outdoor photography

Reddish Egret Last week my wife decided it might be fun to go to the beach on the Gulf coast (calmer waves), and she asked me if there was a good place there go visit.  Fort De Soto, of course!  So yesterday we spent the day there. My father and I got there early to do some birding and photography, and we were not disappointed. We found many terns and wading birds, including 2 Common Terns and a Black Tern, but shorebirds the most fun finds.  It's great to see them returning. Between the east beach turnaround and north beach we found 12 species of shorebirds, and most of them were pretty cooperative. Semipalmated Plover Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Willet Short-billed Dowitcher East Beach was filled with Least Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Semipalmated Plovers. There was also one Western Sandpiper there. Willets were everywhere. Spotted Sandpiper Marbled Godwit Piping Plover Wilson's Plover North Beach is great...

Wilson's Plover Since I moved to Florida and became interested in birding, I've wanted to get good photos of all the little plovers that show up in Florida on a regular basis.  I found most of these plovers without much trouble, but Snowy Plovers have eluded me.  They've been somewhat of a nemesis bird for me, until the end of May.  I visited Siesta Beach in Sarasota, and one was very happy to be out on the beach with all the other sunbathers. So now I can write a post I've been wanting to write for years--a survey of Florida's little plovers. We have four of them, and they aren't too terribly difficult to tell apart, but I'll also share a few ID tips for those that may be new to finding Plovers. I couldn't decide whether I should organize them by the the order I found them or the overall lightness of their plumage, but then I realized that it's the same. I found them in the order of darkest to lightest. Semipalmated Plover Semipalmated Plo...

Wilson's Plover At first glance, Wilson's Plovers may seem hard to distinguish from other plovers, but take a look at that bill.  It's huge!  Well, compared to Semipalmated Plovers they're huge. I see them frequently at Fort De Soto, and occasionally at Merritt Island.  My favorite moment with then was seeing one grab a crab and run off with it. Wilson's Plover Wilson's Plover Wilson's Plover Wilson's Plover

Wilson's Phalarope I had a pretty fun time at Merritt Island this morning.  Easily the biggest highlight for me was a Wilson's Phalarope.  I found it on Bio Lab Rd.  Black-necked Stilts were also there, and I always enjoy them. Black-necked Stilts Blackpoint Drive was also pretty fun. I couldn't believe how many Reddish Egrets were there--I counted 18, and two of them were white morphs.  By the first parking lot there were many shorebirds, including one Wilson's Plover.  I also found a Golden Silk Orbweaver spider with a lunch.  I only wish I could tell what it had caught. Reddish Egret Wilson's Plover Golden Silk Orbweaver

Red Knot Yesterday I went to Fort de Soto.  It was a consolation prize for having to miss a pelagic trip due to Tropical Storm Beryl.  I successfully avoided the thunderstorms that were predicted for the morning and had a wonderful time.  There were too many highlights for one blogpost, but here are a few.  My favorite moment was seeing many Red Knots--a simply stunning shorebird. Red Knot It was also great to watch a Wilson's Plover search for food on the beach.  He caught something a couple times and showed it off to me. Wilson's Plover Wilson's Plover Wilson's Plover Ruddy Turnstones and Dunlin were also there in their breeding plumage.  A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was out on the beach standing not 10 ft away from me. Ruddy Turnstone Dunlin Yellow-crowned Night Heron It was also great to see a Sandwich tern, and there were many breeding Least Terns at North Beach.  They are extremely fun to watch. Sandwich...