This is a guest blog. My wife Olivia visited Fort De Soto Beach in Tierra Verde, Florida last June....looking for some American Oystercatchers. She found them and more at this wonderful island park at the entrance to Tampa Bay. Fort De Soto park is 1136 acres on five islands....miles and miles of hiking, walking. Great white sand beaches, a fishing pier, canoe and kayak launch areas and a very interesting Civil War era fort and shore battery. Here are a couple of great links:
American Oystercatcher (Haematapus palliatus)
Here are some other shorebirds she saw at Fort Desoto.
It's truely amazing that this park is so nice with over 2.6 million visitors annually!
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)
Adult & immature White Ibis
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
Ruddy Turnstone (mountling)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea heronias)
&
Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla)
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
Fort De Soto Beach scene
Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata)
Fort De Soto Fishing Pier
The park's Family Filter is ON!
Live Oak Trees (Quercus virginiana)
The Historic Civil War Fort & Battery
Fort De Soto Fishing Pier
Seen from the pier. Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
An engineering marvel with a fabulous view!
The photographer, Olivia! Nice pics love.
