Tag Archives: sunshine skyway bridge

Looking for white pelicans

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It was getting towards the end of October and I had heard there were white pelicans at Fort Desoto. They come here to spend some time in the winter, feeding in the water around the park. It’s hit or miss whether they will be visible while they visit. Some days they are floating in the main lagoon at the north beach and some days they hide behind the spoil islands. I was driving in right before they open at 7am and made my usual pause on the bridge to snap the above with my phone since no one was behind me.

I made a quick stop at the east beach turnaround to snap the above with my camera. This is the first time I’ve seen the lights on the bridge.

 

After snapping the bridge I headed to the north beach tip. I saw a few white pelicans way out on a sandbar. The tide was super low this morning and it was a long walk to the tip of Outback Key. There were only a handful of the white pelicans here this morning where there had been hundreds the day before. Where were they all hiding? I hung out for a while hoping a few more would show up but eventually I started making my way back to the main beach.

Something was causing the shorebirds to all take flight. Some of the skimmers landed right in front of me.

I’m not sure what this great egret was eating. It looked pink. After flipping it around a few times he swallowed it whole.

It was easy to spot the lesser black back gull among the smaller shorebirds. He was so much bigger and really stood out.

It was hard to ignore the reddish egret dancing around looking for tiny fish. Especially when they do it right in front of you.

The piping plovers were trying to nap so I snuck around them.

After leaving the beach area and taking a quick walk on the pier I headed back to the beach one more time before heading home. The tide was out even farther and the ripples in the sand led the way to the tip of Outback Key.

I could see some type of barge or boat across from Shell Key.

Now there were even less white pelicans hanging out with the shorebirds. I guess this means another trip down while they are still in the area. More to come on my next trip.

The usual things at Fort Desoto

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In mid-October I headed back down to Fort Desoto Park. After a short walk at the north beach and seeing the usual shorebirds there I headed over to the fishing pier. I found the oystercatcher couple that usually hangs out on the little beach area next to the pier.  One of them had found a tasty meal.

The couple was busy feeding and seemed to have a lot of success.

A little sanderling looking around in the slick rocks.

This snowy egret was hanging off one of the big rocks and was trying to snag some bait fish as the water brought the fish closer in the waves. He wasn’t having much success.

Another one was posing for me on the pier.

A great blue heron strutting around.

A royal tern with a snack and an osprey fly overhead.

A manatee swam under the pier. It was so close I took the above with my phone.

Looking over at the lighthouse on Egmont Key.

Rush hour traffic on the water.

Some shots with my phone of sunrise when I first got to the park.

All the usual birds

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I made a trip down to Fort Desoto Park in August to look for a bird. Not just any bird but one I had not seen before. A Wilson’s phalarope had been reported there for several days. I made my usual stop on the bridge going into the park and snapped the above with my phone.

I headed out to North beach and figured that even if I didn’t find the new bird it would be a great morning out.

The new bird looked a lot like the above but no, these were plain ole willets. They are common here along the beaches.

A great egret flies by.

After looking around for the new bird I walked north on the beach and found the white morph reddish egret. He’s a regular here if you can find him along the beach. He was dancing around looking for fish so even though I have a ton of pictures of him I took more (because you know, you can never have too many pictures of the same bird).

A cargo ship goes by.

Some black skimmers came flying by and one went skimming along checking out his reflection.

A cute little piping plover was walking around. He had quite a bit of bling on his legs.

A tricolored heron posed for me.

Snowy egrets lined up on the fishing pier. They were waiting for a fisherman to pull up bait fish.

A shot of the Sunshine Skyway bridge taken right into the sun.

Before leaving I stopped at the East Beach turnaround and shot the above with my phone. And no, I didn’t find that Wilson’s phalarope. There were several others there also looking for it and no one could find it again. I was right though, it was still a great morning out.

