Fort De Soto Keeps Delivering During Spring Migration
Week 2 of the 2025 Spring Migration looked really good at Fort De Soto this Saturday. Unlike previous years, the birds were not concentrated in one area. I spent Saturday going from one area to another, but in every area I successfully found something to photograph. In this article, I’ll tell you what I found and where I found them.
I started at the East Beach Picnic Area. In the previous weekend the sea grapes along the coastline were full of warblers. Not this time. I didn’t see any warblers in that area at all. The Golden-winged Warblers, Worm-eating Warblers, and Tennessee Warblers appear to have moved on. Instead, I took note of a small flock of Royal Terns on the beach who were exhibiting mating behaviors. I wasn’t really there to do shorebird photography, but things were looking pretty interesting and sometimes you gotta go with the flow.
Males, while carrying fish, would slowly and repeatedly fly over the breeding grounds. Once on the ground, the male would parade the fish around as if to show it off to all the other terns, hopefully proving that he was a worthy provider.
Royal Tern. Male tern slowly flying over the breeding grounds while carrying a fish - a normal mating behavior. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1100.
Royal Tern. Once on the ground, the Royal Tern parades this fish around to win over a mate. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/11, 1/2000 sec, ISO 1400.
Royal Tern. Once a mate is selected, he will stand on her back. These two were like this for about 5 minutes, copulating many times. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/11, 1/3200 sec, ISO 2200.
Royal Tern. Copulating. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/16, 1/2500 sec, ISO 4000.
Although the Royal Terns put on a great show, they were not the reason I was there. So I left them to continue their hanky panky and I drove down to the East Beach turnaround.
While last week I didn’t find anything there, this time I found several Northern Parula and Prairie Warblers - at least three each.
Northern Parula. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1000.
Northern Parula. “Hey, are you taking my picture?” Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 450.
Northern Parula. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1100.
Prairie Warbler. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1000.
I left the East Beach turnaround and made my way to the park offices, parking at the giant flagpole. I had heard that a Scarlet Tanager and a western bird, the Clay-colored Sparrow, were in this area. I started on one of the trails and a flash of yellow flew by. I found the bird, and the whole time I was shooting it I thought it was a Prothonotary Warbler. After posting the image to Facebook, someone rightly corrected me in pointing out this bird is a Hooded Warbler, either a female or immature male. Note the pink legs of the Hooded, as opposed to black legs of the Prothonotary. The feather coloration is also different too, but only became obvious after it was pointed out.
Hooded Warbler. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 2000.
Another photographer on the trail told me where to look for the Scarlet Tanager and it was right where she said it would be. I was shooting into the light in this photo, but with a little shadow lift I think it turned out pretty good.
Scarlet Tanager. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 280.
I also found this female Summer Tanager on the same trail. Unfortunately, a small branch cut across right in front of the bird and I could not find a clean shot. That’s the way it goes sometimes. I also didn’t cross paths with the Clay-colored Sparrow. Others did though.
Summer Tanager (female). And Dang-Blasted Stick in the Way. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 800.
My last stop Saturday morning was the Park Ranger’s house. It’s vacant now, so photographer’s and birders can walk all around the house, staying behind the fence of course. Turns out, the backyard is an amazing birding spot. The yard is not being mowed and that means many native plants are thriving and producing berries and other things birds like to eat.
The first bird that caught my attention was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The bird was perched on a low branch but the shadows were a little tough to deal with. The bird’s black head, in particular, was in the shade. Astonishingly, the Nikon Z8’s autofocus system was somehow able to make out the eye and stayed locked on it even though the bird’s perch was moving around in the gusting wind. I couldn’t even see the eye in real life.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 1800.
A male Summer Tanager then flew in to a nearby tree, and it was immediately obvious it had a wasp in its bill. Summer Tanager’s are expert wasp and bee hunters, so to get one with an identifiable wasp was just spectacular.
Summer Tanager. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 1600.
At least three Indigo Buntings were also in the backyard, but I never got a shot on one. They kept their distance and stayed high in the trees. It’s worth noting that the previous weekend I also saw a Blue Grosbeak in the same area, but I did not see him on this trip. I also didn’t see the Yellow-billed Cuckoo that others had reported seeing in this spot.
On my way out, another birder told me that she spotted a bird in a clump of sea grapes. Turns out, that bird was a Black-throated Blue Warbler, a lifer for me! I didn’t get a clean shot of the whole bird in profile, but I was still thrilled to get this image. What a beautiful bird!
Black-throated Blue Warbler. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 2800.
I am taking a few days off work this week and intend to spend a majority of that time at De Soto. Hope to see you out there!
Happy birding!
