Sanibel Island is For the Birds!

The other day I received an email from a recent rental guest at my condo. He told me about some birds he was fortunate to see in Ding Darling as he had never seen them before.

Shortly after that, I received a news alert from the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation reporting on some unusual avian visitors.

According to the SCCF news alert, the Island was, and perhaps still is, serving as a stopping point for migratory songbirds. They call this interim visit a "fallout".

The Foundation explained that hese fall outs occur when large flocks of birds get caught by frontal systems and are forced to “fall out” on the nearest land. These events happen every spring and fall to a greater or lesser degree but they vary greatly in occurrence at any one location from year to year.

This fall out, as explained in the news alert, is one of the biggest on Sanibel in the last ten years, both in terms of number and diversity of birds. Generally, the birds will hang around for a day or two before continuing their migration into the Caribbean where they will spend the winter.

Birds seen in this fall, according to the SCCF, include: Blue-winged warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Swainson’s Thrush, Veery, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, and Eastern Wood Pewee.

Now that is an impressive list of seasonal visitors, I must admit, and my imagination is alive with thoughts of what the Island sounds like with so many song birds convening.

But then again, at any time of year, Sanibel offers wonderful bird sightings and wonderful bird sounds. It is an island, afterall, that is truly for the birds.