There’s a lot of diversity at Fort DeSoto as these 14 different types of birds show.
Royal Tern, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Royal Tern, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Semipalmated Plover, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Semipalmated Plover, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Laughing Gull, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Reddish Egret (White Morph), Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Reddish Egret (White Morph), Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Reddish Egret (White Morph), Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Reddish Egret, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Reddish Egret, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Sandwich Tern, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Sandwich Terns, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Willet, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Willet, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Gray Kingbird, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Gray Kingbird, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Sanderling, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Black Skimmers, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Black Skimmer, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Osprey, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Osprey, Fort Willet, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Snowy Egret, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.Ruddy Turnstone, Fort DeSoto Park in St. Pete, June 2026.
One of the things I love about visiting the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is you never know what you might see. On Sunday, July 16, I saw some birds I expected and one that was unexpected.
My most recent trip to the Orlando Wetlands on Sunday, August 6, started by spotting a group of 16 (!) baby Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and ended with photographs of an elusive Belted Kingfisher.