Bowman's Beach

My friend Jewel is in town and she is on the beginning stages of learning about birds, I was more than happy to accompany her to the beach for some further study.....Bowman's Beach seemed like a good idea and it turned out to be perfect.

Our first sighting was a Short-billed Dowitcher, he must have gotten separated from the pack because he was all alone.

The sun is rising and the sky is waking up with gorgeous colors.

The Gull coming in for a landing is looking familiar....

Aha! It is! An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A pretty big gull - towering over the Laughing Gulls at twice the size.

Another beautiful surprise - American Oystercatcher with Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling and Willet.

Since their bill is not totally red - that tells me that it hasn't quite reached adulthood yet.

A couple Semi-palmated Plovers were seen.

Several flocks of Sanderling were observed.

My friend again - one of the perks of fall into winter is the sighting of these beautiful Gulls.

On our way out Jewel pointed out this Yellow-crowned Night Heron sleeping in the Mangroves.

What a great way to seal the day!

Great sightings on the beach this morning, check my E-bird list for the rest of the species seen today.

Beach - S.W. Florida style

I've heard from several different sources today that snow is already on the ground up north - so, to warm things up, I'm sharing with you what I saw on the beach this afternoon.....enjoy

Emphasis today was Gulls and Terns.

People and dog entering Gull territory.

Dreamy

Bowmans Beach

It had been a couple of months since my last visit to Bowman's Beach and since my friend Libby is in town I thought it would be nice to re-visit.

Our Florida weather has been overcast lately but considering the alternatives, I'm not about to complain.

But seeing Red Knots along the shore lightened up the beach.

A Black-bellied Plover manages to stay warm by tucking its leg in and energy is restored by resting.

A Short-billed Dowitcher is following suit.

Notice how this Red Knot is tagged with a green band "XX4", I took this info to Florida Banded Bird Resighting FB page and they directed me to Bandedbirds.org where i was able to report and map this particular bird. Turns out this REKN was first banded in 1/1/07 and has been reported in N.J., S.Carolina, Ontario, Georgia, New Smyrna Beach and twice in Sanibel - previously reported in 11/23/13.

And this little fellow has "6C9" - it was first banded in 1/18/11 in Harbor Island and has since been reported in Kice Island, Fl, Ft.Myers, Georgia, N.J. Keewaydin Island, Florida and Little Estero. This was its first Sanibel report.

It is pretty darn amazing that these little fellows can put so many miles - talk about working overtime!

We saw several groups of Sanderlings - all resting and gathering some energy.

One of the Wilson Plover we saw.

A Great Blue Heron preening.

A Forster Tern with a Laughing Gull.

A Lesser Black-backed Gull in front of a Herring Gull.

Bowman's Beach is known for its shelling properties - a bonus today was a Blue Crab and a bone from a sea turtle's carapace - if you'd like to find out more about a Sea Turtle Skeleton, I found an interesting read at www.marinelife.org

Talking about crabs....I heard that a visitor on Sanibel was inquiring where she could find a beach without so many shells.....

perhaps it provided too much stimulation on her feet....

to me, there's no place like home.