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Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel Island

I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

The Ding Darling NWR was a must see during our Florida vacation. It is located on Sanibel Island in the Gulf of Mexico. The Ding Darling wildlife refuge is named after the cartoonist Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling. I heard it is closed on Fridays so the workers can do their thing and to give the birds a break. So, we saved Ding Darling for an early morning visit on the 4th day of our vacation. Ding Darling NWR was established  in 1976 to protect the country's largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystems. It is also known for its migratory wading bird population.

In my mosaic above, is a scenic view of Ding Darling, top right is a Pied-bill Grebe, assorted White Ibis and Egrets, bottom left is a Tricolored heron, middle shot Egrets and  White- Ibis, bottom right Little Blue Heron and a juvie Little Blue. This shot above shows some of the migratory birds we saw at the refuge. They are the Little Blue Heron, Great Egret, White Ibis with the red bills and legs and I believe on the right end near the Great Egret is a juvenile Little Blue Heron as a juvie they are white. Above is another one of my Florida life birds the Swallow-tailed Kite. This photo looks better smaller, it is way to fuzzy enlarged. Above top right is a Summer tanager, Osprey nest, Great blue Heron,  Great Egret  with White Ibis, bottom right is a juvenile Little Blue Heron. The Anhinga must be a common bird in Ding Darling and in Florida, we saw them everywhere. Not a lifer but still a treat to see was this Summer Tanager. They are a beautiful rose-red color.

I hope you enjoyed the birds and our tour of the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I really appreciate the comment too.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more from  Our World Tuesday
Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  Thanks also for stopping by to see my post.  I wish everyone a happy week!

at April 21, 2013 Labels: Anhinga, Ding Darling NWR, Florida, Kite, little blue heron, Mosaic Monday, NWR, Our World Tuesday, Summer Tanager, Swallow-tailed Kite, Tricolored Heron, vacation, White Ibis 
the tanager is so cool, but i fell in love with the pied-billed grebe and the lovely colors of the water it was in.

April 21, 2013 at 3:57 PM 
You visit the best places on your vacations! Lovely to see all the critters you saw. Fun!

April 21, 2013 at 4:09 PM 
what lovely birds, aspecially the tanager and the swallow tailed kite!

April 21, 2013 at 4:17 PM 
well I love that rosy tanager; what a beauty; looks like a super place to be visiting Eileen

April 21, 2013 at 4:20 PM 
The yellow leaf looks like an extension of the tanager's feathers. That really made him colorful! Yes, I very much enjoyed seeing the birds and the osprey's nest...so big and way up there I imagine.

April 21, 2013 at 4:21 PM 
A beautiful place I would enjoy!

April 21, 2013 at 4:51 PM 
Hi Eileen. You make the most beautiful bird photo's. I love the little red one, that is so special, we don't see them here. Have a nice week.
 
The summer Tanager is beautiful!! At first I thought he had an orange tail - but it's the leaf behind him!! I have never seen this bird on the east coast in St. Augustine. Lovely!!

April 21, 2013 at 4:55 PM 
I didn't know you had such a variety of birds over there, it's amazing!

April 21, 2013 at 5:03 PM 
I was actually very close to Sanibel, but didn't get there that time, it was close to Naples.

April 21, 2013 at 5:04 PM 
So now if/when I ever travel to Florida I know I should look for a tanager! That's one striking bird.

April 21, 2013 at 5:05 PM 
I love the birds of Florida and this reserve has many to see. The summer tanager is pretty. Thanks for sharing your visit Eileen.

April 21, 2013 at 5:08 PM 
Really great bird photos! Thanks for sharing them with us.
Thanks for stopping by and nice comment. Have a great week!

April 21, 2013 at 6:03 PM 
Hallo Eileen!!Great post!!What a beautiful place,and so many birds!That rosy tanager bird is very preety!!Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures with us!!Have a lovely week!

April 21, 2013 at 6:04 PM Debra @ Homespun said...

the bird shots are fantastic but oh my that sunrise!!!

April 21, 2013 at 6:09 PM 
What a beautiful place, Eileen. It looks so serene. I love all the birds....Christine

April 21, 2013 at 6:34 PM 
When I read the title I couldn't imagine what Ding Darling WR could possibly be. I'm glad you explained the name. Beautiful birds - my favorite is the summer tanager. So bright and pretty.

April 21, 2013 at 6:46 PM 
What a fantastic variety of birds! Too awesome! I really like the grebe and tanager! Beautiful photos!

April 21, 2013 at 7:24 PM A Garden of Threads said...

I have never seen a Summer Tanager, but we have Scarlet tanager here. Love the first mosaic, with the different colours in the water.

