Gulf – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

How An American Oystercatcher Ruined A New Pair Of Pants

By Mia McPherson|November 6th, 2020|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, American Oystercatcher, beach, cut, Egmont Key, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, oystercatcher, oystercatchers, pants, ruined, sand, shorebirds, shoreline, surf, water, waves|

Today's post is about an American Oystercatcher image taken in 2009 at Egmont Key in Pinellas County, Florida and the story behind it.

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Gulf Shore Black Skimmer Skimming

By Mia McPherson|June 21st, 2017|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, Black Skimmer, coast, coastal, foraging, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Rynchops niger, seabirds, shore, skimmer, skimmers, skimming, summer, waves|

Black Skimmers forage by skimming their bills in the waves just off shore and snap up fish when their sensitive bills locate them.

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Black Skimmer in a Fog over the Gulf of Mexico

By Mia McPherson|December 24th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, beach, Black Skimmer, coast, coastal, flight, foggy, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Rynchops niger, sea fog, seabirds, shore, skimmer, skimmers, summer, water, waves|

Whenever I view this photo of a lone Black Skimmer in flight on a foggy Gulf shore I feel a wave of joy and peaceful feelings wash over me.

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It is Tricolored Heron Not Tri-colored Heron

By Mia McPherson|November 27th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Tricolored Herons|Tags: breeding plumage, Egretta tricolor, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, herons, lagoon, nonbreeding plumage, surf, tri-colored heron, Tricolored Heron, wading birds, waves|

I must admit I get a little bonkers though when I see images of birds where the name posted for the species in the photo is incorrect, for instance, it is Tricolored Heron not Tri-colored Heron.

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Something’s Fishy – Osprey with a Flounder

By Mia McPherson|June 10th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ospreys|Tags: adult, coastal, fish, Fish Hawk, flatfish, flight, Flounder, flying, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Osprey, ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, sky, winter|

A simple but fishy post today of an Osprey that flew over my head at Fort De Soto County Park taken 5 years ago in Florida.

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An Osprey in flight with a huge Flounder

By Mia McPherson|February 2nd, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ospreys|Tags: adult, coastal, fish, flatfish, flight, Flounder, flying, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, male, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Pinellas County, raptor, Sea Hawk, sky, winter|

This Osprey flying in from the Gulf over the north beach of Fort De Soto came as a surprise to us so I had little time to prepare and get my setting right due to how fast the Osprey was flying.

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Ruddy Turnstone and a Laughing Gull

By Mia McPherson|April 18th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Ruddy Turnstones|Tags: adult, Arenaria interpres, beach, calico shell, coast, coastal, Gulf, gull, gulls, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Ruddy Turnstone, shell, shore, shorebirds, turnstone, turnstones, water|

Five years ago today I was laying in the warm wet sands of Fort De Soto County Park's north beach as the salty water from the Gulf of Mexico soaked my skin while photographing a Ruddy Turnstone doing what they do best, turning things.

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Brown Pelicans on the Gulf of Mexico

By Mia McPherson|February 20th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, breeding plumage, Brown Pelican, coast, coastal, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Pelecanus occidentalis, pelican, pelicans, Pinellas County, water|

The forecast is calling for snow today and there is already a heavy cloud cover so looked back through my files and found some Brown Pelican images taken on a warm February morning in Florida to post today.

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People, Birds And A Sea Star In A Sea Fog

By Mia McPherson|February 28th, 2012|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Ring-billed Gulls, Sea Stars|Tags: American Herring Gull, beach, beach walkers, feeding, fog, fog bank, foggy, Gulf, gull, gulls, Larus delawarensis, Larus smithsonianus, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, low light, people, preening, resting, Ring-billed Gull, sand-crawled, sea fog, Sea Star, Sea Stars, starfish, sun, sunrise|

I'm glad I didn't turn around to head home when I saw the thick sea fog that morning, if I had I may have missed photographing some of these beautiful things.

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Shorebirds: Spotted Sandpipers

By Mia McPherson|April 10th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Spotted Sandpipers|Tags: Actitis macularia, adult, bird ID, birds, coast, coastal, fluffed up, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, nonbreeding plumage, oysters, rip rap, sandpiper, sandpipers, seawall, shorebirds, shoreline, Spotted Sandpiper, winter|

Spotted Sandpipers are fun to watch as they walk along the shoreline as they teeter, bob and bounce their rear ends up and down.

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