BLUE-HEADED VIREO, NAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN,NAPLES,FLORIDA, 4/18/2021

 

BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO, NAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN,NAPLES,FLORIDA, 4/18/2021

          We can ID this vireo as a Black-whiskered Vireo as follows:

• Distinctive black line ( the " whisker") on the neck sides
• Dark line through eyes
• White eyebrow stripe
• Dark crown
• Relatively long, hooked bill
• Whitish underparts with pale yellow undertail coverts
• Dark and white striped underwing pattern (see last photo).
  
  The Black-whiskered Vireo breeds in southern Florida and the West Indies, as far south as the offshore islands of Venezuela.  It is a partial migrant, with northern birds wintering from the Greater Antilles to northern South America.
  
  The Black-whiskered Vireo is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 1,004.
  
  
  

 

WILLETS & SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, DING DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE,SANIBEL,FLORIDA, 4/15/2021

   The Willets are the three larger shorebirds: one in the upper left and two on the right of the first three photos.  The Short-billed Dowtchers are the three smaller shorebirds in the lower left of the first three photos.  The last photo shows two Willets.

 

DANCING REDDISH EGRETS, DING DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE,SANIBEL,FLORIDA, 4/15/2021

 

FEMALE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, DING DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE,SANIBEL,FLORIDA, 4/15/2021

 

BROWN ANOLE WITH REDDISH- ORANGE DEWLAP EXTENDED, POINT YBEL LIGHTHOUSE BEACH PARK,SANIBEL,FLORIDA,

  A dewlap is a fold of loose skin hanging from the neck or throat of an animal.  Lizards, particularly those in the genus Anolis, extend their dewlaps during interactions with the same species, other lizards and potential predators.  This Brown Anole's dewlap is reddish when extended.  It probably thought I was a potential predator.

 

FEMALE NORTHERN CARDINAL, POINT YBEL LIGHTHOUSE BEACH PARK,SANIBEL,FLORIDA, 4/15/2021