My new system

I've been waiting for the weather to warm up to try out my new get-around-town-with-Emma system: the bike trailer. It was snowing this morning, but I decided I needed to do it anyway. So here it is! I biked it home from downtown, to the library (emma's first ride) and to an afternoon meeting with a return grocery pickup.

LOVE IT. Now I just need to attach the handlebar side mirror. The trailer came with a flag already, even though you can't see it in the picture. Emma liked, I don't know about loved, it too. She went out with dad on her own bike in the afternoon as well. 32 degrees be damned. :)

A Little Little Kid Fanciness While Waiting for Spring to Set In

Emma in Memphis: in good hands with Neena and Pops

This is only our second time away from Emma. Looks like she is doing just fine!
At the park:

At home:

At the zoo:

Back to Ding Darling NWR: more big birds

Ding Darling offered better opportunity to take pictures of the "big birds". I had my better camera and better lens. And wasn't trying to balance between paddling responsibilities and taking photos.

"Tarpon" Bay and the big birds

We went out for a guided kayak today in the mangrove formations of Tarpon Bay. Sid was salivating over the name (tarpon). Sid loves tarpon. Come to find out however, that there aren't many tarpon here. If any, the estuary acts as a nursery for baby tarpon. Poor Sid. We most likely will be headed out again in kayak, with rod and fly reel tomorrow, regardless. Fine with me. I love kayaks, the water and the breeze- tarpon or no.

Along with the wildlife, we got a chance to learn a lot about the original Indian residents of this area- the Calusa. A population of nearly 20,000 lived on this island up to 500 years ago. Wiped out by the Spaniards et al. by mid 1700s. They were able to sustain their populations without any help from agricultural productivity. They lived off the sea. That means the sea life here is RICH. A resulting combination of the subtropic zone (25 degrees north of the equator) and the mangrove-based ecosystem.

The mangroves provide an incredible about of habitat and biomass (food) to sustain a huge and diverse population of ocean life. The food chain here is impressive. We weren't able to see much of this life, except for some oysters, snails, bottleneck sharks, some mullet, etc. The biologist used a net, like a butterfly net to pick up the sea bottom life. A mid-tide, the water was only about 3 feet deep. But, in the deeper parts of the bay, there are other sharks, rays, dolphins, manatees, and even squid travel. Here to feed on the abundant food sources.

We were able to see birds. The "Big Bird dogs" of Sanibel. Here are some shots:

The Anhinga:

The Tri-colored Heron:

The Double-breasted Cormorant (terrible pic by the way, sorry about that):

A White Ibis:

The Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge and LBBs

What are LLBs, you ask?...That is what we asked ourselves as we sat ourselves down for a shorebird talk this morning at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. According to the Ontario couple, birding officianados, and volunteer speakers, they are "little brown birds". And there are many of them here.

To keep up my rep as a naturalist, we attended not just one, but two lectures. They were outside in a pavillion in the heart of the refuge. So much better than in a lecture hall. And Sid was game, at least for the first one:  "Crocs vs. 'Gators". The second one I listened to solo. The one about shorebirds. The LBBs.

The crocodile versus alligator was interesting. We learned that in a near tropic environment, they are akin to the Montana grizzly - in that they are feared by humans. And that a trouble gator/croc. is a dead gator/croc. Here, as in Montana, their populations are in jeopardy. If you want to learn more, just ask me in person. I won't bore you blog readers. I did take a lot of notes, which I can share.

At this talk by the way, when asked who we were and what we did in MT, rather than a naturalist, Sid referred to me as an environmentalist; . This description gave me pause. I had to clear my throat; which he caught. Note: When he asked about it, I said I'd rather be described as a conservationist. There is a subtle difference. At least to me. Environmentalists are radical. I'm not radical. Conservationists are rational, articulate people in support of the environment. That is me. Right?

