Goodbye Florida

The Naples Fishing Pier is a popular spot for fishing and for watching the sunset. It was originally built in 1888 as a freight and passenger dock. In 1912 it was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt. Now over a hundred years old, it stands under protection as a landmark.

While we waited for the sun to set, I took some pictures of the birds:

Here is a  juvenile Brown Penguin with a fishing line hanging from its beak. A weight appears to be attached ta the end of the line and is resting on its chest. It's a sad fact that many seabirds get entangled in fishing gear and often lose their lives to it.

A Snowy Egret walking along the beach

The brownish color gives this Laughing Gull away as a juvenile

There were many Laughing Gulls hanging our on the railing and flying about a wooden platform where a fisherman was filleting his fish, hoping that something to drop their way.

First cycle LG

People started arriving and crowding on the pier preparing to take pictures of the

setting sun to take place a few minutes after 6 PM

For the photos of the sun, the water and the people  further down on the pier I experimented with some filters since, if left  unaltered, all you could see were dark outlines against a bright sky.

Goodbye Florida. It was a pleasure to photograph your birds. They were so tame and unruffled by my presence. Probably owing to the absence of hunters and domestic predators, I could often walk right up to them, no need to stalk or use a bird hide for camouflage. We were  also very lucky with the weather, with temperatures mostly in the mid 70's and sunny with a slight breeze. And no snow storms to impede our travel back to Vermont. Our dogs greeted us with excited jumps, yelps and howls. It was good to be home,

... My last post in this series and now no more excuses to tackle my taxes!