Our Thursday morning birding group (6 people today) traveled south and west to Sanibel Island.  Our first stop was at the Ding Darling NWR, arriving there shortly after 8:00.  Rather than hike, we chose to drive the Wildlife Drive.  Thank goodness we did, because the mosquitoes and no-seeums weren’t very friendly.  We were surprised by the scarcity of birds along the drive.  We did see Anhingas, Cormorants, a few Egrets (Great, Reddish, Snowy), several Frigatebirds flying overhead, some Herons (Great Blue, Little Blue, Tricolored, Yellow-crowned Night), White Ibis, Osprey, Brown Pelican, one Spoonbill, Prairie Warbler, and a Wood Stork.  All of these sightings were usually single birds.

After a stop in the gift shop, we visited the Bailey Tract.  Other than several Red-shouldered Hawks, very little was seen in this area.  Our final stop, for lunch, was the Gulfside Park.  We did observe several Woodpeckers (Downy and Red-bellied) in this area.  Along the beach there was a protected area for nesting Snowy Plovers.  We saw one Snowy Plover during our walk along the perimeter of the area.  For the morning, we saw a grand total of 29 different species on the Island.

Harvey Edelman and I drove up to Tampa this morning for a photo tour at WildLife on Easy Street.  We had a 7:30 am appointment, so we had to leave Port Charlotte at 5:30.  In spite of all the rain the area has been having for the past two days, we lucked out.  It was overcast when we arrived, but eventually the sun came out.  However, on the return home later in the morning, we were met with heavy rain.

WildLife on Easy Street is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the care of exotic cats and other endangered species.  This 40-acre wildlife sanctuary is home to 200 animals, including 172 cats representing 23 species and sub species of wild cat.  Regularly scheduled tours open to the public are available.  Special photo-oriented tours are also available.  For more information, see their web site:  www.WildLifeOnEasyStreet.com.

We spent about an hour and a half there, focusing on the two local Florida species, Bobcats and Cougars.  We also took some photos of Tigers.  Because of the heavy rain the past two days, we had to walk through water at several places.  We had a volunteer guide who led us to the appropriate cages and was able at times to get the cats into more photo opportunistic positions.  We hope to come back again in better weather and spend some more time there.

Our Thursday birding group (4 people today) traveled south to visit some parks in the Bonita Beach and Naples area.  Our first stop was the Barefoot Beach Preserve.  This preserve is a 342-acre barrier island separated from the mainland by mangrove swamps and tidal creeks.  The southern termination of this preserve is Wiggins Pass.  This park opens at 8 am and there is a $4.00 parking fee.  Unfortunately, we did not see much in the way of bird life.  Only five species were observed: Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Mockingbird, Osprey, and Brown Pelican.

Our next stop was the Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park.  This Park occupies the northern end of a barrier island and is adjacent to Wiggins Pass.  This pass is the natural outlet of the Cocohatchee River.  There are five parking areas with a system of connecting trails and boardwalks.  There is a $4.00 parking fee.  We did manage to see fourteen species of birds in this area, the most notable being three species of Terns (Forster’s, Least, and Royal).  Two woodpecker species were also observed (Red-bellied and Downy).

Our next stop was the Pelican Bay Community Park in Naples.  Again, 14 different bird species were observed, the most notable being Anhingas, Cormorants, Green Heron, and a Little Blue Heron.  We then made a short stop at the Lowdermilk Park.  However, parking is a problem for visitors here.  A parking sticker is required.  So, we did not stay.  We did notice on exiting the Park that there is a separate small metered parking area, where we could have parked.

Our last stop was Sudgen Park in southern Naples.  We took a short stroll along the northeast end of the Park, where we observed 16 different bird species.  Most notable was a Great-crested Flycatcher, Egrets (Great, Snowy), and Herons (Green, Little Blue, and Tricolored).  We finished our birding day with a picnic lunch in the park.  Altogether we observed 28 species of birds.  Although not a great birding day, we did have the opportunity to visit some new parks in Collier County.