Blue Goose ~ Day 232

January 14, 2015 ~ Spring Hill, FL to Naples, FL

It was a long drive to Sanibel Island and Ding Darling NWR. The west coast of Florida becomes increasingly congested and developed as one drives south. I had many bittersweet memories of Maria as I followed the same route of nearly three years ago when I visited her and Richard in Ft. Myers Beach. On that trip we birded Ding Darling and also spent a wonderfully memorable morning finding Burrowing Owls in a Cape Coral neighborhood where they nest in burrows in suburban lawns.

Willets - Ding Darling NWR - FL

Although it was late afternoon when I got to Ding, I spent at the last hours of daylight on the auto route, seeing herons, ibises, Willets, Roseate Spoonbills, Black-bellied Plovers, egrets.... Most of the birds are tame allowing great detailed views.

Little Blue Heron - Ding Darling NWR - FL

The Florida venues that are protected are so very different from the manicured lawns and paved-over areas of the hotels, condos, shops and homes. Canals and other "managed" water  projects drain and replace wetlands; exotic flora replace native plants; palm trees often are supported by four sturdy pieces of lumber, angling from ground to tree in each of the four primary directions. There is endless commerce and traffic. Insecticides, fertilizers and pesticides keep things neat, clean and green. The human population (in places like Sanibel Island) is either retirees or tourists. Bicycles and golf carts, lawn service trucks (often slightly decrepit and filled with yard debris), high-end cars, discreet signage, boutiques, restaurants... One Priceline lodging option was in the four-figure range; the rest were $300 - $500 per night.

But at least the couple of dozen people on the auto route were enjoying the refuge even though many didn't know the birds and were appreciative when I could tell them what they were. I hear foreign languages as often as English. People constantly use iPhones to take photos of distant birds. Of course, there are also digiscopers with tripods and long lenses. The birds were settling for the night.

Snowy Egret - Ding Darling NWR - FL

It was balmy and not crowded. Occasionally a small child would exclaim with pleasure at the closeness of a bird.

I had tentatively thought of returning here the next day, but the motels were too expensive, and obviously the few Walmart's near the Interstate do not allow car-camping in these upscale areas. In fact, most Walmart stores in all of southern Florida don't.

I did finally find a good deal on Priceline thinking it was much closer than it was and had to drive 90 minutes south so will not be returning here.

Black-crowned Night-Heron (immature) - Ding Darling NWR- FL