Gulf of Mexico – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

American Oystercatchers – Juvenile and Adult

By Mia McPherson|July 21st, 2011|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Bird ID, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, American Oystercatcher, chick, coastal, coastal island, feeding, foraging, Gulf of Mexico, Haematopus palliatus, immature, juvenile, Low angle, oystercatcher, oystercatchers, reflections, ripples, sand, shore, shorebirds, shoreline, summer, water, young|

I watched this American Oystercatcher juvenile and its sibling from the time they were just tiny chicks beginning the day after they had hatched.

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Snowy Plover Resting at the Wrack Line

By Mia McPherson|July 12th, 2011|Categories: Florida, Shorebirds, Snowy Plovers|Tags: Anarhynchus nivosus, bird photography, birds, Gulf of Mexico, Low angle, nature, north beach, plovers, resting, sand, shorebirds, shoreline, Snowy Plover, water, wildlife, winter, wintering, wrack line|

I spotted this plover resting near the wrack line near the Gulf of Mexico during the winter and sand-crawled up close to it to get a low angle in the beautiful light.

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Friday Photos – White Morph Reddish Egret

By Mia McPherson|July 8th, 2011|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Humor, Reddish Egrets|Tags: bird ID, dancer, dancing, egret, egrets, Egretta rufescens, Gulf of Mexico, hunting, Reddish Egret, shoreline, wading birds, waves, white morph|

Reddish Egrets seem to be natural born "Dancers" when they are hunting for prey, they twirl, spin, piroquette and dip.

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American Oystercatchers

By Mia McPherson|June 14th, 2011|Categories: American Oystercatchers, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County|Tags: adult, American Oystercatcher, beach, bird photography, coastal, Gulf of Mexico, Haematopus palliatus, immature, juvenile, Low angle, oystercatcher, oystercatchers, shorebirds, shoreline, water, young|

American Oystercatchers are fascinating birds to photograph, They can strike unusual poses and their plumage is spectacular in flight. I enjoyed watching them pry open bivalves with their long bill

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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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Brown Pelicans – Feeding Behaviors and Identification

By Mia McPherson|February 19th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Brown Pelicans, Florida, Pinellas County|Tags: adults, bird ID, Brown Pelican, feeding behavior, flight, flying, Gulf of Mexico, juveniles, Pelecanus occidentalis, pelican, pelicans, plunge diving, water|

Brown Pelicans feed by diving head first into the water to trap fish in the pouches of their bills.

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Reddish Egret, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls

By Mia McPherson|January 17th, 2011|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Laughing Gulls, Pinellas County, Reddish Egrets, Ring-billed Gulls|Tags: adult, bait fish, baitfish, beach, coast, coastal, egret, egrets, Egretta rufescens, feeding frenzy, fish, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, Hurricane Ike, Larus delawarensis, Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, Reddish Egret, Ring-billed Gull, water, waves|

There were quite a few Laughing Gulls on and near the shoreline, a few Ring-billed Gulls and two Reddish Egrets hunting on the beach that day.

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Shorebirds of Fort De Soto – Marbled Godwits

By Mia McPherson|November 10th, 2010|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Marbled Godwits|Tags: adult, bills, blur, coast, coastal, crustaceans, feeding, flight, flying, foraging, funny pose, Godwit, godwits, graceful, grasshoppers, Great Plains, Gulf of Mexico, insects, lagoon, landing, Limosa fedoa, low tide, Marbled Godwit, mixed flocks, mollusks, mudflats, one leg, plant tubers, preening, probe, resting, shorebirds, tundra, water|

Marbled Godwits are graceful birds while on the ground, feeding and in flight.

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Shorebirds of Fort DeSoto – Ruddy Turnstones

By Mia McPherson|October 31st, 2010|Categories: Bird ID, Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Ruddy Turnstones|Tags: adult, Arenaria interpres, beach, bird ID, breeding, coast, coastal, foraging, Gulf of Mexico, male, nonbreeding, Ruddy Turnstone, sand, shorebird, shorebirds, turnstone, turnstones|

One of the easier medium-sized shorebirds to identify on Fort De Soto's beaches and tidal mudflats are the Ruddy Turnstones. The only other turnstone that frequents North America is the Black Turnstone and it occurs on the Pacific coast.

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Rotation Adjustments – Sanderling At Dawn

By Mia McPherson|October 26th, 2010|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Sanderlings|Tags: autumn, beach, bird photography, Calidris alba, coastal, coastal island, fall, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, low light, nonbreeding plumage, rotation adjustment, sand, Sanderling, sanderlings, shore, shorebird, shoreline, water, waves|

Proper rotation can make an image work. Improper rotation can cause the the person viewing to wonder what isn't right about an image.

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Hungry Yellow-crowned Night Heron

By Mia McPherson|August 22nd, 2010|Categories: Birds, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Ghost Crabs, Pinellas County, Yellow-crowned Night Herons|Tags: adult, beach, coast, coastal, crab, eat, eating, feeding, Ghost Crab, Gulf of Mexico, herons, hunting, nature, Nyctanassa violacea, Ocypode quadrata, sand, stalking, wading bird, wading birds, water, Yellow-crowned Night Heron|

It didn't take long for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron to grab the crab and send the sand flying.

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