Life's a Beach

I know, I know, the title of this post is about as cliche as they come. However, after a cool first week it's been nothing but sunshine and temps in the high teens and low 20s. Just about as good as it gets for the beach, birding and birdies. It's hard to believe we begin our last week on the Cape tomorrow. The last three weeks have blown by. I've managed to get in four games of golf, two at St. Joseph Bay and two at St. James Bay, three of those with Michael who joined us for seven days. A treat. We lost a few balls, however, we hit it pretty darn good for a five month lay-off. Oh yes, watch out for the gators.

Michael booms one!

One of my favourite things about traveling is always the people you meet and the new friends made. We've enjoyed our visits and exploring with Emmett and Pam Doiron, a great couple from Nova Scotia we met last year and who, like ourselves, enjoyed the dog friendly beaches (they have three) so much they decided to return this year. And Emmett loves to fish.

Another cast, another fish

A highlight for me was meeting David Jones from Boston on St. George Island. I had gone there in search of piping plovers and to see if I could find any that were banded. David just happens to be a kindred spirit with an eye and the tools for amazing bird photography. We were fortunate to find two groups of pipers, one group of four and a second group of seven. Of the 11, David was able to take close-up photographs that identified four full combinations of bands and one partial. He later identified a number of pipers on Dog Island and we have now determined that one bird was banded on the Great Lakes in 2008 and amazingly, another banded at Big Quill Lake, Saskatchewan in 2005. This bird has made the trek south nine times. You read right, NINE times. That is an incredible feat. To view more of David's wonderful photos go to his web site at www.pbase.com/clamflats.

The Group of Four

And my favourite local is The Tap Room in Apalachicola. A fine selection of craft beers from across the United States, good pub grub and a cool vibe. A must if you're in the area.

The Tap Room sandwich board

And last, Bobbie and Arnie have had a blast at the beach. No surprises there, Arnie's a Portuguese Water Dog for cryin' out loud.

Ken & Arnie lovin' the beach