Day 35 Captiva

Another cool morning and a bit overcast! Today begins our last week.....went by too fast!  We left for the Bailey Tract abut 9:30 and took a shorter walk than usual as it looked like rain was on the way.  Not a lot of birds but did see where they have started restoring  some of the original freshwater marsh habitat with heavy equipment. We saw lot of ospreys flying over head and circling  one of the pond areas.    Saw Great Egret, Ibis,  blue herons and  mottled ducks, snowy egret, and more.

Bailey Tract

Near the emtrance:

In first pond:

Along the Tract:

Lot of Ospreys seen:

More Mottled Ducks:

Spotted the Stokes on the trail:

Turtle, Flowers, and Butterflies:

And a Rice Rat scurried over our path on the way out:

We ate lunch at Over Easy Cafe

Al ordered Nova salmon layered with tomato slices,  red onion and capers served with a toasted bagel  and cream cheese.  I had half of a tomato stuffed with tuna salad.  We then shopped at Bailey's General Store across the street.  We made a drive through Ding Darling instead of going straight home. It was a quiet drive and we saw these views on a cloudy day:

 Video of White Pelicans Feeding:

Video of Ibis Feeding on Drive

We arrived back at the cottage just as it began to rain and it rained all the rest of the day.  Spent the afternoon reading.  We had a simple dinner of beef hot dogs and fried okra.  

Day 34 Captiva

 Early up this morning at 6:30. Sunny but cool at 54 degrees here but 24 at home with snow. We left about 8:30 to go to a lecture at Ding Darling.  Although it started at 10,  the room would fill up quickly and you have to be early to get a seat.  The space was completely filled by 9:15. Kevin Karlson, a birder, tour leader, and a wildlife photographer,  gave a presentation on birds of prey.  He began with a video by Pete Dunne who wrote Birds of Prey. He showed many great slides of all kinds of raptors including those in the book and had many stories to share.  Also, in attendance were Don and Lillian Stokes in the audience.

After the talk,  we took a walk on Indigo Trail out to the Wildlife Education Boardwalk.

The alligator was there but no signs of the nesting yellow-crowned night herons that we saw on our earlier visit.  We did see Ibis, Blue Heron, Anhinga and  2 green herons who supposedly are building a nest.

Alligator from different views:

Green Heron sitting near Alligator:

More of the Green Herons:

We returned to the cottage and had lunch of chicken salad and iced tea on the porch.

We spent time at the pool while the cottage was cleaned by Edguardo and Norma. 

Dinner tonight at The Mad Hatter restaurant ....one of our long time favorites.  Reservation for 5:00 for a window table  so we had a great view of the gulf.   Al ordered glasses of Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir.  He had the Caesar Salad with Italian White Anchovies and I had Spiced Watermelon salad with Arugula, Pine Nuts, Mint, and Feta Cheese.  We should have shared a salad....one was enough for 2.  Al dined on Short Ribs braised in red wine and served with horseradish sauce and truffle yucca fries.  I enjoyed Florida Gulf Shrimp served over goat cheese grits with roasted red pepper cream.  Both dinners served with fresh asparagus.  We finished by sharing Espresso Crème Brulee for dessert.  Excellent dinner!   We watched the sunset from the parking lot as we left. 

 Pictures from internet:

Quote from website:

The food is divine, the view is spectacular

and the experience is unforgettable."

Day 28 Captiva

This morning was cooler temperatures and we began Saturday morning with a drive to Ding Darling at 8:30 knowing there was an early low tide.  We found a lot of birds feeding on the right side of the drive.

Some roseate spoonbills were feeding:

On the left side of the drive were white pelicans and cormorants:

Near the Cross Dike we saw some blue-wing teals:

Further down the drive, more birds are feeding:

 Captured this Pine Warbler on camera:

We had worked up an appetite so we went back to the cottage for breakfast of eggs, bacon, grapefruit and biscuits.  At 2:00 we went to the beach for a couple hours enjoying the warmth of the sun. We watched the boats sail by and a flock of sanderlings as they scurried on the beach.

Video of the sanderlings. 

To view video, go to blog by clicking link at bottom of email. 

Click arrow on video:

For dinner, Al grilled a pork tenderloin seasoned with garlic and peppercorns.  I made something new to us - braised radishes with shallots, bacon, and vinegar.  I never cooked radishes, have only served raw.  And they were different, but good.  Also served a side of sautéed zucchini with onion and roasted red peppers.  The pork tenderloin was delicious

Recipe for Braised Radishes here.