Birding Holiday: Spending Presidents’ Day at Fort DeSoto
Roger Simmons,
Since I was off from work on Presidents Day, I decided to make the daunting trek to Fort DeSoto Park near St. Pete Beach. The daunting part, of course, was traveling to Tampa on Interstate 4, which is never fun.
But I have to say, even getting stuck in I-4 traffic was worth it for the shore birds I was able to photograph as sunset approached on the Gulf of Mexico.
And those birds included a very photogenic Reddish Egret, who was parading around in the lagoon on North Beach as the sun set.
Wilson’s Plover, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Snowy Plover, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Ruddy Turnstone, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Piping Plover, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Semipalmated Sandpiper, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Piping Plover, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Semipalmated Plover, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Reddish Egret, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Reddish Egret, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Reddish Egret, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Reddish Egret, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.Reddish Egret, Fort DeSoto Park, February 2024.
A quick Sunday morning trip to Black Point Wildlife Drive on Merritt Island was worth it with a Reddish Egret, Little Blue Heron and one very wet Osprey.
Peafowl is the name for birds that I grew up calling peacocks – but only the male peafowl are called that. The females are called peahens, and their babies are called peachicks.
