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| Causeway |
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| Lighthouse |
It is Wednesday morning as I write this post. Had not plan on writing it until the very end of the vacation but it seems like the kayaking trips are over so, it is a good/bad time for this one. Was supposed to be in the water 10 minutes ago, at Commodore Creek to be precise. But woke up to a storm here; piercing rain, strong winds and thunder. Looked at the radar and there is way more coming this way. The forecast said it was going to be like that later in the day. They missed it. As I always say, it must be good to be able to keep a job where you are wrong 80% of the time and still have a job at the end of the day. As a wise young man that I am honored to call my friend says...life gives you lemons, make a lemonade. I will try to make the best of this. In the meantime let me share with you the pics I have so far, not kayak views, but views from this beautiful island in South West Florida. First set of pics are from our first day here, Saturday afternoon, went to visit the lighthouse area.
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| Snowy Egret |
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| Osprey at the lighthouse |
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| Laughing Gull |
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| Laughing Gull |
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| Sea Gull |
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| Sea Gull |
It was a nice short time there. Even my little Shih Tzu enjoyed the beach getting into the water without hesitation. Sunday kayaked at the wildlife refuge. Here is the
link in case you have not seen it yet. Had a good time and was looking forward to go back with my wife. But that was going to happen on Tuesday. I am trying to take it easy with my sore back and kayaking two days in a row right now does not seem the way to go. So planned to go out to the beach with the family on Monday and we did, minus the In Laws, go for a walk at
The Bailey Tract first. It was humid and hot at the time and we took it easy. The highlight was when we spotted a gator that was not shy and came all the way to the edge of the pond waiting for a handout. I am sure that people are feeding it. Sadly the gator will be the one paying the price one day. It will have to be killed sooner or later. I wonder why people have to be like that. It is illegal to feed wildlife and there are signs all over the places where you go to see it with warnings about that. After the walk we went to Tarpon Bay beach, where we had a nice time and also saw a pod of dolphins in the distance. The pic is not good, it was choppy, but you will see what we saw.First The Bailey Tract's views...
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| Black Necked Stilt |
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| Great Egret |
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| Moorhen |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| A curious scene...Pileated Woodpecker harrasing a Red Shouldered Hawk |
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| Tri-Colored Heron |
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| Mottled Duck |
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| Gator |
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| Gator |
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| Black Necked Stilt |
And then the dolphins at the beach...
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| Dolphins at Tarpon Bay beach |
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| Yellow Crowned Night Heron |
Tuesday was supposed to be a kayaking day. It was very discouraging to wake up early to a gray sky and a stronger than desired wind. Wanted to take wifey to the wildlife refuge and paddle at the edge of the No Motor Boat Zone to increase our chances of seeing dolphins and/or maybe manatees. Realized the waters were choppy, very choppy, and there was no way I was taking her out of the mangroves zone (that means some protection from the wind) under those conditions so we settled for a drive at Wildlife Drive instead. It was not too bad. Actually, other than the lack of good light for the pics, it was a good drive. We got in and out of the van several times and enjoyed the refuge. The highlight of this one was when crossing a water control structure saw manatees at one of the sides. We stopped and enjoy the view from several minutes. Even learned a few fishing tricks for one of our sons when a nice gentleman from Alabama gave us some nice tips about it. Here are the pics of what we saw there...
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| Yellow Crowned Night Heron |
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| A female and immature Frigatebirds |
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| Red Mangrove Overlook |
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| Red Bellied Woodpecker |
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| Roseate Spoonbills escorted by a Reddish Egret |
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| Young Ibis |
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| Roseate Spoonbills |
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| Roseate Spoonbills |
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| Roseate Spoonbills and an unid heron |
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| Manatees |
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| Manatee |
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| Manatee |
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| Northern Cardinal |
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| Great Egret |
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| Horseshoe Crab |
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| Horseshoe Crabs |
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| Osprey |
And that is it for this one. Woke up today with a nasty weather so outdoor activities are ruled out. It does not look like it will improve, not today. I hope the weather man fails again and tomorrow gets better. Not holding my breath waiting for that to happen. Heck!!!! Will try to enjoy the vacation anyways. May update this one depending on what happens next. Hope the next post is kayaking related.
I'm loving your photos from Sanibel, one of my favorite places on earth. I hope to get there within the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteWhere are you staying? I've stayed many times at 4015 West Gulf Dr. (now under new ownership from the last time I stayed there.) Have also stayed once at the Blue Dolphin, and once at the Tradewinds. Looking at possibly renting one of the Castaway Cottages on the Bay--able to launch kayak right out back.
Bike riding is always wonderful at Sanibel, especially riding through Ding Darling, early morning or late afternoon.
I sure hope the weather improves for you.
You saw a lot more than I did at Bailey Tract. Maybe a morning,you, vs, afternoon, me, thing.
ReplyDeleteHope the rain ended. If it did, I bet sunset was spectacular.
If still windy, launch at the second spot on Wildlife Drive. Well protected. Last June, I saw manatees right at the launch site.
One time when I launched at that second launch site, I saw two otters, a manatee, and several dolphin all within about 15 minutes. Of course, the next time I didn't see any of those...and so it goes....
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comments Joanne and Dave. Did not have the chance to kayak again at the Wildlife Refuge. The only chance I had to go out again was Friday and the refuge is closed on those days. About the sunset we did not see a single one. The clouds also covered it. That was very dissapointing. But the tally was positive. We had a good vacation and a nice paddle together at Commodore Creek and Tarpon Bay.
ReplyDelete