Magical Morning at Fort De Soto

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As you may have noticed from my previous posts, I had a great time at Fort De Soto in mid-April. With my Five-Plover morning and the Snowy Plover family, I was off to a great start. There’s more to come!

The day started off at East Beach, where I watched the sun peak out over the horizon. It’s always a pretty scene with the Sunshine Skyway bridge in the background.

Sunshine Skyway Sunrise
Sunshine Skyway Sunrise

My next stop was North Beach, where I headed out along the shoreline to say hello to the shorebirds. I’ve never seen so many Piping Plovers! They were clearly migrating. Some were in their beautiful breeding plumage already, others were not.

Piping Plover
Piping Plover (Breeding plumage)

A Brown Pelican flew by in the cool morning breeze. He’s also in breeding plumage, with beautiful colors on this face.

Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican

The Laughing Gulls are beautiful at this time of year, with bright black faces and dark orange beaks. They nest on the small keys near Fort De Soto.

Laughing Gull
Laughing Gull

The gulls aren’t the only ones with families on the mind. This pair of Royal Terns wasn’t at all shy about starting their family!

Royal Terns
Royal Terns

The most common shorebirds seemed to be the Sanderlings. They were molting from their all-white winter colors into their brownish-red breeding colors. I caught several of them in flight as they startled when a boat went by.

Peeps
Peeps

The Dunlin were also out in full force that morning. Most were starting to show their breeding colors. They made me want to return in a few weeks, in early May, when the birds are the prettiest just before they migrate.

Dunlin
Dunlin

I’m pretty sure this next bird is a Western Sandpiper. Shorebirds in their tricky molts can be hard to identify! This bird hunt out quietly by himself, as if he was tired after a long migratory flight .

Western Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper

As I left North Beach, I found one of the Reddish Egrets fishing in a small pool near the parking lot. He was not at all timid! It’s been too long since I laughed at the antics of this drunken sailor.

Reddish Egret
Reddish Egret

Here’s a final Piping Plover to help you wait for my next post… ;-)

Piping Plover
Piping Plover

Want to learn more about nature photography at Fort De Soto?

Check out my Fort De Soto page with more information about the location, map, website, photography tips, etc. It is archived by date so you can see my images from previous visits. Maybe you'll be inspired for your own trip!

Planning a trip to Florida? Don't miss my Central Florida Bird Photography Locations reference guide!

One thought on “Magical Morning at Fort De Soto

  1. Going to the Fort is somewhat like going to a buffet. You focus on one thing but your eyes keep wandering down the line and you spot something else you want but you’re reluctant to move from where you are as there is so much right in front of you and ……..

    Simply marvelous photographs, Jess!

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