Road trip to the other side

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In early May Brett and I took a road trip to the Fort Lauderdale area to visit his relatives. It’s just a quick 4 hour drive from our house in Oldsmar. We always pass this old historic spot at Yeehaw Junction. The old Desert Inn Bar was built in 1889 and has been standing in this spot since then. In 2019 a tractor trailer truck ran into the side of it and did a lot of damage. Original word was that it was going to be restored but that hasn’t happened yet. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

The new hotel addition of the Hard Rock Hotel can be see from almost any of the main roads through Fort Lauderdale. We passed it on the way to a restaurant during our stay.

We were in our hotel room before heading out to dinner and Brett was looking out the window and saw this large iguana walking towards the hotel. I jumped up and grabbed my camera and ran down. He was already in this palm tree when I got to him. That doesn’t look like a comfortable spot.

I saw a lot of these lizards everywhere we went. It was the first time I really noticed them around.

A sun halo high up on our way to lunch.

We were checking out of our hotel and Brett went to get the car. I looked over and saw a tiny bird sitting on the sidewalk. I walked right over to this black throated blue warbler and he let me pick him up. He must have hit a window. I put him on top of the bushes and by the time Brett came and we loaded the car he flew off.

Heading home over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. They were repainting the yellow cables. I can’t image being high up in those little boxes painting while cars are whizzing by. The view is probable amazing though.

 

Old birds and a new one

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It was still late April, just a few days after my trip to Fort Desoto to look for migrating birds. I had heard there were some different birds there so I headed back down to the park. The sun was just coming up and I stopped on the bridge going into the park to snap the above with my phone.  I knew even if I didn’t find any good birds it would still be a great day out.

The first thing I saw by the ranger’s house was lots of rose breasted grosbeaks.

There were also a lot of indigo buntings, both female and males.

A nice surprise was seeing the Louisiana waterthrush. It was only my 2nd time seeing one and the first time was in 2017, right here at the fountain.

This was my first Nashville warbler. I spent a good bit of time looking for him along with a lot of other people. He was found deep in the mangroves and would not come out. At first I got a picture of his feet, then his wing. Finally I was able to at least get a shot of his face.

An osprey flies by with something to cushion the nest.

Kiteboarders out on this beautiful breezy morning.

So far this year I had seen a handful of first sightings which was pretty good considering I was limping around all of this time with a terrible case of plantar fasciitis. In January I got the black scoter and greater scaup, both were easy “get out of the car and snap” pictures. In February I got the Pacific loon and the vesper sparrow. April was the great tailed grackle and the Nashville warbler. In May I got 4 new birds but more to come on those later.

Color in the bushes

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It was a perfect morning to be at Fort Desoto Park. I had not been down to the park since early February and that was a quick trip to the pier to look for the Pacific loon. It was time for spring migration and I heard some birds had stopped by the park on their way north for the summer.

A quick sunrise stop at the East Beach turnaround is a must. I snapped these with my phone before heading to woods to look for some birds.

My foot was still bothering me in late April but I was determined to see some colorful birds. It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the mangrove bushes and trees behind the ranger’s house. I first saw both a female and male rose breasted grosbeak. They were both up high in the fig tree feasting on the tiny berries.

Baltimore orioles were abundant. It was easy to spot that bright orange bird.

I also found several Orchard orioles including a female (in yellow) and males (in brown). These guys were feeding on the mangroves along the road through the park. Everyone was pulling their car off the road and standing or sitting (me) on the ground watching the birds bounce around the huge mangrove bushes.

I only saw one blue grosbeak this spring migration season and he was hiding.

Of course northern parulas are easy to find.

There were several scarlet tanagers feeding in the fig tree by the flag pole.

This Cape May was posing for me.

There were a lot of indigo buntings this morning. I took a ton of pictures of them but it was hard not to say “Oh yeah, I see those in my backyard”.

It was a fun morning and felt good to be out with my fellow birders. There’s always a big crowd during spring migration here, even on the weekdays if there’s good fall out. That’s okay because there were more eyes to help look for things. I still didn’t find the Nashville warbler which would have been a first for me but my foot gave out after 2 hours so I headed home. I was back 2 days later though. More on that to come.

A pacific in the gulf?

