Fort De Soto Spring Migration, 9-10 April 2024
Yesterday I was pretty busy with work so I was unable to make a blog post. However, I did find some time at sunrise and sunset to photograph birds. I started Tuesday morning at the East Beach turnaround where I found several Prairie Warblers. One in particular was calling regularly and when I got close, something quite amazing happened. It flew out of the tree, apparently chasing an insect, and landed right on my foot. I was so taken aback that I hardly had time to react before he flew up and landed on my hand! That hand was holding my camera, so I used my free hand to fish my cell phone out of my right pocket, unlock it with my eyes, and turn on the camera. The bird stayed on my hand, and even seemed to pose as I pointed the camera at it and took a picture. Wowzers!
Prairie Warbler. iPhone 14
I didn’t think it could get any better, but it did. After I took three pictures, the prairie flew off my hand and landed on my head!! Unbelievable! I started taking pictures, and he started calling from his new perch. The only other time I have had a bird land on my head was a Florida Scrub-jay, and they do it because they are habituated to humans feeding them peanuts. I wasn’t feeding the Prairie and didn’t do anything to precipitate this behavior, other than being at the right place at the right time with a very friendly little bird.
Prairie Warbler and me. This is the Prairie Warbler singing while on my head. That’s my camper van in the background.
I took a few more shots of the Prairie, and not wanting to distress him I moved on. What a terrific little bird.
One thing to note was that it was very windy Tuesday and even more so today (Wednesday). As a result, the tree limbs were really blowing all over the place and the only way I could get a sharp image was to increase the shutter speed at the expense of higher ISOs. Topaz AI did a good job of cleaning up the noise.
Prairie Warbler. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 5000.
Prairie Warbler. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 4500.
I walked the trail behind the turnaround but didn’t see anything special. A few more Prairies and Brown-headed Cowbirds were high up in the trees, and a sole male Northern Cardinal perched out in the open for me. I could’t resist taking a photo of this beautiful bird.
Northern Cardinal. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 5000.
I then went over to the water fountain and saw nothing. After 45 minutes I left. That was it for Tuesday morning.
Late Tuesday afternoon I went to the East Beach picnic area where there have been quite a few Hooded Warblers. I found a few there, mixed in with the Palm Warblers, and not as many as on Monday. Still, I found a male and a female. The female was staying low in the brush line on the far left of the picnic area, and at first I thought she was a Prothonotary Warbler. But it didn’t take long for me to see the difference.
Hooded Warbler (female). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 8000.
Hooded Warbler (male). This bird, like all the other Hooded Warblers I’ve seen, stayed on or low to the ground hopping around snacking on mosquitos and other small flying insects. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 900.
While looking for Scarlet Tanagers I spotted two Mourning Doves on a tree branch. Normally I wouldn’t pay them any attention, but something told me to just hold on for a second and watch them. Boy am I glad I did! Clearly this was a mated pair as the male on the left started demonstrating courtship behaviors. He fluffed up really big, performed some ritual preening on himself and on her, and a few moments later they copulated. I think this photo is my favorite of the day.
Mourning Doves engaged in courtship. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 4000.
Today (Wednesday) was a total bust. It was extremely windy today and the birds seemed to have all but vanished. I could still hear a Prairie Warbler at the East Beach turnaround but didn’t see him. I didn’t see any Hooded Warblers or anything else remarkable at the East Beach Picnic area. In 30 minutes at the fountain I saw one Prothonotary Warbler and an Indigo Bunting, both in bad position to be photographed. I even went to North Beach where I didn’t see anything.
Tomorrow morning windy conditions are forecasted to persist, with rain in the afternoon. I’ll be out there in the morning regardless to see what I can find.
Happy birding!
