Sanibel and Captiva Islands

We went to Sanibel Island to visit the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge,

 another great place to see wildlife in a mangrove estuary. 

First we stopped to have a picnic by the water.

This was the first place we saw large numbers of White Pelicans.

 They are much larger than the Brown Pelican that we commonly see.

Red Mangrove seedlings.

We learned about Mullet. These fish are herbivores and so the fisherman

 cast big, weighted, circular nets to catch them.

 Mullet also have a habit of jumping high out of the water,

 so they are very entertaining to watch.

The mangroves have interesting snails and crabs that attract the birds.

 

Then we headed to Captiva  to watch the sunset and have dinner.