Fort De Soto County Park

When Life Gives You A Twisted Neck Just Go With The Flow

By |2023-03-08T03:15:10-07:00March 8th, 2023|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I took photos of this Great Egret with a twisted neck and buggy eyes at Fort De Soto I didn't think I'd still be laughing at them fourteen years later.

Winter California And Herring Gull Comparison In Utah

By |2023-03-27T03:47:22-06:00November 8th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, California Gulls, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Herring Gulls, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.

Semipalmated Plover Images

By |2021-10-29T06:02:44-06:00October 29th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Semipalmated Plovers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

While rifling through my archives I came across some of my Semipalmated Plover photos that I took on the north beach at Fort De Soto County Park in 2008.

Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and Earth Shadow Memories

By |2021-10-15T05:08:51-06:00October 15th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.

Willet, Sunrise And The Gulf Of Mexico

By |2021-09-07T05:15:29-06:00September 7th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I look at this photo of a Willet in the waves of the Gulf of Mexico I can almost hear the sounds, taste the tang of salt in the air and feel the warm water on my skin.

Sharing Sunrise With A Greater Yellowlegs

By |2021-08-17T06:11:56-06:00August 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Greater Yellowlegs, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I lived in Florida it wasn't unusual for me to share sunrise alone with birds at the north beach of Fort De Soto. Thirteen years ago I did just that with a Greater Yellowlegs.

Resting Ruddy Turnstone

By |2021-05-17T06:20:46-06:00May 17th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ruddy Turnstones|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Twelve years ago today I was on the beach at Fort De Soto County Park focused on photographing a male Ruddy Turnstone resting on the warm sand with the Gulf behind him.

My First Of Season Spotted Sandpiper Photos

By |2021-05-08T05:16:27-06:00May 8th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Spotted Sandpipers, Summit County, Utah, Wasatch Mountains|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I took my first of season Spotted Sandpiper photos yesterday morning high in the Wasatch Mountains as I sat in my Jeep next to a creek.

World Wetlands Day 2021

By |2024-03-13T04:38:39-06:00February 2nd, 2021|Categories: American Bitterns, American Coots, Bald Eagles, Barn Owls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Black-crowned Night Herons, Blue-winged Teals, Brewer's Blackbirds, Centennial Valley, Cinnamon Teals, Common Checkered-Skippers, Common Mergansers, Conservation, Eight-spotted Skimmers, Environment, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Greater Scaups, Green-winged Teals, Halloween Pennants, Hooded Mergansers, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Scaups, Long-tailed Weasels, Marsh Wrens, Montana, Moose, Muskrats, Northern Harriers, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Reddish Egrets, Redheads, Ruddy Ducks, Rusty Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Scarlet Skimmers, Snowy Egrets, Spotted Sandpipers, Tricolored Herons, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Utah, Variegated Meadowhawk, White-faced Ibises, Wildflowers, Wilson's Phalaropes, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

February 2nd is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the critical role of wetlands for people, wildlife and our planet.

Brown Pelicans And Memories

By |2021-08-07T03:58:20-06:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Eleven years ago this morning I had an amazing time photographing flocks of Brown Pelicans plunge feeding in the Gulf of Mexico.

Pileated Woodpecker – The 2021 ABA Bird of The Year

By |2024-03-07T13:39:07-07:00January 5th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Hillsborough County, Lettuce Lake Regional Park, Pileated Woodpeckers, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

The American Birding Association has selected the Pileated Woodpecker as their Bird of the Year for 2021 and I think it is an excellent choice.

Christmas Day Bird Photos Thru The Years

By |2024-03-05T14:21:20-07:00December 25th, 2020|Categories: Bald Eagles, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Common Goldeneyes, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Golden Eagles, Long-eared Owls, Pied-billed Grebes, Pinellas County, Red-tailed Hawks, Roseate Spoonbills, Salt Lake County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Today I wanted to share some of the Christmas Day bird photos I have taken through the years out in the field and close to home.

