Island in the sun
I am composing this adventure from somewhere in South Florida. The morning fog blanketed the ground in one of the west coast of Florida's premier birding spots. In my humble opinion birds just don’t seem as pretty in a shroud of fog verses the golden rays of morning I am normally used to. Our workshop instructor said consider this a challenge and so it was. Thankfully the fog lifted and the sun was shining bright for our afternoon adventure. We boarded a small fishing vessel with an able captain and paid a visit to an island in the sun.
Birds love to roost in secluded islands. Predators can’t swim there and it provides a safe place to lay and hatch the young. The only trouble is every bird in South Florida was trying to roost on this tiny island sanctuary it seemed. The island was no more than 100 ft in length by about 20-30 feet in width with thick shrubs growing to a height of 10-12 ft above the waterline. Nearly every branch there contained a nesting area claimed by either Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Snowy Egrets or White Ibis. We watched as one bird after another left the island to go find some nesting material by the river bank and return to place it carefully in their nest stick by stick. We were so busy capturing photos that within a few hours most of us had over a thousand photos to cull through. We clicked until the sun set with its last ray of light.
Hope you enjoyed these photos of the birds on this island in the sun. Stick by stick the nests are built and although there are occasional territorial squabbles, the birds of all different feathers seemed to get along just fine. We humans could take a lesson. Especially the politicians.
This normally stunning Reddish Egret says the fog ruined its head feathers!
As the fog began to lift I captured this Red-breated Merganser female shaking off the dew.
This Roseate Spoonbill brings another stick and carefully lands among the bird covered branches below.
Fly softly but carry a big stick...this Great Egret brings a pole like stick to anchor its nest.
Bring another stick she says...ok..here it comes..
Look out I am coming in fast.!
Great Blue Heron with full flaps down for landing..
Rocket approach to landing as the sun fades ...
Bald Eagle carries breakfast to the nest.
A Bald Eagle male rests after providing breakfast to some newly hatched eaglets.