I spotted this Pileated woodpecker high in an Australian pine. It was hard to get a clear view through the branches.
Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com.
We had a good rain late last night, so this morning brought very high humidity and August-like heat. At 9 a.m. we saddled up the bikes and headed out for breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe. Before we traveled a block I spotted a Pileated woodpecker in an Australian pine and spent 10 minutes trying to get a photo of it.
Back on the road we saw grackles, ospreys, red-bellied woodpeckers, kingfishers, and more. Sue suggested that I post photos of all the birds we saw on the way to breakfast. I realized that we’d never make it to breakfast if I tried to photograph all the birds so I’ve just posted the coolest one.
We ate a good breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe and then continued on to the fishing pier at Lighthouse park.
There was some serious fishing going on at the Lighthouse park pier. It's a shorty, but the fish had been biting. We saw stringers with some good sized mackerel, a mangrove snapper, a large flounder, and while we were standing there watching, a man pulled in a sheepshead.
A freshly caught mackerel on a stringer under the pier. It's nearly 2 feet long (the fish, not the pier).
Sue spotted this sea nettle jellyfish washed up on the beach under the pier. It's about 5 inches in diameter.
We followed East Gulf Drive, Middle Gulf Drive, and West Gulf Drive back to our condo. It was noon when we arrived and we were dripping wet from the heat. October? Forget it. Might as well be July.
Before I wrap up this blog post, here are two photos I took early this morning on the beach on Sanibel:
The full moon is bringing us very low morning tides. The shellers have thoroughly picked over the beach before sunrise. We see them out on the beach with flashlights before 6 a.m. If there is a rare shell, they're going to find it!
Rain drops still cling to the petals of a railroad vine flower.