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I had high hopes as I drove into Fort Desoto Park in early February. I was looking for the rare Pacific Loon that had been seen there the day before. It was seen right off the fishing pier so I figured it’s a short walk on the pier and I wouldn’t have to hike in the woods looking for it. Although I also knew it could be a wild goose chase and was I loony for driving down here to look for it?

When I first got to the pier there were a lot of people that had already spotted it (several had scopes). Way out in the bay. There were 3 little dots floating around. Two were common loons and the third was the Pacific. I shot the above quickly thinking that might be the only one I got if they took off.

After a while he floated closer to the pier. We get common loons here in the winter so most people, including me, would not have given it a 2nd look since they both almost look the same in their non-breeding feathers. The Pacific has a faint chin strap on his neck that makes him different than the loon as well as a thinner bill. I have to say the local expert birders really know their details.

This is a map of where you can find Pacific loons so the big question is “What is he doing in Florida?”.

He quickly made his way closer to the pier so I was able to get a better look at him. In the first shot you can just barely see the chin strap. This was a first for me as well as most of the people that had driven from all over Florida to see it.

A few of the usual birds include a snowy egret and a great blue heron. I took the shot of the great blue heron with my phone. I was standing next to a guy fishing for bait fish and that heron was not giving up his spot to catch any fall out.

A tiny black bellied plover on the jetty.

Looking out on the bay at the tower, the cormorants and pelicans were having a nice quiet morning.

Some big “boats” passing by the pier.

In the parking lot I found a pair of osprey working on their nest. This one was decorated with some nice greenery.

I stopped at the East Beach turnaround before leaving.

Osprey day at Fort Desoto Park

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I was up and out the door while it was still dark, heading for Fort Desoto Park. The sun was just coming up when I got there so I stopped at the East Beach turnaround to snap a few pictures with my phone before heading to the beach to look for birds.

I was out on the beach taking pictures of the reddish egret when I noticed this osprey coming in toward the beach with some dead branches in his talons. Looks like he was heading for a nest.

There are so many osprey at the park now. They are everywhere and are either adding to the nest or sitting on eggs. The one above had a half eaten fish and was flying in circles around me. It think he was being chased by another osprey.

This one was being harassed by a mockingbird while trying to eat his fish.

There are two different nest fairly close to each other and they were both screaming non-stop.

This  nest is on top of the old smoke stack. She was constantly screaming as well.

Hopefully there will be lots of baby osprey soon.

 

Early morning on the beach.

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I got to Fort Desoto Park after the sun had come up but it was hiding behind a big cloud. I was able to catch the orange glow behind the cloud though, right over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

I was hoping to find the big flock of white pelicans who had been hanging out at the park for weeks now but I could only find 2 out at the north end. 

I know I have a million pictures of the reddish egret but I can’t help stopping and snapping a few more when he’s dancing around for his fish. He was hanging out in a tide pool and was putting on a show.

A few other birds on the beach was a turkey vulture cleaning up the beach eating a dead fish and a great blue heron strutting around.

I was walking on a back trail hoping to find the white pelicans in the back lagoon and saw this eagle flying in to a tree right in front of me. He landed in a dead tree which was good since he would have been hidden in the leaves if the the tree was still alive. He stayed for a few seconds and grabbed a branch before taking off. Assuming he was heading back to the nest across the park.

Pelicans flying across the clouds.

I stopped by the fishing pier before leaving but it was quiet. I couldn’t help but snap the cormorant drying his wings and then I noticed this crow trying to eat a piece of paper. He played with it for a few minutes but finally realized he couldn’t eat it so he dropped it in the water. Ugh. More trash.

Hanging around the fishing pier

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The views from both the bay and gulf piers. In the bottom picture, they are putting in a new utility tower that sits off the fishing pier. It’s weird to see the men tied off on top of that platform. I guess they didn’t want to risk a big splash in the water. It’s actually much higher up than it looks from the pier. They will eventually add the top part and the birds will be able to nest and hang out on it since the old one broke off years ago.

Color on the dunes.

Birds around the pier.

Several dolphins were coming up insanely close to the pier. They would pop right up along the pier as I was looking down so I could only fit in half of their bodies. There were at least 2 with one of them having a zig zag pattern near the blow hole.