Bird Sanctuary- J N 'Ding' Darling Wildlife Refuge at Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is a shrimp shaped barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. The island popular for migrtory bird populations is home for J N 'Ding' Darling Wildlife Refuge which was established in 1976 to protect the largest mangrove ecosystem and named for cartoonist and environmentalist Jay Norwood Darling. 

Willets

The drive from Naples to Sanibel Island wasn't long. Driving over the Sanibel Causeway was fantastic. After reaching the island I went first to look for a guided canoe trip. Unfortunately, I was late and the tour had left couple of minutes earlier to my arrival! Disappointed a bit, I left for Bailey Mathews Shell museum ($7 entrance fee) which is one must visit attraction on the island IMO. It has a great collection of only shells. Very comprehensive and informative.

I then drove up to Point Ybel Lighthouse which is one place most visitors head to during late afternoon. The Lighthouse is not open for public but one could enjoy the beach around. Honestly I didn't find it very appealing.

After looking around the shops which had loads of artifacts made of shells I headed to J N 'Ding' Darling Wildlife Refuge ($5 for car and $1 for pedestrian or cyclist). At first I thought I would go by walk and that way I could spot much of the wildlife. But, NO! The heat was unbearable and ran back to my car in few minutes. I drove around the refuge. The place is bustling with bird life. I happened to see more wood storks, egrets, herons, white ibis, willets, american white pelicans, cormorants and many more birds. Interesting was a Mangrove Tree Crab.

Mangrove Tree Crab

One has to be very careful when looking for birds and other wildlife along the coast. Mosquitoes and the most notorious sand fleas are in abundance. I am talking about these nasty things because I had a first hand experience! 

I was trying to get a good closeup shot of that little blue heron and stepped on the sand flea nest. In fraction of a second these dust like nasty insects were all over my feet and clothes. When I tried to push them off by hands they got on to my hands and upper body. I was tormented for some time and then I took out another pair of clothes from the car trunk and changed there itself! The bites, the itch and the burning sensation lasted for hours. I was itching my feet and arms even on my flight and the lady who was beside me looked at me suspiciously. Very bad! 

American White Pelican

From Sanibel Island I drove directly to Miami airport. Driving on I-75 was easy, straight and flat. It was difficult to keep slow on a not so crowded highway. I was in time for the flight but it was cancelled due to technical difficulties. Well, I had a great time in southern Florida though there were some lows like- lost camera,  sand flea attack and then a cancelled flight! What I remember and cherish the most- camping in Dry Tortugas NP, Snorkeling in Biscayne NP, alligators, manatee and the shark!

This is my 200th post in 14 months old blog! Thank you! All the readers of my blog for your encouragement and support! Hope it grows just like it is doing now. Happy traveling :)

Other destinations in this road trip: Everglades National Park, The city of Key West, Dry Tortugas National Park and Biscayne Underwater National Park.
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This post is linked to Our World Tuesday, Nature Notes and Wild Bird Wednesday.

If you want pictures please ask me :)
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.