We visited both Sanibel and Captiva Islands today, the two low lying islands being connected by a short causeway. Sanibel is home to the Ding Darling Nature Reserve, where a wide variety of birds can be seen due to the abundance of fish and mollusks found in the shallow flats, the main source of food for most of the birds in this area. We saw a great variety, both indigenous and migratory northern birds who spend the winter in the south. We drove through the Reserve in the morning, had lunch on Captiva Island, and returned to the Reserve in the afternoon for a tour with a well informed ranger from the Park Service.
![American White Pelicans-They spend summers in Canada and upper US Midwest and winter in the southThe American White Pelican rivals the Trumpeter Swan as the longest bird native to North America. Both very large and plump, it has an overall length is about 50–70 in (130–180 cm), courtesy of the huge beak which measures 11.3–15.2 in (290–390 mm) in males and 10.3–14.2 in (260–360 mm) in females. It has a wingspan of about 95–120 in (240–300 cm).[3] The species also has the second largest average wingspan of any North American bird, after the California Condor. Body weight can range between 9.2 and 30 lb (4.2 and 13.6 kg),[4] although typically these birds average between 11 and 20 lb (5.0 and 9.1 kg). Among standard measurements, the wing chord measures 20–26.7 in (51–68 cm) and the tarsus measures 3.9–5.4 in (9.9–13.7 cm) long. The plumage is almost entirely bright white, except the black primary and secondary remiges, which are hardly visible except in flight.](https://stored-cf.slickpic.com/Mzc5OTJhOTA2ZDFmMw,,/20140303/NzU0ODY3NjMxYTA,/pm/600/048.jpg){kind=link}
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