The Beautiful Birds of Ft. Myers Beach!
If you are a big bird watcher, then the best bed and breakfast in Fort Myers Beach, Mango Street Inn, is the place to be! There are many different types of beautiful birds that can be spotted on the shores around Fort Myers Beach. While there are several birds, we'd like to highlight some of our favorites. For any of you out there that aren't very familiar with bird terminology, when we refer to plumage, we are describing their feathers. Also, we are going to take a look at three different categories of birds that may be spotted around our great bed and breakfast in Fort Myers Beach, the shore birds, wading birds, and common birds.
Shore Birds
Sanderling
The Sanderling has short black legs that blur as they scurry
across the beach. They are medium sized birds that are recognizable by their black
legs and bills and obsessive wave chasing habits. These birds breed only on
High Arctic tundra, but during the winter they live on most of the sandy
beaches of the world, including Ft. Myers Beach.
Ruddy Turnstone
This shorebird almost looks like a calico cat, with its
patches of orange, black, and white. The Ruddy Turnstone has orange legs and a
unique pattern across its body, so you can easily spot this bird in a crowd. While these long-distance migrants breed in
the arctic tundra, they spend their off seasons on rocky shorelines and sandy
beaches on both North American coasts, as well as South America, Eurasia,
Africa, Australia.
Greater Yellowlegs
This shorebird likes to make an entrance! The Greater Yellowleg frequently announces its presence by making a piercing alarm call. It has a
mostly gray body with white spots throughout its feathers.
Dunlin
The Dunlin has a bright reddish back and black belly.
It also has a long, drooping bill that nearly distinguishes it from all other
birds. It’s breeding grounds include across the top of North America and
Eurasia, and in the winter along coasts around the northern hemisphere.
Wading Birds
Great Blue Heron
These majestic birds will usually be found either poised on
a river bend or cruising a coastline with slow, deep wingbeats. This blue-grayish
bird can strike very rapidly to grab a fish at a moment’s notice. When they are
in flight, look for their widespread wings and tucked in neck with its long
legs trailing behind.
Snowy Egret
The snowy egret is a flawless looking bird with it’s pure
white plumage, black legs, and yellow feet. Interesting fact about the Snowy
Egret, at one point it’s curving plumes were once so coveted by the fashion
industry the species had become endangered. Amazingly, in the early twentieth
century, conservationists rallied together to protect this beautiful species
and it is now once again a common sight in coastal wetlands.
Roseate Spoonbill
This magnificent creature is truly eye catching! It’s bright
pink color leads many Floridians to believe that it’s a flamingo, but it’s actually
a Roseate Spoonbill. These birds have an oddly shaped flat bill, in which they
use to catch small food items out of the water.
Great Egret
The Great Egret is a dazzling sight indeed. These are large,
beautiful birds with a large wing span, white in color with a yellow bill. They
are slightly smaller than the blue heron but they hunt in classic blue heron
fashion. They will wade through the
wetlands, striking at their pray with a deadly jab of their yellow bill.
Least Bittern
This tiny heron is one of the cutest birds you’ll ever see,
it will use its long toes and cling to the stems of cattails and reeds. The interesting
about this bird is that it often goes unseen because of its habitat choice,
except when it flies, but it’s cooing and clucking call notes are frequently heard
at dawn and dusk.
Common Birds
Brown Pelican
The Brown Pelican will feed by plunge-diving from high up and using the impact to scare their fish prey into being stunned before they scoop them up. They are very commonly seen around Ft. Myers Beach.
Anhinga
The Anhinga is also known as the “Snakebird.” This bird can
very it’s buoyancy in water, sometimes with only its head and neck above water.
Anhingas have a combination of black, brown and white feathers and yellow
bills. They are silent most of the time, but around nesting colonies, they will
make croaking and clicking sounds.
Don't Feed the Birds!
While all of these birds are truly beautiful, please remember not to feed them.
- Feeding certain birds encourages them to lurk near people for a free handout and can even teach them to get aggressive while doing so.
- While french fries, ice cream, and hamburgers are very tasty, they are not the healthiest things for our friendly feathered friends to be eating. In fact, by feeding them, you are teaching them to only eat human food versus their natural food that they should be eating. Human food can cause disease in birds.
- Tip: Don't leave your food out in the open, where birds can get to it.
To all you fun bird watchers out there, good luck and we hope to see you soon at the best bed and breakfast in Fort Myers Beach, Mango Street Inn!
We can't wait to see you!
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