Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Tag: Florida

  • Spring Migration at Fort De Soto

    Spring Migration at Fort De Soto

    The spring migration was amazing this year. Each year is different depending on the weather patterns. One of the absolute best places to be when the birds come through is Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg. The park is located where Tampa Bay empties into the Gulf of America and is a destination for bird photographers from around the world.

    The park has several types of habitats which means a lot of different bird species. There have been well over 300 species reported. The beaches are host to many types of shore birds. Other areas of the park feature hardwood hammocks that attract warblers, songbirds, and birds of prey. In the spring, the park explodes with migrating visitors. It seems like every trail and beach offers different opportunities. There are ample food options for the travelers like mulberry and fig trees. The new buds on sea grapes are a favorite of several birds. And there are the shore birds that prefer the foods the waters provide. Since most of the birds are approaching breeding season, many of the males are in their full colors.

    White Ibis In Breeding Plumage Stands By Fountain
    White Ibis in Breeding Plumage Stands by a Fountain

    This spring the weather played a big role in some great photography successes. We had several strong cold fronts move through the area at well-timed intervals to create what birders refer to as fallouts. This occurs when the birds are pressing against the very strong frontal headwinds and eventually must find a place to rest. Fortunately, there were plenty of trees that were full of fruit, so the birds were able to eat and rebuild their energy levels.

    Summer Tanager Male Eating Fig In Tree
    Summer Tanager Male Eating a Fig in the Tree

    We visited the park four times over a week and each day provided different opportunities. I hadn’t seen a blue grosbeak in over 20 years. This year there was a group of 10 to 15 that stayed for several days feeding on grass seeds.

    Blue Grosbeak Male Hopping Through Grasses In Sand
    Blue Grosbeak Male Hopping through Grasses in the Sand

    The most amazing incident occurred on a morning right after one of the strong fronts passed through. I noticed a group of photographers gathered in a small area snapping shots. When I walked over to investigate, there was a male scarlet tanager hopping around in the grass chasing bugs. He had no fear of us. He was exhausted from his travels and his only focus was refueling. I sat on the grass and at one point he hopped within 10 feet of me. It was incredible. While he was looking for bugs, a male indigo bunting joined him and began eating seeds from the ground cover. Such beautiful colors!

    Scarlet Tanager On Ground Eating Large Bug
    Scarlet Tanager Male on the Ground Eating a Large Bug

    Hopefully next year will line up the same as this year and we’ll get another chance to experience an amazing migration.

    The link below takes you to a nice piece about the park.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Coastal Sarasota

    Coastal Sarasota

    Along the coastal areas of Sarasota are several small nature preserves and parks that provide shelter for some different birds. This past spring brought a couple of new birds for me and my good friend Art Nadelman. One of the birds was a tropical kingbird. It is a member of the flycatcher family. It’s rare to find a tropical kingbird east of Texas. Their normal range is South and Central America. During their migration, they are usually found only in the far southern parts of Texas, Arizona and sometimes California. There has been a tropical kingbird coming to this area for the past few years and some speculate that it may be the same bird.

    Tropical Kingbird Perched On Wire
    Tropical Kingbird Perched on a Wire

    Another bird that was new to us this year was a Philadelphia vireo. Again, these birds typically don’t come to Florida. Instead, their migration routes normally take them from the lower Canadian provinces through the middle of the US along the Mississippi river region to Central America.

    Philadelphia Vireo In Tree Top Looking For Meal
    Philadelphia Vireo in the Tree Top Looking for a Meal

    I’ve included a couple of links below to learn more about the vireo and the tropical kingbird.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Sarasota County Eagles

    Sarasota County Eagles

    For the past several years, we’ve had the opportunity to photograph a family of bald eagles in Lakewood Ranch. Their nest was incredibly accessible and gave us countless great shots. Unfortunately, hurricane Ian took out the nest and several surrounding trees last fall and the eagles moved on to another location.

    But we have a lot of eagles in the area and one of our friends told us about another nest with even better accessibility! The nest happened to be hidden well off the main highway but was exposed after the area was cleared for a huge residential development. The nesting area was fenced off to protect the birds but allowed us the ability to photograph them from almost any angle.

    The day we arrived, there were two healthy eaglets in the nest. One of them was beginning to stretch its’ wings in preparation to fledge the nest. The parents would leave and return with food throughout the morning. A few days later we learned that the restless bird had fallen out of the nest. A specialist was called in to return the eaglet back to his family so he wouldn’t starve. Fortunately, since the area was fenced, it was somewhat protected from predators. However, the efforts didn’t last long as the eaglet fell out of the nest again shortly after it was put back. Thankfully, both eaglets ultimately flew off with their parents.

