I arrived at the southern point of Amelia Island well before the first sign of light.  I sat alone on the beach, waiting for the sun’s colorful light show to begin.

After the sunrise, I walked along the shore to observe the many types of birds that had appeared for their morning routine.

Crab I found hanging out on the beach in the dark.

Terns on Amelia Beach

Baby Tern Demanding Breakfast

Shorebird resting on driftwood

Diversity

Barnacle Shell

During my walk, I noticed several birds feeding just off shore on the east side of the point.  I made a comfortable seat out of a soft pile of sand and positioned myself for the show.  Several gulls, terns, and pelicans dove into the water, trying to catch their unsuspecting breakfast.  The small terns hovered about thirty feet in the air before folding back their wings and elegantly diving straight down into the water.  The much larger pelicans swooped down, clumsily slamming themselves on the surface, using their over-sized gullets to snatch their prey.

While I sat on the beach, a fish fell from the sky and landed about thirty feet away from me near the water line.  I waited a few seconds thinking a bird would come back for it, but none did.  I felt bad for the fish, so I walked over to release it into the water.  The fish was about the size of my open hand and had a puncture wound on its upper back from the attack.  After a few seconds in the water, it regained composure and swam out to sea.

I returned to my seat and noticed a large seagull had captured a fish, roughly about the same size as the one I had just released.

Disabling the fish

Flipping the fish into position.

Sliding it in.

Down it goes.

This looks painful.

Ahhh, full belly at sunrise

Stretch

Time to roll

And we’re off…