We left the Anhinga Trail area, and traveled across Route 41 toward the Gulf Coast. We made a stop at Corkscrew Swamp, in mid to late afternoon, and found relatively little to shoot there. We were told mornings were generally better, but that wasn't an option for us. So we continued west, with our next stop being Sanibel Island, home of "Ding" Darling NWR. This once-great refuge has been hammered by recent hurricanes, and hasn't fully recovered. Both the quantity and variety of birds was significantly down from my visit several years before, and this same observation has been confirmed by many different photographers. But I shot what I could find, and was happy with the images below, mostly from this location.

From Sanibel, we headed north, stopping next at Myakka River State Park. We took the boat-ride offered there, but while it was enjoyable, it didn't provide much in the way of photo opportunities. On the way up to the St. Petersburg area, we stopped off at Ft. DeSoto. Between being unfamiliar with this location, and being there at mid-day, and mid-March, we didn't find much there to shoot. We overnighted in Dunedin, and headed to Honeymoon Island the next morning. We ended up at the Osprey Trail, and were fortunate to run into another photographer there, Keith Arndt. He was just getting out his gear, so we asked him what there was to photograph in the area. He then told us of a pair of Great Horned Owl chicks a mile or so down the Osprey Trail. That sounded great, so we got our gear together and headed out as well. We had an enjoyable time shooting for the next hour or two, waiting for the Owl chicks to move around so we can see and/or shoot them, as well as for the Mother (in a nearby tree) to wake up and do something! We were able to get a few shots, but by the time we had to go, the mother hadn't tried to feed them at all.

Our next stop was a snorkeling trip with the Manatees at Crystal River, which was a lot of fun. We overnighted near Darien, GA on the way back, so I could check out Ansley Hodges MARSH Project, which had occasionally been productive in the past, but it was pretty dead. But all in all, we had fantastic time, and I hope you enjoy the images I've posted here.

All Content © Donald L. Cohen, MD
All Rights Reserved

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Tricolored Heron	Red-breasted Merganser	White Ibis in Flight

Pied-billed Grebe vs Sculpin 1	Pied-billed Grebe vs Sculpin 2	Pied-billed Grebe vs Sculpin 3

Reddish Egret Dance 1	Reddish Egret Dance 2	Reddish Egret Dance 3

Red-bellied Woodpecker	Red-shouldered Hawk	Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl Chicks 1	Great Horned Owl Chicks 2