The sun and pink birds on the causeway

On February 11, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography9 Comments

At the end of October I was at the Dunedin causeway for a walk under the clouds. The tide was really low and you could see the different colors of the seaweed and muck that is usually under water.

The sun was trying to peek out and it finally did as I made my way back to the car.

As I was getting in the car I saw some interesting birds in the exposed seaweed so I pulled out my camera and got some shots of the above red knots. I don’t see them often as they usually only pass through the area during migration.

Two roseate spoonbills were also feeding in the seaweed and I spent some time watching them.

I occasionally see spoonbills on the causeway but they don’t stick around long. These guys showed up at the end of my walk and they are usually gone by 8:30am.

A 20 second video of a spoonbill using his funny shaped beak to dig through the muck to find stuff to eat.

An almost perfect morning out

On October 22, 2025October 22, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

It was an almost perfect morning at the end of May at Fort Desoto Park. It was too warm to be perfect and there wasn’t a breeze on the beach.

A snowy egret was fishing for breakfast.

Red knots are threatened in Florida due to loss of habitat. The beach in Fort Desoto is critical to their survival as they stop over here to feed during migration. There was a small flock still feeding that hadn’t left yet for the tip of South America for the summer.

The sky and tidal pool were filled with royal and sandwich terns.

I caught a few of them taking a late morning bath.

A tiny Wilson’s plover stops to pose for me.

One of the resident white morph reddish egrets was dancing for his fish.

A morning out on the beach

On August 4, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Another sunrise at Fort Desoto Park in late April.

As I was leaving the East Beach area after taking a few sunrise pictures I passed two osprey. Both had big fish for breakfast.

A great crested flycatcher was sitting up high watching the sun come up.

When I got out to North Beach I saw a reddish egret right away. He was busy fishing for his breakfast in a tidal pool.

I found another one farther up the beach but this one was right into the sun.

A young black bellied plover stands in front of the sleeping red knots.

Red knots are migrating birds and only stop over for a short time to refuel on their way back and forth between their breeding grounds in the northern most part of the continent to the far tip of South America. This trip I was able to catch many of them in their reddish orange breeding colors.

A red knot surrounded by 3 black bellied plovers, two were just starting to get their black bellies for the summer breeding season.

A cute little dunlin was poking around in the wet sand for a snack.

A young herring gull, strutting on the beach with those pink legs, was going to find out that the piece of seaweed was not a good snack.

A big boat passing by the pier.

A crown conch in the shallow edge of the water at low tide.

The dolphins were swimming around the fishing pier trying to steal fish from the fishermen.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Early morning with the shorebirds

On August 31, 2024August 20, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

The view walking to the north tip of the beach at Fort Desoto Park. There’s a lagoon on the right and the gulf is far to the left.

Black skimmers were skimming for breakfast along the gulf.

There were rare red knots out on the beach. We only see them briefly when they are making their migration trip from the artic to the southern tip of South America.

A ring billed gull strutting along the beach.

Lots of shorebirds sleeping. These are willets and dowitchers.

I don’t often see dunlins in their breeding feathers. I seem them mostly in the winter when they are a drab creme color. There were a few in their brown and black feathers.

Nicknamed “mermaid necklaces” the above is an egg casing for whelk shells. The female created this casing as she lays her eggs in it. The eggs hatch and turn into shells and the casing dries up and ends up on beaches during storms.

Bonnie was standing out in the middle of the lagoon and the water only came up to her knees. It’s usually pretty shallow here. We were out trying to get pictures of the reddish egret that was feeding in the lagoon. I’m always a little nervous getting that deep in the water with my camera. One bad step in a hole and I could go down with my camera. I think I was only ankle deep when I shot this.

Sleepy birds on the beach

On October 10, 2022October 10, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

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

On July 12, 2022July 4, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

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

On October 18, 2021March 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

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

On January 30, 2021January 7, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

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.

Are they red or knot?

On August 3, 2020August 4, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

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.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup Our World Tuesday Graphic

The beach has reopened.

On June 25, 2020June 13, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

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.