April 21, 2013 at 7:25 PM 
Hi Eileen, I have never seen a Summer Tanger except in photographs. Your pictures are great! So glad you are enjoying Sanibel and surrounding area. Have the best coming week and take care with regard to any stormy weather.

April 21, 2013 at 7:56 PM 
Excellent photography as always ~ loved the Ding Darling place ~ heaven for nature lovers! ~ ^_^

April 21, 2013 at 8:07 PM 
Ding Darling must be a wonderful place to visit. I'm glad you were able to get there when it was open. You got some tremendous pictures of the birds.

April 21, 2013 at 8:26 PM Gardening in a Sandbox said...

Isn't it wonderful that these places are preserved so that we can enjoy them and watch the birds. I loved the summer tanager. Valerie
 
You take us on fabulous visits to see differents sights as well as amazing birds. The Summer Tannager was wonderful, such a treat to see. Thank you Eileen . . .

April 21, 2013 at 8:34 PM 
That Tanager is gorgeous! I really like the reflection colors on you Pied-bill Grebe photo. Ding Darling is such a fun place!

April 21, 2013 at 8:39 PM 
Those are lovely mosaics. I especially like the color in the first one. I've never been to Sanibal Island but have heard so much about it.

April 21, 2013 at 9:15 PM 
Summer Tanager - awesome bird. what a gorgeous red. so beautiful. ( :
great shots.

April 21, 2013 at 9:33 PM 
Beautiful Eileen! You saw birds that I've never seen there.

April 21, 2013 at 10:25 PM 
You must have felt that your were in birder paradise, Eileen. Such variety. Like some of your other commenter the little grebe is very appealing--looks so "polite".
 
Wow, that Tanager would be some bird to see.


April 22, 2013 at 4:54 AM 
Lovely variety! We are beginning to see a few migratory birds here, but they are running a couple of weeks late. I like Corkscrew Swamp too!

April 22, 2013 at 5:14 AM 
Oh gorgeous, gorgeous photos, gorgeous birds, and gorgeous mosaic!

April 22, 2013 at 7:40 AM 
I have never seen red birds!!
All your photos are amazing!!

April 22, 2013 at 7:45 AM Robin Robinson said...

Great series. I loved that place. And how I envy you the Summer Tanager! I did not get one and it would have been a life bird for me. Oh well, next time! Got a nice snake there, though, black. Still working on the ID. It's fun Eileen to see the places you have been that we have in common and see it through your eyes. Funny thing is, we could even have photo'ed the same birds!

April 22, 2013 at 8:06 AM 
You posted about birds.

The birds will do the same if they have Internet.

April 22, 2013 at 10:01 AM 
Looks like a great way to spend a vacation day, Eileen! You saw some lovely birds.

April 22, 2013 at 11:10 AM 
Beautiful! I can certainly see why you wanted to visit here. That is an amazing array of wildlife.

April 22, 2013 at 11:13 AM 
I can certainly see why you wanted to visit here. What an amazing array of wildlife.

April 22, 2013 at 11:15 AM 
Wonderful variety and photos of the birds! The tanager is so colorful and I like the Swallow-tailed Kite.

April 22, 2013 at 11:43 AM Marco Alpha said...

What a beautiful shots of all these birds. That red one is so cute and special to see. Well done!!

Many greetings,

April 22, 2013 at 2:33 PM 
Oh my goodness! This is incredible! In a year I would not see so many different birds! Christa

April 22, 2013 at 2:37 PM 
Sanibel Island is such a beautiful place and what wonderful captures of the birds and critters, Eileen! Looks like a great trip! Hope you have a lovely week! Enjoy!

April 22, 2013 at 3:58 PM 
The Summer Tanager is so pretty! Wow! They all are very lovely, but that one is my favorite :)
 
I hope you will link this also to World Bird Wednesday !
Great photos and post.
Greetings from Finland Eileen!
We are waiting migrants now, they have been late this year.

April 22, 2013 at 4:28 PM 
That looks like a beautiful place to visit and the shorebirds are really great.

April 22, 2013 at 4:30 PM 
Hi Eileen! Thank you for the lovely photo series of your wildlife. The Summer Tanager is so colourful. Our European birds don't have these striking colours.

April 22, 2013 at 4:57 PM 
Wonderful photos are gorgeous, beautiful birds!

April 22, 2013 at 5:01 PM 
Looks like a beautiful place. I saw a scarlet tanager just once, they aren't common in our area.. it was gorgeous, and I was so excited!
 
Our area is now seeing the scarlet and summer tanagers! Cannot wait to see it for myself. The photos are so vivid! What a great bird. Enjoyed all the other birds as well. I like how you put them in a mosaic like that. Wish I knew how...

