couple of months. Primarily because the better tides needed to observe the birds have been occurring very late in the day, which usually when the thunderstorms roll in. Prefer to visit when the tides are low in the early morning, to avoid the worst temperatures of the day and to avoid crowds. Plus, the current issues with fuel prices have been keeping me a home. 

Young Little Blue Heron

Juvenal Yellow-crowned Night-heron

Laughing Gull

Short-billed Dowitcher

Black Skimmer

Ruddy Turnstone

Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Dune Marsh-Elder

Black Mangrove

Black Mangrove

But yesterday I did venture out in the afternoon after the rain had passed through. Saw a nice variety of the expected birdlife. Most common on the day were Short-billed Dowitchers. Plus, Sanderlings, Western and Lesser Sandpiper, a Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstones, a few Willets, Marbled Godwits, American Oyster Catchers, Laughing Gulls, Black Skimmers, Least, Sandwich and Royal Terns, Brown Pelicans, Fish Crows, Northern Cardinals, Rosette Spoonbills, Reddish Egret, Little Blue Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, Black-bellied and Semi-palmate Plovers and Yellow-crowned Night-herons.