My New Camera Has Inspired Me! Photographs Which Are Certainly Blog Worthy

Sanibel, Florida (67 degrees, cloudy, rain)

Love Birds

We have been volunteering at J.N. Ding Darling NWR for almost three months.  It's been a wonderful experience and the time has gone by very quickly.  One of the great benefits of being here has been the opportunity to attend the lecture series given by Ding Darling (Friday) and in addition, the Audubon Society (Thursday). 

Great Egret Eggs

One of my favorite lectures was given by  Donald & Lillian Stokes who publish lots of great guides about birding.  They live on the island and their free program was excellent offering great tips on photography and birding.  They recommended a camera recently developed by Canon called the SX-50 which offers a tremendous zoom, amazing photographs, ease of use, and best of all a great price. Taking close up pictures of birds in the past required a fairly significant outlay of money for long lenses. Lugging these around and changing them back and forth really did not appeal to me.  This camera is lightweight and gets a close up photo which certainly facilitates identifying a bird much easier.  I finally convinced John that I NEEDED one and have been playing around with it for a couple of weeks.  

The pictures I'm taking are blog worthy.  So, I've recommitted myself to writing again. Todays photographs were taken at the Venice Area Audubon Rockery.  There is a little island in the middle of rockery which is grand central station for nesting birds of all kinds right now.  These photos are of a very vocal baby Great Egret.  Seeing the action up so close is really a treat.  Binoculars are hardly necessary.  

Hello ...I'm hungry

Is anybody listening??

I'm starving to death...can't you tell.  

At last....thanks Mom!

Over the next week I'll write a few posts about what we have been doing and great visits we have had with friends.  Plus, we will update you on some of our upcoming travel plans. Stay tuned!

Lots To Do....So Little Time - Our First "In Season" Week at Sanibel

Sanibel, FL (76 degrees, clear blue skies)

Birds roosting together due to the cold weather

When we volunteered here at Ding Darling this summer, many of the locals told us the winter season is very busy.  They were so right.  Whether you enjoy arts, shelling, birding, kayaking, biking, nature, and so much more there are planned events you can tap into for a very minimal cost.

Tigertail, Marco Island

Caloosa Bird Club (Marco Island)

France

If you have followed our blog for awhile you know we really enjoy birding and kayaking.  This is such a great place to really get involved in both of these activities.  We have heard many wonderful comments about the Caloosa Bird Club and after reviewing their weekly outings decided to become involved.  Our friend on the island, France, is sponsoring us and we have now attended a business meeting and two outings which are requirements before joining.  France is a joy to bird with and her love of nature is contagious.  

We have greatly enjoyed each of the bird trips.  One was to Marco Island/Tigertail Beach and the other one was right here at the refuge.  We found the group to be very welcoming and such a great opportunity to learn more and improve our ID skills.  Most of the members are very experienced birders and many bring scopes along for viewing.  At each event the scopes are focused in on a different type of bird and the owner encourages you to check them out.  We loved it! You can practically see the birds tonsil with these scopes.

Beautiful Roseate Spoonbills

We also attended a weekly Audubon meeting at the Sanibel Community House.  The speaker this week was a famous local writer and canoe operator named Bird Westall.  He told us so much about ospreys and taught us how to even speak Osprey.  It was a delightful evening and the hall was packed.  On Saturdays this club also has planned bird outings mostly in Sanibel and Ft. Myers.  A donation of only $2 is suggested and it gives you another opportunities to  learn about birds and plants on these excursions.

Caloosa Bird Club (Ding Darling)

White Pelicans

Lots of birds wading in the mud flats during low tide

We haven't checked out The Big Arts yet, but it has all types of craft classes, jazz shows, and a film series.  Then if that's not enough Ding offers a weekly movie and lecture series.  The recreation center has exercise, swimming, and yoga classes too.  For the first time in a long time, I'm keeping a detailed daily calender to keep up with all the cool activities.  Retirement can be very exhausting!

Elegant Great Egret

Our first week volunteering at the refuge included a three hour orientation at the center and a fun geocaching seminar led by Ken, a resident volunteer.  John was busy helping out with a new tile floor for the kitchen and preparing a new parking lot for the tram tours.  I worked in administration mostly answering phones (that can be interesting) and helping out with some billing projects.  My first alligator crocodile interpretive program went fairly well.  I forgot to mention a few things but everyone seemed to enjoy it and getting the first one done is a great relief.  This first week went by so quickly. It's going to be a fun winter.

Below our our ebird lists. We added quite a few to our LIfe List.  Tigertail Beach,   Mackle Park, Canada Goose Sighting,  J.N. Ding Darling, and Causeway.

Adorable burrowing owls (Marco Island)