North Beach Sanctuary

The famous long billed curlew walking around.

Black bellied plover still has some of his breeding black on him.




White morph Reddish egret walking away.

The bird sanctuary from behind the ropes.

There's tons of room for these birds but they seem to like to stand very close together. I guess it's the old "safety in numbers" theory.

A large part of the north beach at Fort Desoto in front of the big lagoon is roped off. It's been nicknamed the North Beach Sanctuary. The Audubon put a large wooden deck in the middle of the lagoon hoping least terns would nest on it. I don't think they had any luck this year. Maybe by next year the terns will be used to it and nest on it. The roped off area is pretty big so it's hard to get any specific bird pictures unless they wander outside the area. The above long billed curlew and black bellied plover were walking around outside the roped off area but still far away from the regular tourist. I'm glad the birds have nice beach front property away from the kids and dogs running after them. A lot of these birds are migrating and only stopping over for a couple of days so they need their rest.

Long billed curlew

He's back! The long billed curlew that was seen all last summer at Fort Desoto is back. No one knows where he went for the winter. He's a rare sight around central Florida. They are usually in the western and central part of the country. A few have been sighted spending winters in Florida but this guy stays here in the summer. Candlestick Park in San Fransisco was named after this little bird which is also commonly know as a Candlestick bird. They were found in abundance in the 50's at the point where the park was built but are now a rare sight there as well.

Long Billed Curlew

Prancing around.

Gotta itch.

What?

It's time to eat.

Now it's nap time.

I found him (or her). The rare long billed curlew that's been hanging out at the north beach lagoon at Fort Desoto park. Pinellasbirds.com has been keeping tabs on this bird all summer. They spend their summers up in the northern part of the country. It's very rare to see one in Florida all through the summer. He must have come last winter and stayed put. This breed is considered "highly imperiled" by the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan. They are declining in numbers. He seemed to be staying close to a large flock of gulls and terns but kept to himself. He's very graceful when he moves. It's a shame there's only one. Maybe he'll find a mate this winter.