    Juvenile Bald Eagle Sits On Fallen Branch Beneath Nest
    Juvenile Bald Eagle Sits on a Fallen Branch Beneath the Nest

    During one of the trips to see the eagles, we spotted a family of killdeers on an adjacent lot. It was fun to watch the interaction between the little chicks and their parents. The chicks were scattered around, and the parents followed closely keeping watch. If we got too close, the parents would go into their wounded bird routine to draw us away from their babies. Eventually, after following them for several minutes, all four of the chicks obeyed the calls from the female and crawled beneath her for protection.

    Female Killdeer Covers Up Her Chicks
    Killdeer Chicks Come to Their Mom for Cover

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • IndyCar Firestone Grand Prix

    IndyCar Firestone Grand Prix

    The IndyCar series rolled into St. Petersburg in early March for their annual street race. It was great to see the 2023 versions of teams and cars. Once again, the beautiful Florida weather cooperated for the three days the teams were here, and record crowds turned out to see the action.

    Pato Oward On Front Straight St Pete Grand Prix 2023
    Pato O’Ward on the Front Straight at the St. Pete Grand Prix – 2023

    Race day turned out to be a tumultuous affair with several significant crashes. Thankfully nobody was seriously injured but there were a few bruised egos. Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner survived all the chaos for the victory.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Mergansers

    Mergansers

    The past few years we have been fortunate to find several groups of hooded mergansers that picked this area as their winter home. They are small diving ducks that like to feed on little fish, snails, and water insects. When they find a good food source and get into a feeding frenzy, they will dive repeatedly until they are satisfied, or the food source disappears. They will surface only for a moment before diving again. During these periods, they can be a challenge to photograph.

    Male Hooded Merganser Surfaces After Dive
    Male Hooded Merganser Surfaces After Diving for Food

    Male mergansers like to show off. Their bright white crown feathers are striking when fanned. They will often do water dances for the females and chase other males to show dominance. Unfortunately, they don’t stay here for long. They’re among the first group of ducks to leave in the spring, often by the first of March. But while they’re here, they are enjoyable to watch.

    Hooded Merganser Male Rests On Pond In Sunlight
    Hooded Merganser Male Rests on a Pond in the Sun

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Vermilion Flycatcher

    Vermilion Flycatcher

    Earlier this spring, my wife Pam and I got our cameras out and took a ride over by Orlando to find a rare bird that had been reported in the area. The bird is a Vermilion Flycatcher, and the males are beautiful. They are normally found in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the very southern part of the US. Those observed in Florida have likely migrated north for the winter. Most years there will only be a handful reported across all of Florida. This was a “lifer” bird for us.

    Vermillion Flycatcher Perched In Tree
    Vermillion Flycatcher Perched in a Tree

    Like other flycatchers, they are fun to watch feed as they take to the air from their perch to catch flying insects. They are quite acrobatic while on the chase.

    A couple of weeks later, I went back to the same spot with my good friend and fellow photographer, Art Nadelman, and the flycatcher was still there. This was also a “lifer” bird for Art! Once again, he cooperated for us to get some more pictures.

    For more information about these beautiful little birds, check out the link below.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Backyard Bottlebrush

    Backyard Bottlebrush

    We’ve been fortunate the past few years to have some beautiful visitors come to our bird feeders. The painted buntings are marvels. The males are some of the most colorful birds we see. Their combination of a deep blue head, green back and bright red breast and belly is stunning. Even the females are distinctively colored. Their overall hue is green with a yellowish tint on their bellies while their shoulders and wings have a wash of teal.

    Painted Bunting Female Resting In Shade Of Bottlebrush
    Painted Bunting Female Resting in the Shade of a Bottlebrush Shrub

    They are often timid when first coming to the feeder but eventually gain confidence and don’t get scared as easily. It can be very difficult to snap a good photo because they like to work their way to the feeder from the bushes and are often obstructed until they hop out to feed. They prefer caged feeders which is not good for pictures. This year we have a palm warbler who likes to chase the male bunting. I was lucky to be in the right spot at the right time to capture the photo below. The warbler was chasing the bunting and he landed out in the open just long enough for me to fire off a few quick shots.

    Palm Warbler Resting On Bottlebrush Limb
    Palm Warbler Resting on a Bottlebrush Limb

    Painted buntings are one of the most sought-after birds for photographers visiting Florida. We are blessed to enjoy them from October through March.

    Painted Bunting Male Perched On Bottlebrush Limb
    Male Painted Bunting Resting on the Top of a Bottlebrush Limb

    For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Rare Butterfly

    Rare Butterfly

    The area has a new group of guests this year. In fact, these visitors are quite rare. A flock of Atala butterflies has found their way here from southeastern Florida. They were once feared to be extinct in Florida due to the elimination of their host plant. The butterflies only lay their eggs on the coontie plant.

