Fort De Soto is a large nature park located South of Saint Petersburg, FL. It’s mostly about its beautiful beaches. On cool windy days, the beachgoers were few so we had the area to ourselves.
We hung around mostly near a 1,000 foot long fishing pier. The birds were all well fed.
Here is what a small portion of one of the beaches looks like. Yes, there are plenty of other areas for the humans.
Once the Black Skimmers landed, they wasted no time enjoying a bath.
From the distance, the American Oyster catchers looked like the Skimmers, so I was surprised to find that I hadvpictures of them once I was able to review my shots.
The juvenile Brown Pelicans were hanging out just beyond the surf.
A couple of the more adventurous adults braved an area filled with kite-boarders of the human, variety to fish.
The young laughing gulls had me stumped for awhile.
As did the adults since they were not in their breeding plumage.
Here one plays with a crab while another looks hungrily on.
This Willet with a worm was a special treat as I had never seen one up close before.
We found 4 different kinds of terns. This Common Tern was difficult to differentiate from the Sandwich Tern as it lacked the bright red bill and feet that is seen during their breeding season.
The Royal Terns were a lot easier to see.
We plan another trip soon.
Thanks, Lucy
I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. We had fun getting away. The closeness of the bird life felt like a real trip even tough, for us, it was only a two hour drive.
Enjoyed your pictures, especially up close, in flight Pelican and aren’t they wonderous n the Willet made me laugh out loud, thank you
Lucy