Still looking for spring birds

On July 26, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I made another trip to Fort Desoto Park in mid-April but not early enough to catch sunrise. I started out on East Beach and found some royal terns looking for love.

It was mating season for the shorebirds and there was a lot of hanky panky going on early that morning. These birds don’t get any privacy. A sandwich tern (on the right) was interrupting the royal terns and got yelled at.

Or maybe they were just playing “leap frog”???

The male terns were bringing in fish to temp the ladies. I think this one was hoping one of these two ladies were going to take the bait.

Not sure what this conversation was about. Was she yelling at him to go get a fish?

This osprey had a big fish for breakfast.

A nanday parakeet sitting pretty.

I was hoping to see something new on the trail but only the usual migrating birds were there this morning: a female Cape May warbler, a black and white warbler, a red eyed vireo and a summer tanager.

I stopped in at the North Beach area and as I walked out on the beach I saw these 2 oystercatchers chasing another one away.

The oystercatcher nest was still there and Mom (she is banded with AE bands) was just coming back to the nest after chasing that interloper away with Dad. I could see that she was sitting on 3 eggs. They should hatch soon.

A red breasted merganser was shaking off the water.

A pelican fly by.

A lot of flirting going on.

On June 4, 2022May 23, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The usual shore birds were at the fishing pier in early April. There was a large variety of them hanging out together including those large ring billed gulls in the middle. They make the other birds seem so small.

There were a lot of royal terns on the beach. The two above with the orange beaks looked like they were flirting. They were standing at attention among the sandwich terns, common terns and willets.

They were definitely flirting. Walking back and forth together, almost like slow dancing. Their little black toupees were standing up.

Then we knew for sure they were flirting. The poor couple didn’t have any privacy although the willets weren’t really paying attention. It looked more like a game of leap frog than actual mating though.

They danced around again for a while as that kittiwake was keeping an eye on us.

They tried again but I don’t think she was really in the mood.

As I was leaving I noticed the crowd had thinned out. Everyone was here to see the kittiwake but there was so much more going on.

Little birds on the beach.

On October 8, 2019October 8, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Lots of oystercatchers at the north beach at Fort Desoto. Including the first one that has the TO bands on his legs. I have pictures of him as far back as 2011.

A ruddy turnstone still in his summer feathers.

Two little plovers. A piping plover on top and a semipalmated plover on the bottom.

A mom and juvenile sandwich tern.

An almost grown black skimmer taking a break on the sand.

Pelicans resting on the shore.

Linking to My Corner of the World.

Happy Memorial Day from the beach

On May 27, 2019May 28, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Everyone was after this yummy snack rolling around on the beach.

Other birds were going after their usual snacks including the sandwich tern and great egret above. I think that egret had a tough time getting that fish down.

A fisherman had pulled up this tiny fish and left it on the pier so this great blue heron tiptoed up and grabbed it.

The usual birds at the fishing pier at Fort Desoto park.

A few female red breasted mergansers were swimming along the shoreline.

It’s the unofficial summer season kickoff this weekend. Although here in Florida that started months ago. I probably won’t be at the beach today since we tend to stay away on big holidays and avoid the crowds.

Birds on the beach at Fort Desoto

On October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

A ruddy turnstone staring at me.

The usual oystercatcher walking along the water.

A willet walking by.

These godwits and willets were trying to sleep in the water.

I tried not to wake anyone up. They looked so peaceful.

The above are all black bellied plovers hanging around the marsh.

A sandwich tern fly by.

A handful of shorebirds that were hanging out at Fort Desoto in late September.

Saturday's Critters

Napping and breakfast in the morning

On August 19, 2015August 9, 2015 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

It’s always sad to see a one footed bird. This laughing gull seems to be doing okay though.

Take a “tern”. Royal terns and a sandwich tern.

The always present oystercatcher.

Dowitchers and willets taking a morning nap.

A baby laughing gull screaming for his mom to bring food.

Breakfast time for dowitchers.

Keeping an eye on me.

A few birds on the beach in the middle of summer.

Old birds and a new one at Fort Desoto

On October 7, 2013October 8, 2013 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography15 Comments

It was a drizzly dark morning. I was in my car waiting for the storm to go by and I saw the above stork walk by my car.

Great blue heron wading in the water.

After the rain passed, I walked down the beach to look for the brown booby on the tower. I saw this sad wet juvenile laughing gull sitting on the sand.

A sandwich tern walking along the shoreline.

Marbled godwits walking along.

Common terns (??) standing in the water.

I think this is a juvenile sandwich tern flying by.

I finally saw him! The brown booby at Fort Desoto. I think this was my 6th trip looking for him. Actually, I go down there quite a bit anyway and kept stopping by the tower to look for him. Several other birders were there and all were excited to see him no matter how far away he was. He seems to rest out on the tower in the bay near the fishing pier off and on. This is extremely highly cropped. You can just barely make out the blue beak. I had a shot of his orange looking feet but the top of him was even more blurry. This was labor day weekend and he’d been randomly seen for over a month.

It gets harder and harder to find new birds. I read on Florida bird reports that different birds are spotted all over central Florida but work and family commitments have kept me from taking any road trips this summer. I’ve been sticking close to home and only on Saturdays. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get around this winter.

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