Sanibel, FL (72 degrees, cloudy)
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| Tigertail Beach |
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| John & Is |
This summer several of our friends (Is, France, & Gail) encouraged us to join the
Caloosa Bird Club when we returned for the winter season. We took their advice and are so happy we did. Birding is a new hobby for us and there is so much to learn. This club has been meeting since 1958 and has very active members.
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| Black-crested Night Heron (Six-mile Cypress) |
The outings are organized from November - April and you meet each Monday at locations all over southern Florida. One or two members lead the trip and afterwards we have lunch together discussing what was seen Ken Hodges does a great job organizing all the events. About 30-50 people attend and it's like going on a guided bird tour, only its free. John and I would have walked by many of the birds we saw and this club has some very experienced birders who know all the best hot spots.
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| Green Heron (Green Cay -our club mascot) |
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| Least Bittern (Green Cay) |
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| Gail & France (SRA-5) |
Some of the trips involve an overnight stay and one was a full day bus trip to Green Cay (our favorite). Most, however, are within a couple of hours driving distance. Getting up very early in the morning is required I'm not a morning person but I rarely grumble because it's so worth the effort. Well, not too much.
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| Meadowlark (STA-5) |
Here is a list of the trips we've attended:
- Tigertail Beach/Marco Island/Collier County
- J.N. Ding Darling NWR/Sanibel Island
- Pine Island preserve/Pine Island/Lee County
- Sarasota Celery Fields and Myakka River
- Circle B Bar Preserve, Polk County (overnight)
- March Trail (Formerly Oil Pad Road) Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk
- Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve
- STA-5
- Green Cay (bus trip)
Click on the following link for some great information and maps of birding
"Hot Spots" provided by the Caloosa Bird Club
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| Black-necked Stilt & Snowy Egret (STA-5) |
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| Black and White Warbler (Wakodahatchee) |
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| Painted Bunting (Green Cay) |
I didn't have my new camera for most of the trips so my pictures are not very plentiful. Birding requires a much better camera with a good zoom. I've loved my Panasonic Lumix but have found it difficult to get a good shot since birds move quickly or are far away.
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White-winged Dove (Green Cay)
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Even if you are not a birder the natural beauty of the places we visited make the trip worthwhile.
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| Green Cay |
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| Six Mile Cypress |
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| Circle B Bar Reserve |
And, of coarse you can see more things than just birds....
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| Wild Pigs (Six Mile Slough) |
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| Alligator (J.N. Ding Darling NWR) |
So, I guess it really is official...we really are birders. We are looking forward to a few more trips with them this season and will join up as soon as possible next winter. Thanks you Caloosa Bird Club for making us feel so welcome and enriching our love of birds and their habitat.
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| Six-mile Cypress |
"Falling in love with the Earth in one of life's great adventures"
Steve Van Matr
looks like you are putting that new camera to good use!! nice job on the photos!
ReplyDeleteI would definitely join this birding group if I could. What fantastic trips. I am sold on your camera. These are fabulous pictures. Think I'm going to order one. David's taking my broken one apart to try to fix it which is a real long shot. Did you get yours on line or locally?
ReplyDeleteAmazon is probably a great place to buy it. It's about $320 right now. Certainly a local camera shop would be great. Beware, however, of a company in NY who is advertising it currently for $269. I almost purchased from them and found some reviews which were horrible. There were a lot of VERY unhappy customers.
DeleteThank you so much.
ReplyDeletebirding is an awesome, inexpensive hobby. ..good for you for getting on board. . .you will only love it more and more. . .
ReplyDelete