Back to the LBBs. After the talk, Sid and I set out onto the refuge to document all the birds we could capture through Page's "big lens" and to put our good listening and learning skills to the test. It was our job to identify: 6 different types of plover..., 3 types of sandpiper, a Dunlin, Red Knot (there population in the early 2000s dropped by 80%  by the way, due to over collection of horseshoe crabs in the Chesapeake Bay area -their food source for their massive migration from southern Argentina to the Arctic. Since then, horseshoe crab catches have been regulated and the red knot bird population has rebounded. Phew!), Dowitcher, 2 species of Yellowlegs, Willett, Whimbrel and Marble Godwit.

Below is what we got. They will be labelled in a later post. Too tired right now, and Sid wants to use the computadora.

LBBs are in the background. In the front is a heron. One of three species of heron common to the island. Which one you ask...

Note: after this (next blog), I will switch to the BB (big birds), which is a shorter list and much easier to identify.

Sanibel is nice. But Captiva is N-I-C-E.

Day 2. We spent the morning at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. It is a sweet spot. Especially if you are a birder. Which I am not one, in particular. But, it is always fun to pose as one. Learn a little bit and capitalize on a chance to take some great photos. More on this in next blog.

As for the afternoon. We lounged by the pool. Lovely.

For dinner, we headed north (about 9 miles/20 minutes) to the companion island to Sanibel, Captiva. We think Sanibel is a nice place. But, Captive is REALLY NICE. It seems to be a place for the really nicely wealthy. BIIIGGG homes. Roberts family: it reminds me of Rye Beach in NH along RTE 1. Florida /Spanish architecture style. Only problem with trying to gawk at the wealthy (at least their homes) in such a lush place is that there are so many trees. So, many of the mega-homes were obscured by vegetations. But, boy did those driveway gates look impressive. Really, it is beautiful up there.

We were smart enough to book a reservation at what a restaurant web guide claims as the best restaurant in this area: The Mad Hatter. The building is unassuming, but it is located adjacent to a sweet piece of public beach. The dining room itself was small, but the food was DE-LISH. Best food Sid and I have had in a long time. Plus the wait staff were excellent and friendly. And the owner took our picture.
Here are some pictures of the Captive beach:

In Sanibel: The Last Hurrah

We are in Sanibel. It is nice here. Sunny, breezy, 70s to 80s. Four days. Only. Then back. Let's not talk about that. Half the island is a wildlife preserve. Yay! The other half accommodates us humans. Which is nice too.

This trip is a "last hurrah". Before baby #2 and the traveling life goes into shut down mode for a bit. It is a gift from G & P. As they are watching Emma...We are lucky.

We are staying at the Song of the Sea. A nice, quiet place. It has king sized beds, pool-side porches. A pool. An outdoor hot tub (can't use that). A nice pathway to the beach.

Pool-side:

Sanibel is definitely resort-y, with all the resort-type trappings. The cool thing is that there are bike and walking paths everywhere. I mean everywhere. You can get to almost anywhere on the island by bike. Safely and if you want to actually bike that far. It is fun. Everyone bikes: young people, old people, skinny well-tanned people, fat people, etc.

We took a bike ride the first day. Here are some pictures from the excursion. Unfortunately, however much I love to bike, I do not think we'll be doing this again. At least not on the free bikes from the hotel. The pregnancy has made my toosh more sensitive and that evening, I could barely get up from a sitting position...Better the next day though.

Florida was a first in the nation for "Safe Passages" (across highways) for wildlife:

Away from Montana

Greetings from Memphis. Emma has gotten some cousin time and Sid and I have gotten some game-time. Nicks vs. Grizzlies. Yes, Grizzlies is the name for Memphis' NBA basketball team. I was told they were imported from NW Canada; which makes sense, name-wise.

Emma with Ella and Calder.

This was Sid and my first NBA game. Super fun. Grizzlies lost: 105 to 106. Nicks scored a crazy shot with .5 seconds left on the clock. Thanks Mary and Corey!