We set the alarm early so we could be on the beach in time to catch the sunrise. With a dew point of 79 degrees and a temperature of 82 degrees, I made sure to put my camera equipment on the balcony to acclimate while we got ready. And even with doing that it took a while on the beach until the lens was fully defogged!
The clouds are what made this morning's sunrise especially beautiful.
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| Laughing Gull |
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| A tern - I think it is a Sandwich Tern |
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| Brown Pelicans |
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| Sandwich Tern - Just before he grabs a fish from the water |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Laughing Gull Ready! |
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| Set! |
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| Go! |
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| Wilson's Plover and a Sanderling |
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| Wilson's Plover and a Sanderling |
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| Wilson's Plover and a Sanderling |
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| Wilson's Plover and a Sanderling |
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| Little crabs like this one burrow in the sand. You never know when one is going to pop up and say hi. |
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| Sanderling |
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| Sanderling |
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| Sanderling |
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| Sanderling |
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| Sanderling |
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| Sanderling |
Then we grabbed some breakfast and went back to the room to enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the balcony. There wasn't as much of a breeze and the humidity was high but I still loved sipping a cup of coffee in the salty air near the gulf.
Before heading out of town and back home, we made one more stop at the Navarre Beach Marine Park which has some walkways out to the beach on the Sound side of the island. Here the water is calmer and the beaches are less crowded. I only encountered one family as I was walking along but discovered quite a few new species of birds (well new to me at least!).
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| Willet |
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| Greater Yellowlegs |
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| Short-billed Dowitcher and a Greater Yellowlegs |
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| Short-billed Dowitchers and a Great Yellowlegs |
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| Short-billed Dowitches |
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| Great Egret hiding in the grass reaching for something... |
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| Reddish Egret (white morph) |
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| Reddish Egret (white morph) |
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| This might be a Solitary Sandpiper but I am not completely sure. |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Juvenile Black Skimmer |
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| Juvenile Black Skimmer - practicing yoga? |
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| Juvenile Black Skimmer |
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| Laughing Gulls |
I had hoped to photograph a pelican or two here but only saw one, flying over, after putting my camera away on my walk back to the restrooms.
It was so good to get away for a few days. Unfortunately, now it is time to get back to reality. I'll just have to starting dreaming of our next trip to the beach.
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