Jan. 22, 2017 - We're Back in Florida

Diana and I are again staying on St. George Island located in the panhandle of Florida. We will be here for all of January and February. It’s nice to get back here and see some of the familiar birds that we don’t see in Minnesota, like this Brown Pelican. The gray body and wing feathers, white neck, and yellow head indicate this is an adult pelican. A juvenile would be mostly brown.

PelicanBrownadultSikesCutThePlantationGeorgeIsland20170103

Minnesota has the most nesting pairs of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states but Florida is right behind. Eagles can begin nesting earlier in Florida than they can in Minnesota. I wouldn’t be surprised to soon see baby eagles in nests around here.

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There is a small pond a few blocks from where we are staying. Toward evening, Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets gather around this pond and use it as a nighttime roosting area. I counted 24 of them in this photo.

NightRoostEgretGreatSnowyThePlantationGeorgeIsland20170109

One day as I was walking on the beach, I saw Ghost Crabs scurrying along the sand dunes. As I approached them, they dove down their holes in the sand. I finally got close enough to this one for a decent photo. But notice the crab is right next to its hole, ready to disappear. The shell of the crab is only 1½ to 2 inches across.

CrabGhostResortVillageBeachSt.GeorgeIsland20170105

Finding food on the beach is sometimes a real battle. One of these Laughing Gulls (lower right in the photo) has a fish and the others are chasing it, trying to steal the food.

GullLaughinggroupflightchasingonewithfishSikesCutThePlantationGeorgeIsland20170103

Shrimp boats fish in the Gulf of Mexico and bring in fresh shrimp and fish daily. Most of them are too far away to photograph. This one was going back and forth between St. George Island and Little St. George Island and was close enough to get a good shot.

ShrimpBoatSikesCutThePlantationGeorgeIsland20170103

Willets are common on the beaches here in the winter. They are quite bland looking when standing or walking on the beach. The intricate pattern of their wing feather only shows when they fly.

WilletcompositeGeorgeIsland20170107