White Heron

The J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located in southwestern Florida, on Sanibel Island in the Gulf of Mexico. It is named for the cartoonist Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling.  You can access it by land from Sanibel Island, but the most extensive part of the refuge is a large expanse of shallow waterways and lagoons which provide habitat for a large number of aquatic birds.  We anchored just off the eastern edge of Sanibel Island and took the dinghy into the maze of canals in about 2 feet of water.  I brought my new Olympus OMD E-M1 Mark II with a 300mm f4 IS Pro lens to try it out for bird photography.  Here are a few examples.

Tricolor Heron

Tricolor Heron

Blue Heron

American White Ibis