Day 4 on Captiva

Wed, Feb 5, 2014

We began our day early with coffee in order to be at Ding Darling Wildlife Drive around 8:00 to check out the birds.  It was not low tide so not many birds were feeding along the drive but we were happy to find some great photo moments.  At the first pool there was only one white pelican and a few shore birds.  At the next pool we saw more white pelicans, a  reddish egret, green heron, cormorants, mergansers, several shore birds. and a yellow crown night heron. There was also an alligator swimming here.

As we drove the drive, we saw a Great Egret and several Ibis up close on the side of the road.  At the Cross Dike there were several Wood Storks feeding along with the herons and egrets and one beautiful Roseate Spoonbill.  Beyond this point were a lot more White Pelicans and several shore birds including a lot of Willets and gulls.

After our drive, we went to Jerry's for breakfast/lunch and then shopped for some more groceries. We were going to the beach for the afternoon but it was a little overcast so we hung around the house instead.
I served shrimp cocktails with drinks made  by Al at 5:00.  Tonight, Al grilled a steak and I made a fresh portabello  mushroom and wine sauce.  We enjoyed this with a mixed green salad with red onions and tomatoes and baked potatoes loaded with butter and sour cream.

I hope who ever reads this blog enjoys being part of our Captiva stay.

Day 11 on Captiva

Tues, Feb 12

We arrived at Ding Darling about 8 am to do some birding but did not see many birds. It was a beautiful sunny day but birds had eaten early....was a very early low tide.  Only a few white pelicans were grouped together...have seen as many as 40-60 at a time.

 A great blue and a great egret had a face off over territory.

 A few yellow-crowned night herons were spotted about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we drove to Bailey Tract and again did not see many birds but we did see a bobcat but did not get any pictures.  Al just snapped his back tail as he scattered away. 

 

We also saw Don and Lillian Stokes as we left the tract. They were anxious to talk about their new guides coming out in March.   We sent them the photo of the unidentified bird from the bay which they said was a loon in winter color. We thought it looked like a winter thick-billed murre escaped from the arctic. 

This picture shows what we saw:

Tonight's dinner started with shrimp cocktails and drinks.  The entree was Stuffed Eggplant served with salad and hot rolls.  I used ground meat, bread crumbs, egg, onions, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and tomatoes in my recipe.  Al seemed to enjoy it as he always does at home.