Sleepy birds on the beach

Posted on October 10, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was out at Fort Desoto in late August and started the long hike to the north tip where most of the shorebirds hang out. The lagoon beach area was full of little birds sleeping including red knots.

They were all taking a morning nap.

I passed a big flock of semipalmated plovers hanging out together on the beach with a few sanderlings mixed in.

They look so cute when they are sleeping.

Marbled godwits have been common along the beach here.

A royal tern flying by with a snack.

I had waded out waist deep in the water to get far enough away to shoot the birds on the beach with the sun at least to the side. It was a little bit cooler doing this and made me realize it was beautiful being out past the sea oats.

Big boats cruising past the pier.

Out on the beach

Posted on July 12, 2022 by dinajohnston

Out on the beach at Fort Desoto Park in early May, I found a few black bellied plovers.

I don’t see dunlins very often and it was great to see them in their breeding colors.

The stars on the beach this morning were red knots. Most were in their breeding feathers as well. These birds only fly in for a short time to rest up and fuel up before heading north for the summer. They are one of the longest migration birds, flying 9,000 miles each way when migrating. They spend the summers breeding in the Canadian artic and the winters far south in South America. We are fortunate to see them stopping over here in between. I feel like I see less and less of them every year.

There were a few juveniles mixed in but most were in their red colors.

Looking into the sun, the bird on the left looks like he has a snack.

It was a beautiful morning to be out on the beach.

A great morning for beautiful birds

Posted on October 18, 2021 by dinajohnston

I headed down to Fort Desoto at the end of August not expecting much. As I headed out to the north beach I was greeted by a few spoonbills. I rarely see them here and in fact it was probably last fall when they were in the same spot. I wonder if these are the same ones that have stopped by for a rest.

I found a few red knots hanging out with one of the resident reddish egrets.

A red knot still in breeding feathers.

The best part of the morning was seeing an uncommon avocet. It wasn’t really a surprise though. I had heard 2 were here but wasn’t counting on actually finding it so it was a bonus to walk up on it. I didn’t see the other one although it may have been hiding in the sanctuary close by. There were 3 that hung out here last fall and I was able to catch those on 2 visits.

A young skimmer fluffing up his feathers.

A dunk and a catch.

Looking over through the sea oats over to Egmont Key in the distance. If you look close in the right hand side, you can see an osprey sitting on a branch on the beach.

Late day walk at Fort Desoto

Posted on January 30, 2021 by dinajohnston

I’m still going through my pictures from Fort Desoto in late October. So many shorebirds there at that time. Tons of gulls, terns and skimmers. The 2nd shot is of red knots, feeding before their trip south for the winter.

Many of the birds were taking baths before it got dark.

An uncommon herring gull.

Not sure what kind of snack this laughing gull has.

Some of the smaller shorebirds. Yellowlegs, dowitcher, a black bellied plover and a tiny snowy plover that was smaller than this pile of sand.

It’s weird to see turkey vultures on the beach. They were really in the muck at low tide. The one on the right had a small piece of fish under his foot that he was eating.

Great egret flyby.

This kid was throwing his frisbee into the birds. Why is it so fun to watch the birds flush? Someone walked over to him and asked him to stop and explained that the birds needed their rest before they migrate for the winter. He really just didn’t know. He stopped and went back to his family.

Heading home back into Tampa right before dark, I saw the moon coming up and had to stop and take a picture.

Little birds on the beach

Posted on November 23, 2020 by dinajohnston

The skimmers lined up along the shoreline at Fort Desoto.

Out on Outback Key spit, I could see tons of shorebirds from the beach.

So many shorebirds, so little time. The spit was full of different shorebirds but nothing new on this trip. The tide was high in mid-October early in the morning so I was wading knee deep to get out to the area where the shorebirds were. It was a slow walk just making sure I didn’t sink and go under. Everything was packed in my backpack but you just never know.

Are they red or knot?

Posted on August 3, 2020 by dinajohnston

It’s rare to see red knots in their bright red breeding colors here in central Florida in mid-May. About a third of them were already in breeding feathers. They usually stop over somewhere in Florida to rest during migration. They fly from the tip of Argentina to the Canadian arctic and then back again each year. They have one of the longest journeys of all migrating birds. We’re lucky to see them here at Fort Desoto although this was the first time I had caught them in several years.

Some were napping early in the morning and some were feeding along the shoreline

Although there wasn’t many people near the area, something kept spooking them and causing them to flush. It could have been an eagle that was cruising the area. These guys really need their rest so it’s important that kids or dogs don’t chase after them.

The beach has reopened.

Posted on June 25, 2020 by dinajohnston

On the trail at Fort Desoto. A butterfly and some kind of fruit that I have never noticed before. The red really stuck out in all of the green right on the trail.

A snowy egret trying to steal a snack from a fisherman.

Some of the birds near the fountain includes a loggerhead shrike, a female summer tanager and an ibis.

Dolphins were swimming around the pier.

Looking across the lagoon, lots of different shorebirds. The middle shot has black skimmers in the front and the bottom picture shows red knots.

It was the first week in May and the park had just recently opened. I got there early and was leaving before 10am and shot this from the pier. The beach was filling up fast. Time for me to head home.

Migrating red knots feeding.

Posted on September 19, 2012 by dinajohnston

Nice butt shot on these. They were so busy feeding they didn’t even look up when people walked by them. Notice the tags on the back two birds.

It was nice to catch these birds in breeding colors. Soon they’ll be mostly beige.

This one saw me watching him. He barely paid attention.

Back to more feeding.

There were small groups of them feeding all over the Fort Desoto beach.

Red knots fly more than 9,000 miles from south to north every spring and repeat the trip in reverse every autumn, making this bird one of the longest-distance migrants of all animals. They are exhausted when they stop over on our beaches in Florida. That’s one of the main reasons the tourists shouldn’t let their kids (or dogs) chase birds. They need their rest and to feed to keep going. On a recent Sunday morning, I saw several small flocks of them feeding at the north beach. They probably feed early in the morning and nap in the afternoon when all of the tourist are out. If you see these beautiful shore birds on the beach, please give them some space.

Dina's Wildlife Adventures

Tag Archives: red knots