A Visit to Ft DeSoto

Wednesday  April 11th

When April arrives I try to schedule a couple of trips up to Ft Desoto Park in Tampa Bay in hopes of finding spring migrants.

Nanday Parakeet at the Pier parking lot

Today the spring migrants were not very numerous and only a sampling was evident on this visit.  The shorebirds, gulls, terns and such were more evident. Hundreds of Royal terns were on-hand plus a few Forster's and Least Terns. Lots of Laughing Gulls and a couple of Herring and Ring-billed Gulls were still around.

Dunlins and Short-billed Dowitchers

Found a couple of American Oystercatchers, a Wimbrel, Ruddy Turnstones, Dunlins, Short-billed Dowitchers, Western and Least Sandpipers, Willets, Marbled Godwits and Sanderlings.

Least Terns have arrived

As for the migrants I was able to find the Tennessee Warbler and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at the mulberry trees, plus Orchard Orioles, and a great many Cedar Waxwings, Indigo Buntings, a pair of Northern Parulas, a pair of Worm-eating Warblers and a couple of Prairie Warblers.

Forster's Tern

At the east Beach Turnaround I had about six Lesser Scaups and several Red-breasted Mergansers and several Barn Swallows swooping overhead.

Black-belled Plover

Also found a couple of Reddish Egrets at the lagoon. One was the usual Red plumage and the other was a white-morphed Reddish Egret.

Ruddy Turnstones

I checked out the Terria Verde ponds before entering the park and met up with a large group of birders from Portland, Oregon lead by Steve and Bill. They had already identified a female Greater Scaup and several Lesser Scaups were still present. Also still on-hand at the ponds were a few dozen Redheads and Blue-wing Teal.  a few Red-breasted Mergansers were resting on the far shore. Least Terns were swooping the pond as they searched for a fish for lunch.   A Gray Kingbird was seen on a nearby wire

White Ibis

I'll try to get back here again before migrantion ends in the hoops of greater prospects.

A female Orchard Oriole

Royal Terns

A Whimbrel and Black-belled Plover

Whimbrel and a Willet

An Indigo Bunting at the fountain