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During the first few days on Sanibel Island there weren’t very many shells on the beach but after a storm with 6-foot waves, the beach was covered. This was Karla’s reward for a mile’s walk down the beach.

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Among the dozens of critters washed up on the beach, we found this interesting crab. Look closely and squint: do you see Spiderman’s face with his arms raised up in victory?

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It was fun watching the brown pelicans fishing along the shore. They glide along like the one on the right and then, after seeing a fish, would torpedo into the water like the one on the left.

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The size of fish that they are able to catch and swallow is remarkable for their relative size.

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Driving through the wildlife refuge we saw hundreds of birds. Here is a group of egrets along with one roseate spoonbill in the center.

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The egrets roost in the trees close to shore and on the small islands.

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The refuge staff shared there are more than one hundred osprey nests on the island. The abundance of fish and nesting spaces provides an ideal home for this amazing raptor.

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The large numbers of cardinals on Sanibel bring a lot of color.

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We rented bikes to take advantage of the trails around “Bailey Track”. This area is set aside for wildlife surrounded by numerous homes. We saw several varieties of birds along with three alligators. One larger one was on the bike trail. I was surprised how fast they can run. I was glad it was running away and not towards us.

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We hiked passed this red-bellied woodpecker cavity. A starling came by and quite a battle ensued. I found out that the starlings break the woodpecker’s eggs and take over the nest.

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You would think that the woodpecker would be stronger but 95% of the time the starlings win, as it did in this case. The woodpecker had to abandon the nest.

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Wakulla Springs State Park 001

On the way north we stopped at Wakulla Springs State Park, home of one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world. Private boats, canoes or kayaks are not permitted in order to protect this pristine resource, so we took a scenic guided riverboat cruise. The water is so clear that you see lots of fish and wildlife.

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This family of wood ducks just hatched out but with the alligators, turtles and snakes the guide said most of the little ones would not survive.

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We got a close-up view of this green heron.

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We were able to see about a dozen alligators, some up to 10 feet long.

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This older male was the largest.

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Manatees come up the river this time of year. We saw three including this mom and her calf.

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Lots of turtles are in the river and this Leatherback Turtle was on shore laying her eggs. If you look close at the nose it looks just like a pig’s snout.

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