April 22, 2013 at 7:43 PM 
Wonderful birds!

April 22, 2013 at 8:12 PM 
That looks like an incredible place for a birder, great shots!

April 22, 2013 at 9:37 PM 
You capture birds at their very best. These are so immediate, intense.
 
Wow, terrific photos of some pretty exotic birds! That Anhinga is awesome!

April 22, 2013 at 10:31 PM 
Beautiful place with such lovely birds.

April 22, 2013 at 11:43 PM 
What a beautiful place.


April 22, 2013 at 11:45 PM 
What a treat seeing so many different varieties of birds!

April 22, 2013 at 11:48 PM 
Lovely pictures Eileen!

April 23, 2013 at 12:35 AM 
we saw anhinga in florida and more in costa rica.

April 23, 2013 at 12:37 AM 
The summer tanager bird is so colorful! Florida does have it's very tropical collection of birds and fowl. It's beautiful there!

April 23, 2013 at 1:32 AM 
a bird-watcher/lover's paradise. gorgeous shots of these beautiful birds.

April 23, 2013 at 1:51 AM 
Beautiful Eileen, so many birds.

April 23, 2013 at 3:49 AM 
the show with egrets and herons are really great to see the diffence in size between them. :) Gorgeous birding place.

April 23, 2013 at 6:02 AM 
Gorgeous captures of a magical place

April 23, 2013 at 6:48 AM 
What a beautiful place! I I love the rosy tanager.

April 23, 2013 at 6:57 AM 
A wonderful variety of bird life here! Such fascinating sights! So love those water colours round the grebe!

April 23, 2013 at 7:10 AM 
Beauriful series!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

April 23, 2013 at 7:33 AM 
Oh, my goodness, you have been having fun!!! I've just had a very enjoyable time going through all your holiday posts and what a holiday it was! You saw so many beautiful birds. I'm really glad you explained the origin of the name Ding Darling, I had seen it mentioned on a blog once before but there was no explanation and it has always intrigued me. I have never heard of the cartoonist but will look him up.

It was nice to get an idea of just how large the Great Egret is in the first photo after the mosaic. They are relatively new visitors to the UK and I have yet to see one. Well done on the Swallow-tailed Kite, I don't think I had ever heard of that one. The Summer Tanager is beautiful, such a lovely colour!

Well done too on the Wood Storks, it's always so exciting to tick lifers. I also enjoyed seeing the beautiful Roseate Spoonbill, the juvenile White Ibis, the Brown Pelicans, the juvenile Ospreys, the Sandhill Crane surrounded by golf balls...great photo!...and the Alligator!! You will have so many memories from your holiday Eileen, amazing! :-)

April 23, 2013 at 8:04 AM 
The variety of birds you get to see!
Beautiful collages and captures.

April 23, 2013 at 8:07 AM 
What a stunning collection Eileen. Beautiful!

April 23, 2013 at 8:15 AM 
Beautiful captures of al those birds!
Love it very much...
Warm greetings from Holland,

April 23, 2013 at 8:57 AM 
I enjoyed all your photos, thanks Eileen. Such an amazing variety down there!

April 23, 2013 at 9:54 AM 
WoW, what an amazing group of photographs!!

and the tanager, what a beautiful color!!

April 23, 2013 at 10:15 AM 
Vilka vackra fågelbilder du visar. med fin text.
Ha en fin vecka

April 23, 2013 at 10:31 AM 
You know you should work for the tourist board all I want to do is go visit these amazing places.

I know the clothes I have are a bit bold I think it is because summer is not here yet so I am living through colours.

April 23, 2013 at 10:57 AM 
Nice pics,great observations and interesting post for a frenchie to admire!!
Well done Eileen!

April 23, 2013 at 12:15 PM 
There is something about the Summer tanager. While it's not a lifebird, I can't help but take pics of it everytime I see it. With red birds, I think it's a requirement. Really fantastic birds you've found here. Nicely captured and exciting finds!
 
Ding-Dong. I can't believe some of the names you have for refuges Eileen but then someone else mentioned it, I think it was Wally Jones. What the heck, it is yet another of those special places you seem to find so easily. The tanager is superb - so colourful, and then ll those herons and egrets. My eyes would be so tired after spending a day there.

April 23, 2013 at 2:37 PM Jesh St Germain said...

Your posts are always so informative, Eileen! Now I know that not only parrots are red, but the rose-red bird Tanager too:)
Thanks for visiting me earlier:)
 
Oh My Gosh---the Tanager is gorgeous.. I've never seen one... BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

So glad that you enjoyed your Sanibel visit.. I hope we get there sometime.


April 23, 2013 at 2:47 PM