Lido Beach, just south of Longboat Key, is one of the best birding and walking beaches in Southwest Florida. This morning, however, it had the feel of the New England Coast, shrouded by low, gray clouds, enveloped in cool air and raked by a strong north wind.
A few ospreys, brown pelicans and double-crested cormorants braved the choppy Gulf while most of the gulls, terns and shorebirds remained grounded, huddled along the shore. At least 500 royal terns had settled on the sand, joined by smaller flocks of laughing gulls, sandwich terns, willets, red knots, black-bellied plovers and sanderlings. Except for a group of windsurfers and their cohorts. the scenic beach was devoid of human sunbathers; only a few other couples joined us as we trudged along the tideline, leaning into the wind.
Within a day or two, Lido Beach will be bathed in warm air and sunshine and the Gulf of Mexico will return to a flat, inviting sheet of turquoise water, attracting far more human visitors. Sometimes, raw weather has its advantages.
A few ospreys, brown pelicans and double-crested cormorants braved the choppy Gulf while most of the gulls, terns and shorebirds remained grounded, huddled along the shore. At least 500 royal terns had settled on the sand, joined by smaller flocks of laughing gulls, sandwich terns, willets, red knots, black-bellied plovers and sanderlings. Except for a group of windsurfers and their cohorts. the scenic beach was devoid of human sunbathers; only a few other couples joined us as we trudged along the tideline, leaning into the wind.
Within a day or two, Lido Beach will be bathed in warm air and sunshine and the Gulf of Mexico will return to a flat, inviting sheet of turquoise water, attracting far more human visitors. Sometimes, raw weather has its advantages.
