Ding Update - 12/28

[Michael Pancier]

If you get there at 7:00 am, activity is good. Saw 18 spoons in the first lagoon on the left; a reddish egret; plus assortment of egrets and herons and laughing gulls, cormorants; brown pelicans. Got a lot of flyovers of spoons and white pelicans until 8am, then the spoons flew off.

Moving ahead to the next couple of ponds, 3-4 spoons feeding for a while; lots of shorebirds and white pelicans there as well.

Park was dead by 9am as any of the cool birds around, including 3 spoons, were sleeping.

Lots of osprey throughout the park.

[AJ Witt]

Michael, thanks for the update.

I was thinking about heading down there for the first time Thursday night and spend Friday and Saturday there. However, I see on their website that the drive is closed on Friday's. I am assuming that the drive is what gets you around to most of the birding hot spots, correct? Is it worth going if the drive is closed?

Maybe I will have to wait for my next three day weekend...MLK day...gotta love working for a bank and getting every federal holiday off! :)

Thanks!

AJ

[john j. henderson]

However, I see on their website that the drive is closed on Friday's. I am assuming that the drive is what gets you around to most of the birding hot spots, correct? Is it worth going if the drive is closed?

The drive is the only way into the park, if closed, there is no entrance.

If I were you, I would make the trip, do Friday at Ft. Myers/Cape Coral (Estero Lagoon, Burrowing Owls, etc) or Venice Rookery in the morning and White Pelicans (Placida) in the afternoon then go to Ding for Saturday/Sunday. Drive home Sunday night.

[LouBuonomo]

We found Ding pretty dead the beginning of this week but it was cold !!! Estero was great as were the owls
Check out the fishing pier on Sanibel.. we found some woodpeckers in the lot.

Lou

[Arthur Morris]

If you get there at 7:00 am, activity is good.

Did you walk in before 7am? (The gate opens at 7:30...)

[Adams Serra]

Did you walk in before 7am? (The gate opens at 7:30...)

Hi Artie,
they are opening at 7am now.

[Arthur Morris]

Wow, that is miraculous. Thanks for the info.

[Michael Pancier]

The drive is the only way into the park, if closed, there is no entrance.

If I were you, I would make the trip, do Friday at Ft. Myers/Cape Coral (Estero Lagoon, Burrowing Owls, etc) or Venice Rookery in the morning and White Pelicans (Placida) in the afternoon then go to Ding for Saturday/Sunday. Drive home Sunday night.

I'd add do Bunche Beach. It's screaming with shorebird and wading bird action right now

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Michael, Do you do Bunche Beach in the morning or afternoons. When I went a few years back in the morning the birds were all quite skittish. What are the best tides there?

[Michael Pancier]

Thanks Michael, Do you do Bunche Beach in the morning or afternoons. When I went a few years back in the morning the birds were all quite skittish. What are the best tides there?

Artie, I've done both am and pm with success. At least now in winter with the sun's angle, you can get great stuff in the pm. Although the bigger wading birds such as reddish egrets, spoons, etc. I've seen more in the am.

The pm, with the tide out and the sandbars, has tons of the shorebirds accessible. With 500+1.4x I was able to shoot at a nice distance and they weren't skittish at all getting full frame images of peeps.

A friend of mine even saw some avocets there in the early am a few weeks ago.

In the am, the tide is still good though it's starting to come in. You can get 1-2 hours from early light if the the tide is right and then head out to Sanibel pier for snowy and osprey action.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks a ton for the helpful info.

[LouBuonomo]

There was a very cooperative avocent at Estero earlier this week. Walked right up to to us and I was taking shots withthe 100-400 probably at 200. The lagoon had lots of good subjects as did the shore. that was before the cold snap.

[Arthur Morris]

Estero has been very good to excellent for the most part for the past three years after a several year long drought (with few birds).

[Adams Serra]

I went to Bunche Bch this week. The place was packed with Skimmers, Marbled Godwit, Short-billed Dowitcher. There was also some Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns and i believe some Forster's Tern.

[Michael Pancier]

I went to Bunche Bch this week. The place was packed with Skimmers, Marbled Godwit, Short-billed Dowitcher. There was also some Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns and i believe some Forster's Tern.

Were the skimmers within camera range? When I was last there, there were hundreds of them, but on the sand bars way off shore ....

[Michael Pancier]

There was a very cooperative avocent at Estero earlier this week. Walked right up to to us and I was taking shots withthe 100-400 probably at 200. The lagoon had lots of good subjects as did the shore. that was before the cold snap.

I saw a pair of them at Estero back in November. Wonder if this is a new one ...

[Adams Serra]

Were the skimmers within camera range? When I was last there, there were hundreds of them, but on the sand bars way off shore ....

Hi Michael,
There were problably over 500 skimmers there, I was about 20' away from them.

[Garry Gibson]

Michael thanks for the info on Bunche Beach. I was in Sanibel this week and Ding Darling
was very slow (more tourists than birds.)

I got up early and went to Bunche Beach, the light was poor as it was cloudy
but there were loads of shore birds, brown pelicans and osprey. A park employee
suggested going to the right from the parking lot and there is a salt marsh
off the beach. I'll try that next time.

It's so easy to get to if you're going to Ding Darling it's definitely worth
the side trip.

Garry