7-8-19 J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Species List and Summary

Today is our first full day of vacation in Sanibel, Florida! We have gone before, but this year I want to bird even more than last year. Today we decided to go to our favorite place to bird without going onto the mainland, the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We have seen wonderful egrets and herons here, so I hope that we will see even more in the days to come! The refuge covers the majority of Sanibel, and there is also an extension of the refuge, known as the Bailey Tract. The NWR has a 4 mile long loop known as Wildlife Drive, where you can see many different species of birds. We saw many different species; my favorites are Yellow-Crowned Night Herons because they look gorgeous and they are very bold and hang out on the drive near your can. You can get very close to them. This is our entire list for the day:
1 Reddish Egret
1 Anhinga
1 Red-Bellied Woodpecker
5 Yellow-Crowned Night Herons
2 Green Herons
4 Brown Pelicans
14 Great Egrets
1 Little Blue Heron
3 Osprey
1 Great Blue Heron
6 Double-Crested Cormorants
2 Laughing Gulls
1 Spotted Sandpiper
2 Tricolored Herons
I will come back here many times while I am in Florida! I love it so much!
Gracie McMahon