One of the highlights of my recent trip to Longboat Key was the development of a feeding frenzy on Sarasota Bay. The event began when a scattered group of Forster's terns discovered a large school of fish near the surface. Their chatter and repeated dives attracted the attention of brown pelicans and at least twenty soon joined the feast; though they usually dive from ten feet or more, the plentiful bounty allowed the pelicans to feed by rising only a few feet and then lunging forward, scooping fish into their net-like bills.
Opportunists that they are, laughing gulls moved in from all directions, raising the noise level with their piercing calls; some picked small fish directly from the surface but most settled next to the pelicans, waiting for a meal to drop from their pouch. Double-crested cormorants also joined the fray, diving from the surface to catch their prey, and a pair of belted kingfishers flew in from the nearby mangroves, their distinctive chatter adding to the din. Overhead, a couple of osprey flapped above the frenzied crowd but moved on to open waters, in search of larger prey.
Other highlights included the appearance of a manatee and her small calf in our shallow harbor and the dusk arrival of a huge flock of white pelicans; numbering 200 or more, these travelers were returning from a summer on the Great Plains and would spend the winter feeding on the tranquil bays of the Florida Gulf Coast.
