Sanibel Island, off the gulf coast of Florida and near Fort
Meyers, will continue to be one of our favorite places. Long
stretches of dazzling sun-drenched shell-strewn beaches have the
reputation of being among the finest of their kind in the world.
I suspect the shellers there to be slightly prejudiced.
Our fondness for this island can be traced to the Ding Darling
National Refuge, wintering area and also nesting site for
thousands of birds. It ranks among the ten most visited refuges
in the country, the ideal place for birders, who keep life lists
of birds they have seen, to find so-called "lifers."
Fortunately our friends, Arvid and Avis Anderson who live in
Fort Meyers and who know the refuge extremely well, were able to
help us see birds that we might have overlooked had we been by
ourselves. Even though the numbers of birds observed on this
trip was far below those seen on the three previous trips we made
through the refuge in past years, we were kept busy with
binoculars, spotting scope, cameras and field guides.
The road is wide enabling you to park along the edge, out of
the way of very slow-moving cars, practically anywhere you
please. Often it was a small group of people, excitedly looking
at a nearby or distant bird, that caused us to quickly stop the
car, jump out and join them. Everyone was helpful and appeared
to be having a great time.
The direction of the wind and especially the tide can affect
the numbers of birds one encounters here. Due to a fairly high
tide this day, the mud flats were under water thereby reducing
greatly the numbers of small shorebirds. However the larger
wading birds put on the interesting show that we had hoped for
and expected.
Imagine driving only a few miles and having a good chance of
seeing the roseate spoonbill, white ibis, reddish egret, snowy
egret, great egret, great blue heron, little blue heron,
tri-colored heron, both brown and white pelicans, anhinga,
double-crested cormorant, yellow-crowned night heron, osprey,
moorhen (formerly common gallinule), skimmer, laughing gull,
red-shouldered hawk and, toward the end of the drive, a pileated
woodpecker. What show-stoppers they can be!
I must admit that the white egrets rank high on my list of
favorites, the small cattle egret, the very slightly larger snowy
egret and the larger great egret. I saw my first common egrets,
now called great egrets, on the Kewaunee River marsh in the early
1950’s, always during later summer following the nesting period
farther to the south when it was quite usual for some of the
fully-grown young to head northward, even into southern Canada.
Listed in the bird books as being around 39 inches long, this l
arge wading bird has a heavy yellow bill and blackish legs and
feet.
It was the smaller white egret with the black bill, black
legs, and spectacular golden "slippers," or toes, the
snowy egret, that really captured our attention. As much as I
had been fighting the wind most of the day, trying desperately to
steady my tripod and spotting scope, to which I had attached my
digital camera, now the wind actually played to our advantage by
rustling the plumes of this flashy little egret to perfection.
It’s during their breeding season that the long lacy plumes on
their head, neck and back provide them with such an undisputed
world-wide reputation for their unmatched beauty. Sadly these
birds, along with great egrets, were killed by the thousands,
starting during Audubon’s time in the 1840’s and extending into
the early 1900’s, for their delicate plumes, or airgrettes
(ay-GRRET) used for decorating hats and coiffures.
These birds reached their seriously low numbers in the early
1900’s when finally laws were enacted which protected these
wonderful creatures. Based upon this monumental conservation
project, the National Audubon Society chose as its official
symbol the great egret.
We have been able to observe in past years the different
herons and egrets as they fed. Quite often the snowy egret
appeared to be the most active fastest-moving of all as it
swished its "golden slippers" back and forth below the
surface of the water in its effort to dislodge food, making it
move into catching range, food including small fish, shrimp,
crustaceans or frogs.
One feature to look for on the handsome snowy egret is its
loral area, the featherless skin surrounding its eyes and
extending to the base of the beak. This skin is ordinarily
yellow but turns red during the bird’s high breeding period.
Also of special interest during this time are its back plumes
which often curve gracefully upward.
In the case that you might in future winters become
disillusioned over the amount of deep white snow to be shoveled
and plowed, head to the Gulf Coast of Florida, there to bask in
the sun and enjoy the dazzling white herons and egrets!
The snowy egret prefers to roost and preen his
long feathers near the mangroves along the Florida shorelines.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 04/04/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
