Shorebirds and sunset at Fort DeSoto

On my recent trip to Fort DeSoto State Park in St. Pete, it was great to see it wasn’t just the little birds that had returned, but also the regular shorebirds.

This includes a pair of American Oystercatchers who have been nesting near the park’s North Beach for several years.

The banded female was patiently sitting on the nest in a roped-off area while the male was flying around and gathering food. It was great to see this Oystercatcher in action as it broke open some clams to get to the meat inside.

I also got to see a young Black-bellied Plover have a tug-of-war with a blood worm on the beach, finally winning that battle for its dinner.

And I was treated to a pair of Reddish Egrets dancing in the lagoon and a spectacular Gulf Coast sunset.