More from the Fort

The pressure is on now – definitely would have been a good time for a 31 day month.  To be honest, it is actually a bit difficult to type tonight.  I am in a battle with a 270 foot long 18 inch deep ditch I originally trenched a couple of months ago to supply power to a new outbuilding.  Since that original dig, I’ve had to hand dig across power and phones lines, re-dug the entire ditch by hand not once, not twice, but now three times due to rain and just spent all evening laying wire in conduit.  At least half of it is done now – damn you rain gods!

For tonight I thought I would go with some more shots from my Ft Myers trip.  Luckily these shots were already processed so the hard part is already done.  Let’s start with a gorgeous Brown Pelican.

Scenes from Ft. Myers May 2013

Pretty stoic bird all around.  As with the previous Ft. Myers shots, these were taken at the secret lagoon behind the Holiday Inn.  Wait.. I am not sure it is a Holiday Inn anymore.  My brother Ron may know for sure – he was just down there to see my parents and had an opportunity to visit that birding hotspot again – I would have went with him, but that was the weekend of my Marathon (link here).   These Pelican shots were taken on the backside of the lagoon on the ocean/gulf side –  you have to cross a small inlet of water, but it is definitely worth it.

Scenes from Ft. Myers May 2013

Hit the jump to see a few more birds from the trip.

The next shot is of an Osprey.  They were busy hunting the lagoon while we were there.  I failed to get a decent shot of the Osprey actually hitting the water.  If you have not seen their approach to fishing, you are definitely missing something.  They basically fold their wings back and hit that water like a bullet.  They can submerge themselves completely underwater, grab their prey and launch back out of the water in a split second.  Sorry I do not have a good shot of that to show you. Until then, how about a standard flight shot.

Scenes from Ft. Myers May 2013

By the way, you can always tell an Osprey from an Eagle simply by the way they carry their food.  Eagles carry fish in their talons perpendicular to their body.  Contrast that with the Osprey that always carry their prey parallel to their body.  Personally, I think the Osprey got it right, why add a wind drag if you don’t need to.

This next sh0t was taken as I was leaving the lagoon.  It was sitting on top of hotel (next to the Holiday Inn) surveying the neighborhood.  For all I know he was sizing me up – me thinks my soft tissue would have been no match for those nasty looking talons.  This is when I usually point out to dangerous animals that my brother Ron is NOT a runner – easier pickens.

Scenes from Ft. Myers May 2013

“I fart in your general DI-rection” and “Taunt you a second time!”

Scenes from Ft. Myers May 2013

Sorry, all I could think about when looking at this Mockingbird.  This bird made its debut on the blog back in July 2014 (link here).  I had forgotten I had this bird from the earlier Ft. Myers trip but those later shots from Biltmore Estates are some of my favorite.

Of course, I’m going to go with my trademark over the shoulder shot.

Scenes from Ft. Myers May 2013

It’s a short one tonight folks.  The pillow is calling my name and my body is in total agreement.  Take care everyone, I hope (well, I have) to be back tomorrow night after my training run.

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2 comments on “More from the Fort

  1. Ron

    That Holiday Inn in front of the lagoon at the Fort Myers beach is now a Wyndham Gardens. I have pics of a really nasty-looking Osprey from there, more evil than the one in your pic. I like the one of the Osprey in flight!

    The birds can already sense that I’m not a runner, so they always attack me anyway.

    I did not know that Ospreys and Eagles carry their prey differently. That’s very interesting! That Northern Mockingbird is living up to its name.

    Thanks for the Florida pics! If I had a birding blog I would post mine from there, but I don’t.

    Ron

  2. admin

    Ah, thanks for the update on the hotel. As mentioned before, it isn’t really marked well. Just a small path that leads off to the lagoon from the side of the hotel. This obscurity may help keep the people done which may contribute to the great birding that can be had there. On second thought, forget about going there – really not much to see there. These sightings were just an freak sighting.

    They sense fear and then quickly find out you are not a runner hehehe

    Remember that when you get a crossword questioning asking which bird holds their prey parallel to their body (then be sure and thank me). I think of those damn Mockingbirds every time I go outside and have to listen to the two Catbirds that have taken up residence right out from our front door. Their chatter about drives me nuts – thank god they didn’t bring the Mockers with them. By the way, for the readers out there, Ron and I have had the pleasure of spotting several Mockingbirds in my area – can’t say as I have ever seen them here before.

    YOU NEED A BIRDING BLOG! (one to help slow you down with the counts you are putting up but also so you can enjoy how hard it is to keep a blog fresh)

    As always, thanks for commenting and updating us on the hotel situation

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