Fort Desoto Beach
With it being so hot lately, we figured going birding at the beach would be a great idea. One of the best beaches to see birds at is Fort DeSoto Beach near Clearwater, Florida. The Reddish Egrets were doing their hunting dances and the American Oystercatchers were flying low over the water. It also doesn’t hurt that you have to walk through the water to get to the sandbar where there was a good view of all of the action.
Downy Woodpecker looking for early morning bugs along the trees on the beach
One of the Nanday Parakeets that live in the area taking flight
Reddish Egret flying past another out in the water hunting for little fish
A few other photographers were caught off-guard by this Reddish Egret flying right past them
Reddish Egret in a tree staring right at me. Birds look funny straight on lol
Another Reddish Egret looking right at me, this time in flight
Ibis coming in for a landing along the beach
Reddish Egret up in a tree. Not where you usually will see them.
There’s something about this Reddish Egret that reminds me of a Pterodactyl.
Reddish Egret White Morph hunting. The White Morph is rarer than the more common Dark Morph.
American Oystercatcher lightly tapping its wing as it flies right above the water
An Immature Reddish Egret appears to be getting a little mouthy with Dad.
Immature and Adult Reddish Egret
Immature Reddish Egret hunting. Reddish Egrets wave their wings above the water to shield the sun and distract the fish they’re going after.
Immature Reddish Egret
Immature Reddish Egret
Immature Reddish Egret hunting in the shadow of its Dad
Immature Reddish Egret waving its wings as it hunts
Immature Reddish Egret on the move
Immature Reddish Egret dunking for fish
Black Skimmer flying low over the beach
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron coming in for a landing
Adult Reddish Egret waiting for the right fish to swim past
By 10:30 it was getting really hot so it was time to go. It’s always fun to observe the birds in their natural habitat doing what they do. It’s one of the benefits of doing this type of photography. Learning their behaviors helps make me a better photographer and helps me have a better understanding of how different parts of nature all work together.