Gulf Coast

Whimbrel Memories And High Hopes

By |March 22nd, 2025|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Whimbrels|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I was working on some older posts when I came across a few Whimbrel photos I’d never written about before, including this one from Fort De Soto County Park.

Willet And The Gulf Of Mexico

By |January 27th, 2025|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Willets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I dug way back into my archives for this photo of a Willet with waves rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico, taken in 2008 at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida.

I Saw My First Forster’s Terns At Sequoyah NWR

By |December 30th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Florida, Forster's Terns, Fort De Soto County Park, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

On my most recent trip to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, I saw, but didn’t photograph, Forster’s Terns flying and hunting over Sally Jones Lake.

Great Horned Owl Chick In Coastal Florida

By |March 5th, 2024|Categories: Birds, Florida, Great Horned Owls, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This image of a Great Horned Owl chick resting near its nest on the coast Florida in lovely afternoon light brings back wonderful memories for me. It was 2008.

Sharing Sunrise With A Greater Yellowlegs

By |August 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 |May 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.

Sunrise with a Long-billed Curlew In A Florida Lagoon

By |May 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 The Earth’s Shadow With A Great Blue Heron

By |October 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.

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

By |January 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.

Black-bellied Plover Bathing In A Tidal Lagoon On The Gulf Coast

By |February 15th, 2018|Categories: Birds, Black-bellied Plovers, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

After taking the quick bath in the tidal lagoon the Black-bellied Plover flew off towards the shoreline of the lagoon to shake and fluff its feathers until they were dry.

Short-billed Dowitcher Foraging in Sargassum on the Wrack Line

By |January 23rd, 2018|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Short-billed Dowitchers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This Short-billed Dowitcher slowly made its way through the Sargassum on the wrack line as I laid in the damp sand photographing it and the other shorebirds that were searching the seaweed for food.

Breeding and Nonbreeding Forster’s Terns

By |April 26th, 2017|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Forster's Terns, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The differences in breeding and nonbreeding plumage of Forster's Terns is enough that some bird watching and bird photography novices might even think that they are two different species of terns.

Juvenile Roseate Spoonbill on Florida’s West Coast

By |November 25th, 2016|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Roseate Spoonbills|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I photographed this juvenile Roseate Spoonbill in May of 2008 from inside a lagoon at Fort De Soto's north while the immature spoonbill and a few adults preened and rested on the shoreline.

Ghost Crab at Fort De Soto County Park

By |December 6th, 2015|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ghost Crabs, Pinellas County, Wildlife|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I am not sure why this particular Ghost Crab was out of its burrow during the day but I was happy that I had the opportunity to photograph it.

Tricolored Heron Fishing & Fluffing in the Gulf of Mexico

By |October 6th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Tricolored Herons|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Seven years ago I could be found most often walking along the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in search of birds to photograph.

Western Sandpiper Foraging on the North Beach of Fort De Soto

By |May 13th, 2015|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Western Sandpipers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is just a simple post of a foraging Western Sandpiper that I found while working on moving my images from their old galleries to the new ones yesterday.

Tricolored Heron Hunting The Gulf Of Mexico’s Shoreline

By |October 2nd, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Tricolored Herons|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Tricolored Herons are smaller than Great Blue Herons and larger than Snowy Egrets and all three of these wading birds hunt in many of the same locations along the Gulf Coast.

Black Skimmers – Highly Gregarious And Unmistakable

By |July 18th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Black Skimmers, Florida, Pinellas County|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Black Skimmers are beautiful and unmistakable, with their long orange/red black tipped bill, white underparts, blackish upper parts and distinctive barking call.

Red-breasted Merganser at rest on the Gulf shore

By |April 24th, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-breasted Mergansers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I've mentioned in another post that "Some Days are Magic" and I felt that magic the morning I created this image of a Red-breasted Merganser.

Feeding Habits of Red-breasted Mergansers

By |March 1st, 2014|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-breasted Mergansers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

According to Birds of North America there are four foraging methods used by Red-breasted Mergansers which are Cooperative Herding, Individual Search, Shallow Diving and Deep Diving.

Female Long-billed Curlew in a Florida lagoon

By |September 28th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Long-billed Curlews|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been another very long week so I thought I'd post a female Long-billed Curlew because of her very long bill but unlike the way my week went this curlew is graceful, elegant and serene.

Reddish Egret hunting along the Gulf Coast of Florida

By |September 16th, 2013|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Reddish Egrets|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Recently I posted images of a Tricolored Heron and a Black-bellied Plover where I wrote that I enjoyed images that include habitat, the same could be said about this photo of a Reddish Egret hunting on the shoreline of the Gulf Coast.

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