Pic of the Day

Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja:  Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Pic of the Day

Least Sandpiper, Calidris mauri:  Fort Myers Beach, Florida

     The Least Sandpiper is the smallest of the sandpipers known as the "peeps."  They are often found on the edges of mudflats and marshes, and in this case, along the edge of a tide pool on Fort Myers Beach.  The Least Sandpiper nests in the arctic and winters from the California coast, east through the southern states, south through Mexico into South America as far as northern Chile and Brazil.  

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1250 second @ f6.3

Pic of the Day

Snowy Egret, Egretta thula; Fort Myers Beach, Florida

     This Snowy Egret with its spread wings was captured landing in a tide pool during an early morning feeding frenzy at the Fort Myers Beach sandbar.  Other birds feeding were Roseate Spoonbills, Brown Pelican, Willets, American Egrets, and Tri-colored, Little Blue and Great Blue Herons.  The feeding frenzy occurred for three mornings in a row.  I guess it took that long to deplete the fish trapped in the tide pool.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, 1/1250 second @ f7.1

Pic of the Day

Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla - Winter Plumage

     Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla – Estero Lagoon; Fort Myers Beach, Florida:  While photographing the spoonbill in the previous post this least sandpiper strolled past me probing the mud for invertebrates.

     Least sandpipers nest in extreme northern Canada, from the Island of Newfoundland, westward to the Yukon Territory, into Alaska.  After spending the breeding season on the tundra this little bird, six inches long from tip of bill to tip of tail, flies south to winter along the continental coast from Vancouver, Canada  southward and eastward to Virginia.  On its wintering grounds it is usually found on mudflats with a variety of other peeps and long legged shorebirds, and is easily identified by its slightly down curved bill, dark back and yellow legs.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,600 @ f6.3