What this site does not do

It does not forecast. eBird already published that, from twenty-five years of checklists and a hundred thousand observers, and a site with no observations of its own would only be guessing more confidently.

It does not state hours, closures or fees. Those belong to the refuge and they change. Every one is linked to whoever maintains it.

It does not publish eBird data in its original form. Where figures appear they are derived — a species, a month, a percentage — and they carry the same terms as the data behind them.

Where the numbers come from

J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge — US Fish & Wildlife Service. Wildlife Drive hours, closure days, fees and trail conditions.

eBird — Cornell Lab of Ornithology. What has actually been reported, week by week, for twenty-five years.

BirdCast — Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Whether migration is moving tonight, from weather radar.

SCCF — Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. The local species list, banding and shorebird monitoring.

Photography

The islands are a refuge before they are a subject. Nothing here will suggest approaching a nest, baiting a bird, or using playback to pull one into the open. A photograph is not worth a bird abandoning a clutch, and the difference between a good photographer and a bad one here is mostly patience.