Day 40 Captiva 2019

Thursday, Mar 14
We were out early at 7 for to see the 7:30 sunrise...we drove to the nearby Castaways Marina but was  not a good spot to see the sunrise so we headed to DDWR where we got a good view of the sun rising just as we entered the drive.

We continued our drive not seeing many birds but there were a lot of photographers waiting for more white pelicans.  Saw several roseate spoonbills. This will be the last trip to DDRW for this trip.

While we were at the pool this afternoon, the flock of Ibis returned for another visit.  One Ibis was brave enough to come to the pool for a drink.   It was a very hot day in the 80's so we guess they were lookin for a cool spot to hang out.

The Ibis were not the only ones looking for a cool spot:

We went to Doc Ford's on Captiva for an early dinner at 5.  Of course we started with a dozen fresh oysters on the half shell. Al ordered a new item on the menu- Steak Salad Chimichurri-marinated steak, asparagus, and red onions, over mixed greens tossed in chimichurri vinaigrette and topped with avocado and bleu cheese crumbles with dressing on the side. Very Good!  I ordered the appetizer of Calamari and we combined our orders.   Very good dinner.  Would order this again but the calamari salad is still my favorite item on the menu.

We arrived back at the cottage in time to walk across the street for the sunset.

Day 14 Captiva 2019

Saturday, Feb 16
Today we are having our Valentine celebration exchanging cards throughout the day...with our morning coffee, lunch, afternoon cocktails, and dinner.

We left about 8:30am for an hour drive through Ding Darling Wildlife Reserve.  Photos below of birds we saw …..my favorite of all is the little Green Heron.

 One of the best sights were  several Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets sunning at the tippy top of trees.

We enjoyed our drive and seeing so many beautiful birds. Back at the cottage, we had lunch of egg, cheese and sausage wraps with tomato salsa.

For our special Valentine dinner,  Al grilled delicious steaks and I prepared roasted  Rosemary garlic potatoes and arugula salad with my own vinaigrette dressing .  We enjoyed dinner with glasses of wine.

Day 37 on Captiva Ding Darling Continued

Test: I am hoping the videos will play.

I made some videos on our Ding Darling Drive and am going to try to post on my blog. To view, go directly to my blog (link at bottom of email)....cannot open in email. Click on arrow to view.

Yellow-Night Heron

 

 

 

Ibis

 

Day 37 0n Captiva

Today is another beautiful day.  We had another great birding experience from the front porch.  About 9:00 a group of Ibis landed in a tree near us and sat posing for pictures.

 

For lunch we enjoyed sandwiches of leftover beef from last night's dinner. Great lunch! Then we headed to the beach for an afternoon of boats and sun. And dolphins!

Some pictures of a resident Osprey who spends most of the day in this tree near the house.

Tonight was Monday Night at the Races.  Al watched the harness races at Northfield online.  We had a casual dinner on the porch  of grilled sausages and red peppers on buns with chopped salad and beer while watching the races.