Birding Fort De Soto Park: Tampa Bay, Florida

Less well known it the fact that birding Fort De Soto Park ranks among the real treats of American birding opportunities.

This relatively small, 1,136-acre park, hosts close to three hundred different year round and migratory bird species during the course of the year. Considering the fact that the total number of Florida bird species hovers in the upper four hundred range, a trip to Fort De Soto offers the birder close to sixty percent of the entire Florida birding experience in one package.

While water birds such as gulls, terns, herons, sandpipers and plovers are the Park's speciality. The top picture shows a rather fluffy, and endangered, Piping Plover enjoying an early morning stroll.

During the spring and fall migrations, warblers and native northern birds looking for a rest stop and food, hang out in the parks pines, palms and mangroves.

Plan to spend a long day at this former military fort, named for the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto. The best birding starts at the first rays of sunlight in the morning.

Visitors should get a map upon arriving at the park entrance in order to become acclimated to the parks different areas. Photographers might want to note that the early morning sun light shines gently on your back, and on the birds along the North Beach area. Park in the adjacent lot and plan for a long morning walk up and down the beach, and along a mangrove lagoon.

While many birds take a brief time out during the late morning and early afternoon, opportunities to engage in typical beach activities such as swimming, hiking, biking and kayaking abound. The historic fort is also open for exploration.

As the sun begins to settle in the late afternoon, the birds return to the water's edge in greater numbers.

© 2010 Patricia A. Michaels