Back At It
This weekend I was finally able to get back into the field with the camera for some bird photography. I took one week off due to work travel, and the week after that I was visiting family in Alabama. So this weekend it felt good to get back at it.
I chose Fort De Soto again. Seems to be the only place I have been going lately. That’s partly because it’s fairly close to home, but also because I have been watching Facebook birding groups and it genuinely seems to be the best place for birds right now. I would like to go out to Circle B soon, but I am going to wait until Nikon ships the new 180-600mm lens.
Sunday morning I arrived at De Soto’s gate at 06:50 am. Weather was warm at about 85F. Wind was moderate, coming out of the west - not great for BIF. Tide was low with mudflats exposed, perfect for plovers searching for blood worms.
On the beach my eye first caught sight of the American Oystercatcher family. All five birds were working the lagoon shallows. They were surrounded by Marbled Godwits and a variety of plovers.
I started with the oystercatchers.
American Oystercatcher. This juvenile was born and banded this spring at Fort De Soto beach. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 800mm f/5.6 lens mounted to a Skimmer Ground Pod. ISO 2000, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
I walked farther down the beach where I found a lone Roseate Spoonbill on the mudflats. I approached cautiously, but was only able to get a few snaps in before the spoonie decided to move on.
Roseate Spoonbill. The was taken pretty far away and I was unable to get a clean shot before the bird took off. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 800mm f/6.3 lens handheld at ISO 640, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
Plovers and other birds were feasting on the blood worms exposed on the mudflats. Here are a few Piping Plover photos and a Short-billed Dowitcher.
Surfside I found a Great Blue Heron, and from the looks of it, probably a juvenile. I decided to go portrait with this one, placing the bird in the lower center of the frame.
Great Blue Heron. Based on its plumage my guess is that this is a juvenile GBH. It was standing in the shallows right off a sandbar waiting for prey to swim by.
I walked surfside on the way back to the main lagoon area but the only thing I saw were a couple of Willets in the surf. By this time beach walkers had arrived and were out scouring the beach for shells and staking their spot on the beach by planting umbrellas surrounded by chairs and ice chests.
At the lagoon I saw a Reddish Egret had arrived. The tide was low which makes it really easy for the Reddish to pick off fish as they swim by. Here are a couple of successful strikes.
Reddish Egret with freshly caught prey. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 800mm f/6.3 lens handheld at ISO 640, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
Reddish Egret knocking back a fish. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 800mm f/6.3 lens handheld at ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/2000 sec.
After taking far too many photos of the Reddish that I’d like to admit, I decided to call it a day. On the walk to the parking lot I spotted three Nanday Parakeets (formerly called Black-hooded Parakeets). All three were on the ground in the sand dunes eating sandspurs. If you are barefooted, these sandspurs will stop you in your tracks they are so painful. Nanday’s seem to love them.
Nanday Parakeet. The Florida sandspur must be a special treat for these birds, as this is the second time this year I have seen them eating these spike-covered seeds. Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 800mm f/6.3 lens handheld at ISO 1600, f/6.3, 1/2000 sec.
It was great to get back outside and walk along the beach once again. Fort De Soto came through and I look forward to my next trip. Beach-nesting Least Tern and Black Skimmer chicks are growing up fast, but there may still be at least one more opportunity to visit them this season. That may be my next outing.
Until then, enjoy your bird photography!
