Our Camera Is Down, We may have a solution soon, please bear with us!

LIFE IS FOR THE BIRDS AT OCEAN’S REACH

Sometimes it’s hard to tell which is more mystifying … ‘ole Mother Nature or new-fangled technology.

Just two short weeks ago, we had delightful news to break at Ocean’s Reach. Rather, news to “beak” as our popular pair of resident osprey became proud parents to two adorable baby chicks, much to the enjoyment of our flock of webcam visitors that had been anxiously awaiting their arrival.

We received heaps of well wishes from all over. Nicole’s children in Texas persuaded their teacher to let them watch the osprey all day in their classroom. Dea in Oklahoma commented how thrilled she was to see the chicks the day they hatched and how much she enjoyed seeing them being fed by their parents. Ann in Ohio was intrigued by how the mother osprey tried to settle the chicks under her feathers And MB in Pennsylvania reflected the feelings of many when he commented that checking in on the birds periodically throughout the day made him feel like he was transported back to Sanibel, instead of sitting at his desk in Philadelphia.

Just as we were all set to sit back and watch the chicks test their wings, our webcam went down. We called in several technicians, as well as local birding experts, to determine what course of action would prove best. We were told that we needed to replace the entire camera, but also learned, not surprisingly, how disruptive that work could be to the osprey family.

We have decided to forego any additional work on webcam replacement until after the birds have “fledged” and flown away for the season.

As osprey mate for life, we can expect our osprey pair to return sometime in October as they’ve done the past four years, by which time our 35-foot-high webcam will be fixed and, hopefully, better than ever.

Still, “life is for the birds” here at Ocean’s Reach.

Birding aficionados will be thrilled to hear that we recently had a visit from America’s First Couple of Birding, Don and Lillian Stokes. The Stokes have been prolific writers and award-winning educators in the birding field for over 30 years. They’ve hosted the PBS television series, Stokes Birds at Home, seen by 40 million viewers, and have written 32 books, the latest of which, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, contains over 3,400 photos, many taken by Lillian.

Don and Lillian were in town to present at a Sanibel-Captiva Audubon lecture and came over for a bird’s eye view of our webcam. They were thrilled, and we were all flying sky high after their visit to Ocean’s Reach.

And we expect more birding fans to flock our way soon, especially with the news that our resident expert Walt McNairy, host of our popular birding tours to Ding Darling this past January, will be back to treat guests to “Nesters & Resters on the Beach” in March. Each Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. throughout the month, starting March 6, Walt will host his 1 – 1 ½ hour walk along our beach and share tips on how to become a better birder.

He recently commented that Sanibel’s great temperatures have been quite advantageous, or in Walt’s words, it’s been “birds wall-to-wall all day.” They’ll be on the move again soon, but be sure to catch Walt’s program in March to enjoy these remarkable feathered friends while you can!