Day 21 on Captiva

Today, we made an early drive through Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge spotting a small group of white pelicans with shore birds mostly made up of willets at one of the pools. Other sightings included a yellow-crowned night heron at the edge of the road, ibises feeding along the road, blue heron, and egrets. There were several nesting ospreys with recently hatched chicks. 

One of the most interesting sights was several horseshoe crabs swimming along a section of the shoreline. The smaller crabs would attach to the larger crabs and be pulled along in a string….could this be some form of mating ritual? check out this link  http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/horseshoecrab/history/reproduction.html

After our drive at the refuge, we had brunch at the Sunset Grill on the road just across the beach. We ate on the porch enjoying the beautiful morning and the sounds of the surf. Al ordered bagel and smoked salmon served with smoked salmon, capers, onions and cream cheese.   I enjoyed the poached eggs with wheat toast and hashed browns.
                               
We spent a lovely afternoon at the beach watching the birds and boats going by.

Picture from the internet images.

After a casual day, we enjoyed eating at our fave local hangout, Lazy Flamingo. Tonight I had a Big Burger Burger, 8 ounces ground sirloin with tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles, mayonnaise and a special sauce on a bun….much, much better than a Big Mac and more than  I could eat. Al ate Mesquite-Grilled Ribs (falling off the bone good) served with spicy French Fries and Coleslaw. Needless to say, we ate too much but it was soooo good!