Reddish Egret at Ding Darling NWR
Managed a little time at the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island. The Reddish were very active but because of the water levels remained at a distance. These two images were captured using the Panasonic Lumix G85 and the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens. It is nice to have an 800 mm equivalence. 
SW Florida Workshop Day 4
Tiger Tail Beach, Marco Island was the location for today. The weather was perfect for the beach and the birds.
A plethora of peeps including the least sandpiper. All the images in the gallery were photographed with a Canon 7D and a 500mm F4. 
A Reddish Egret flew in and entertained us for quite a while:
An Osprey nest provided some great photo ops with parents flying in with fish - feeding the the single chick.
We decited to take a break and head for lunch. Dark clouds rolled in and while at lunch we had torrential rain. Fortunately we got a few breaks in the afternoon and were able to photograph a few burrowing owls on the island. We then headed back and further to Cape Coral for more Owls. The following are images from both locations.
SW Florida Workshop - Day 2
Day two of the workshop was an early trip to Ding Darling WR. We were at the entrance soon after it opened. One of the members in the group was a car length ahead of ours and was fortunate to see a Bobcat scurry by in front of his vehicle.The first stretch of the drive had a yellow crowned night heron hunting along fairly dark mangroves - we took a few shots for the record.The next stop was the first turnout where we were greeted by a large flock of American White Pelicans, Brow Pelicans, a Reddish Egret and Tricolor FIshing.
As the morning progressed the Red Breasted Mergansers and Pied Billed Grebes were showing up every where.
After a productive morning at Ding Darling - we went to Sanibel fishing pier for some diving pelicans.
Lots of fun. Now on to a bit of exploring we headed back to Fort Myers Beach and went further to check out Harnes Marsh.It is a lot of walking as no motorized vehicles are allowed. Saw a few Snail Kites and a pair of Sandhill Cranes with young.
That was day two. Day three to come
SW Florida Workshop Day 1
An early morning trip out to the pools in the Fort Myers Beach area was productive. The bird were magnificent with their feathers blowing in the gentle breeze. The light was perfect as was the action.Here are some of the images from the beach:
The egrets were very active and there was plenty of fish to be eaten.
Next stop was Sanibel Island and the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. Ding Darling was quiet compared to the many trips I have done in the past but still a fun place to be. Lots of Brown and White Pelicans, Cormorants, Red Breasted Mergansers and Pied Billed Grebes.
We left Ding Darling and drove to Captiva for lunch at a favorite spot "Key Lime Bistro". One of the members had developed a problem with her Nikon D700 that refused to focus properly so the day before we rented a body that had to pick up from the hotel. Once assembled we left for our next photo location. Beautiful evening light made one forget the biting by the no-see-ums that some repellant took care of. Here are some images in the awesome light:
Then the sunset turned the skies a deep reddish pink - the water and the birds all seemed to get this glow.