    Atala Butterfly Feeding On Sweet Almond Bush
    Atala Butterfly Feeding on a Sweet Almond Bush

    They are striking little butterflies with black wings highlighted in iridescent dark blue with brilliant teal spots and bright orange bodies. The caterpillars are bright orange with yellow bumps along their backs. Unfortunately, as with many types of caterpillars, they can do a lot of damage to the leaves of the host plant.

    During our visit, we also decided to have a little fun with some honey bees. They were feeding on little purple Florida Pulsey flowers and were covered in pollen. We tested the limits of our camera to see if we could freeze their wings in flight. It took an astonishing 1/16000th of a second to capture details in their wings. Even at that speed, their wings were often still a little blurry.

    Honey Bee Flying Off From Purple Florida Pulsey Flower
    Honey Bee Flying off from a Purple Florida Pulsey Flower

    Attached is a great article for more good reading about the Atala butterflies.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Audubon Bird Count

    Audubon Bird Count

    Over the holidays, I joined my friend Art Nadelman for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The event takes place across all North America and parts of South America. This was the 123rd Christmas Bird Count. We were assigned a specific area to record.

    We started around 7:30 am and completed around 12:30 pm. We managed to see 1300 birds across 62 species! The most numerous birds were the robins that are migrating through the area now. We counted almost 500 and likely missed more. Many of them will stay here until early March before beginning their journey back north.

    Robin Landing In Pepper Bushes
    American Robin Landing in Brazilian Pepper Bushes

    Attached is an article about the Audubon Bird Count.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Back in the Field Again

    Back in the Field Again

    This past Friday my good friend Art Nadelman and I got back out with our cameras again after a 3 month hiatus. Art’s arm has healed enough that he can carefully carry his equipment. We decided to visit the Celery Fields which is a favorite among local birders.

    Over the course of a little more than 3 hours, we managed to see over 50 species of birds. We also had some good photo opportunities. One bird that is beginning to expand quickly across the region is the grey-headed swamphen. They’re related to coots and gallinules and have a lot of the beautiful blue colors of the male purple gallinule.

    Grey Headed Swamphen Walking Through Marsh
    Grey-headed Swamphen Walking through the Marsh

    An uncommon bird that has returned for the winter is the bronzed cowbird. You would normally think of a cowbird as a rather ugly, nuisance bird but the adult male is striking. Its jet-black body is highlighted with areas of light blue above the shoulder. But the real distinguishing feature is its red eyes.

    Bronzed Cowbird Perched In Shrub
    Bronzed Cowbird Perched in a Shrub

    It was great to get back out again. Expect to see the posts pick up as the northern birds return for the winter.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • A Long Autumn

    A Long Autumn

    It’s been 3 months since my last post and a lot has happened. September began with a bout of Covid for Pam and me. As soon as we started to feel better, Mother Nature sent us hurricane Ian. We spent the last week of September making preparations for the storm and then spent the first week of October cleaning up the debris. Thankfully our damage was minimal compared to those a few miles south, although we did receive over a foot of rain. Unfortunately for my photography buddy, Art Nadelman, he tore his bicep muscle tendon while cleaning up his yard and had to have surgery.

    Ian delivered quite a blow to our birding activities. Many parks and preserves were flooded or sustained severe wind damage making them inaccessible. One of our favorite state parks is still closed. The bald eagles that we’ve watched and photographed for the past several years have been displaced. The tree with their nest blew down as well as all the trees surrounding their nest. This is a great loss for photographers because the nest was so accessible. We’ll be watching to see where they choose their next home and hope that we can get another great shooting spot.

    If the hurricane wasn’t bad enough, we lost one of our 4-legged babies on October 13. Gabby, our beloved 12-year-old Bichon Frise was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer on October 7 and passed just 6 days later. Needless to say, it was a devastating loss.

    Backyard birding has been the norm this fall. The good news is that our male painted bunting returned to our feeder in mid-October, and we’ve been fortunate to attract a pair of ruby-throated hummingbirds to a feeder since the end of September. Our winter waterfowl migrants are just beginning to arrive so it will be good to start getting out again.

  • A Day at the Beach

    A Day at the Beach

    One of our favorite all-around photography locations is Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde near St. Petersburg. For this visit we decided to target the shore birds. With 3 miles of beach, there are LOTS of shore birds. The park is located where Tampa Bay connects to the Gulf of America. In the spring and fall it is a stopover point for many migrating birds. The park is also a seasonal home for several migrants.

    We picked a morning where the tide was out which creates a large area of tidal pools. The pools trap fish and little crustaceans that provide a feast for the birds. It turned out to be a very calm morning, so the pools made for great reflections.

    American Oystercatcher Eats A Morsel
    American Oystercatcher Eats a Morsel

    We were fortunate to capture shots of many different species such as American oystercatchers, roseate spoonbills, brown pelicans, gulls, plovers, marbled godwits, ruddy turnstones, willets, great egrets, snowy egrets, and a reddish egret chasing schools of small fish.

    I’ve included a link for more information about Fort De Soto Park.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

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