If You Used this Search Term: How Much To Feed A Juvenile Brown Pelican

By |2021-07-04T15:00:48-06:00November 14th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Wildlife Ethics|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Please, please, find an authorized and licensed bird or wildlife rehabilitator in your area immediately.

Great Egret In Front Of Stormy Skies

By |2021-04-12T15:22:48-06:00July 8th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Egrets, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

One of the birds I found that summer morning was a Great Egret perched on a stump that the waves of the Gulf had deposited on the shore of the beach.

Sunrise with a Long-billed Curlew In A Florida Lagoon

By |2022-06-05T15:03:18-06:00May 27th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Long-billed Curlews, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I will say that my favorite and most memorable times photographing Long-billed Curlews happened while I was still living in Florida well away from their breeding grounds.

Photographing A Foraging American Oystercatcher In The First Light Of Dawn

By |2022-08-15T05:43:06-06:00May 16th, 2020|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The soft light of dawn has a special quality to it and I believe that it is evident in both of these American Oystercatcher photos.

What An Odd Mother’s Day But It Is Mother’s Day Nonetheless

By |2022-08-16T04:10:22-06:00May 10th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Black-bellied Plovers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I opted to go back in time to a "normal" Mother's Day by pulling a Black-bellied Plover photo from my archives that was taken on Mother's Day in 2009.

Fun Photographing Reddish Egrets In Florida

By |2021-10-09T04:10:38-06:00January 25th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had so much fun photographing Reddish Egrets when I lived in Florida and could see them nearly every time I went to Fort De Soto County Park's north beach.

Tricolored Herons In Florida Habitats

By |2023-10-06T13:12:32-06:00January 19th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Roosevelt Wetlands, Tricolored Herons, Weedon Island Preserve|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I lived in Florida Tricolored Herons were among my favorite wading birds to photograph and I found them in many different types of habitats.

Photographing The Earth’s Shadow With A Great Blue Heron

By |2021-04-17T18:12:42-06:00October 27th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Because I arrived at twilight that morning and had a clear sky I knew that I could take photos of the Great Blue Heron with the blue colored Earth's Shadow and pink Belt of Venus behind it.

Rare Brown Pelican At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

By |2021-06-14T13:31:08-06:00September 5th, 2019|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Rarities, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The Brown Pelican didn't do much while I had it in my viewfinder and I probably took way too many photos of it but I don't care, it was unique to see here in land-locked Utah and the setting of the Bear River was definitely different than the many times I have photographed this species back East.

I’m On The Look Out For Caspian Terns

By |2023-05-04T16:22:18-06:00April 23rd, 2019|Categories: Birds, Caspian Terns, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The day I came home from camping in the West Desert the first bird calls I heard were from several Caspian Terns in flight overhead that were squabbling and diving at each other.

Portraits Of A Great Blue Heron With Nesting Material

By |2023-03-03T13:12:14-07:00January 25th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Great Blue Herons, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

It felt amazing to have that Great Blue Heron gift us with its presence for those few seconds. You just never know what might happen when you are out looking for birds.

Reddish Egret In A Lagoon With Clouds Reflecting On The Water

By |2022-10-02T11:10:31-06:00January 20th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been nearly ten years since I took this photo and it remains one of my favorite Reddish Egret photos because of the clouds reflecting on the still waters of a lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park.

Spotted Sandpiper On The Gulf Coast – Thinking Back On Warmer Days

By |2021-05-07T15:38:00-06:00January 7th, 2019|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Spotted Sandpipers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This morning I'm thinking back on warmer days where I took photos of Spotted Sandpipers on the Gulf Coast as they scurried among those oyster beds looking for food and somehow I feel just a little bit warmer looking at this photo and the howling wind doesn't seem quite so loud.

Snowy Plovers – Photographed in the West and East

By |2023-10-22T03:30:37-06:00July 4th, 2018|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Snowy Plovers, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It is always nice to be able to point out a lifer bird to someone else and that is what I did on June 25th after I spotted a tiny Snowy Plover at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge foraging in the mud.

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