This particular day did not start out very well. It was raining at dawn, so I waited until the shower blew over. I knew that I was late as I hustled up the beach to one of my favorite, and closest, shooting spots. We stay on Bonita Beach and this spot is where Big Hickory Island and Little Hickory Island meet. It’s a 15 minute walk from my back door. There is a river that flows between them and empties into the Gulf. Where the river meets the Gulf is usually a very reliable spot for birdlife. But for some reason this year it has not been so good. Until this morning when I was lucky enough to get a few decent pics of birds.

The first few are of a Reddish Egret who was fishing for breakfast. He was a crazy little guy and he made himself look really scary when he was pursuing a fish! I have seen this behavior before, but never this pronounced! This little guy was nuts!!
And the other smaller birds are called Willets. They are cute little birds and they are usually not too skittish towards photographers if you approach them slowly.

Then Mel and I went on a scouting mission to find a new place to shoot. We had heard about a place on Marco Island called Tigertail Beach. Now Marco Island is about as developed an island as I have ever seen. There are very few open places, with some of the most expensive real estate in the country. This is millionaire country! But in the middle of all this is a county park with a beautiful lagoon, which the birds seem to enjoy as much as the people! I was very lucky to get this picture of a flying Reddish Egret. Usually my bird in flight pictures come out as blurry as everyone else’s!

Click on the pics to enlarge.
More to come......