Jan. 13,, 2019 - Sanibel - Misc. Photos

I was hiking around the Bailey Tract on Sanibel Island, Florida, when I came upon this Common Buckeye butterfly with badly damaged wings. Much to my surprise, it was still able to fly as if nothing was wrong with it.

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I liked the way the sun backlit this cactus plant along the wildlife drive at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island.

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Mangrove Tree Crabs are hard to photograph because they are usually crawling among the mangroves where it is very dark. This one was crossing the road and stopped right out in the open. I took advantage of that and got a nicely lit photo of it.

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Birds have an extra eyelid called a nictitating membrane. They use it to cover the eye in situations where it might get damaged. I put these two photos together because they show this White Ibis using its nictitating membrane as it probes under the water looking for food.

IbisWhitenictatingsequenceDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20181108composite

We saw many Green Iguanas when we visited Costa Rica, but I was very surprised to see one at Ding Darling NWR. I mentioned it to the staff at the Visitor Center and they said Iguanas are not that unusual in south Florida.

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This photo shows the length of a Green Iguana’s tail. It’s about three times as long as the body.

IguanaGreenDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20181110

When I’m taking photos of birds in flight, I usually take a burst of shots, so I have a good chance of getting a pleasing view of the bird’s wings. The timing was right with this group of photos to show a Sandwich Tern diving into the water and coming up with a fish.

TernSandwichdivingforfoodsequenceShalimarCottagesbeachSanibelIsland20181110composite

This was my best bird sighting of the trip. It is a Mangrove Cuckoo and I had never seen one before. It’s life bird number 888. I saw it near the lighthouse on Sanibel Island.

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