Birds, and Soft Morning, daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Soft Morning, 2015, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on board, 7" x 5"

One day last week I took my coffee out to the patio, drawn by the call of a cardinal.  I hadn't seen one for quite some time, but following the sound of their song, I found a pair darting from tree to tree.  The male was bright red and his mate more somberly dressed.  Just then the pecking of a red-bellied woodpecker on one of the large sabal palms drew my attention.  There were two of them!  Just past the sable, a snowy egret was having breakfast in the vacant lot next door.  Moving closer, I saw a small flock of young ibis searching out food in the water-filled swale by the road.  To top it off, an osprey was fishing over the bay.  

It amazed me to see such a wealth and variety of bird life in the space of a few moments right from my small patio in a nearly urban area! Living close to nature is one of the best reasons to live on Marco Island.  

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