Early Birds!

!!!!avicennia-w-wading-birds

Bob Bruce, Deen Copeland, Sandee & Steve Dawdy,  Gayle Lafferty, Diane Morgan, Lorraine & Peter Sutherland, Charlie Trippe, John Warner, and I enjoyed an early morning stroll at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PINWR) on 8-28-2016, shown below at the Viewing Platform trail entrance in a photo kindly shared by Sandee Dawdy.

8-28-2016 poinwr group photo

 

Through the flowering mangroves, we were smitten to see lots of wading birds, including roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) and tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) …

!!!!roseate-spoonbill7

!!!!tricolor-heron2

Overhead we saw a congregation of snowy egrets (Egretta hula), the tiny white flecks in the photo below.

!!!!snowy-egrets-in-flight

Sleek, new aluminum railings graced the Viewing Tower, which had been closed for renovations.

!!!!pinwr-aluminum-railing

The early morning was breezy & beautiful, affording a clear view of Pelican Island.

!!!!pelican-island

!!!!pinwr-birds-eye-sign

Just below the Tower, Lorraine Sutherland spotted mangrove rubber vine (Rhabdendidia biflora) in flower.

!!!!rhabdendidia-w-moth

As the weather warmed, the group descended, posing for a quick photo…

!!!!8-28-2016-pinwr-group-hoto

%d bloggers like this: