Sunrise with some fun birds and a boat race

On July 14, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Another early morning at Fort Desoto Park in mid-April. I had heard there were some fun migrating birds seen in the park the day before so I got there when the park opened.

After stopping at a few areas known for migrating birds I finally made it out to the area where the birds were being seen. One side of the beach was full of people here for a paddle boat race. Luckily the birds I was looking for would not be on the beach and would be hidden in the bushes nearby.

For once I got lucky and saw the birds I was looking for pretty quickly. There were only a few birders looking around the mangrove bushes and the golden wing warbler was right in front. This is only the 2nd time I’ve heard of one being in the area. I saw it briefly in 2023 and got blurry shots of it.

The worm eating warbler was also there and I got one quick shot of it before it went deep in the bushes. I saw one here last year and had one in my backyard a few years earlier. Both birds were not common migrating birds that we get in the area.

After seeing the worm eating warbler I took a walk farther down the beach and when I got back an hour later a crowd had formed. Everyone was looking for the golden winged warbler. It had gone much deeper in the bushes and I was glad I was able to get some shots when I first got there. It was the weekend and this park gets crowded on the trails during migration. It’s okay because it’s more eyes to see what’s out there.

I could see barn swallows sitting high up on a dead tree farther behind the mangrove bushes. It’s rare to see them sitting.

An osprey flies by with a big stick for his nearby nest.

A little parakeet morning hanky-panky going on.

There wasn’t a large variety of birds this morning. Other than the 2 notable rare birds I first saw I also got shots of a summer tanager and a prairie warbler.

By now the paddle boats were out on the water and were moving fast. I couldn’t tell if it was an official race or a practice for one. It looked like a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

The water was calm when I stopped by the east beach turnaround before leaving looking for more birds (which I didn’t find). What a beautiful morning out.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Migration has started

On June 10, 2024July 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

Spring migration was just starting in early April (although a few birds have trickled through since mid-March) so I was up before sunrise and made it down to Fort Desoto just as the sun was coming up (the park doesn’t open until 7am so right now we can’t get in before that). I took this on the bridge before the park.

I went straight to East Beach since I heard there was some birds on the trails at that part of the park. Before heading down the trail I stopped on the beach to catch the sun coming up over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. I took all of these with my phone. I figured even if I didn’t see a lot of birds I at least saw an amazing sunrise.

A wood thrush was easy to find on the ground.

Black and white warblers were all over the park.

A rose breasted grosbeak was eating a berry but stayed pretty hidden.

There was a prothonotary warbler right on the trail and he was not shy. He popped out of the bushes and landed right in front of me and seemed to wait for me to take his picture.

My 2nd ever worm eating warbler (the first was in my backyard in 2022). He was a little shy and I waited a while for him to come out in the open.

A prairie warbler.

Hooded warblers were all over the park and it’s usual for them to be the first migrating birds we see here.

I got a brief glimpse of a Kentucky warbler. He was shy and we looked for him for a long time. He looks a lot like the hooded warbler but he has black under his eye instead of under his chin. His head has bumps on it as well so it looks like it’s textured.

I stopped at the gulf fishing pier before leaving and found these two female red breasted mergansers hanging out in front of the stones along the wall.

It’s always fun when spring migration is in full swing although a little exhausting. Getting up early and running around looking for new birds. No rest until mid-May. I always see lots of old birding friends and make some new ones during this time. People in the area thought this spring’s migration was a bit of a dud but I thought it great and saw 5 new birds. More on those later.

In the yard

On December 3, 2022December 5, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals3 Comments

In mid-October I had some migrating birds stop by the backyard. Black and white warblers were common here last winter but this was the first time seeing house finches in the backyard.

I saw my first ever worm eating warbler in the backyard. Over the years I had heard of one being reported twice in the Tampa Bay area but I could never find them. I was pretty excited to see him bouncing around near the bird bath. He stayed close under the big palm leaves on the ground and then later disappeared.

Common birds to the backyard are catbirds (I get a lot of them in the winter) and red bellied woodpeckers.

A house finch with just a little red on his head stopped by the feeder.

I’ve had an almost grown baby coming through the backyard alone. When I first saw her in mid October, you could still see the spots on her hind legs.She was all alone. I don’t know what happened to her Mom but I was thinking she was old enough to be on her own.

For several weeks she would come by every afternoon and hang out in the back, feeding and napping. I took all of these through the window because I was afraid I would spook her if I went outside. She saw me in the window though. She would take a quick nap up against my neighbor’s oak tree.