Looking for birding / photography tips for St. Petersburg, FL
Discussion
11 replies
Posted by Jay Martin on November 19, 2009 at 5:43 PM
We're heading to St. Petersburg, FL in January. I haven't had a lot of time for photography lately (One year old son), but I'm hoping to carve out some bird photography time while we're there. I still won't have tons of time, so I'm looking for any tips or suggestions for nearby locations to maximize my efficiency. Thanks a lot for any help with this - I can't wait to get to shoot a little.
Posted by Drew Fulton on November 19, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Jay,
Fort Desoto is hard to beat and you will be close if you are in St. Pete. A lot has changed there since I was last there due to hurricanes moving sand around but the lagoon behind North Beach is great for waders including Reddish Egret and Spoonbills. A lot of shorebirds are around as well. Lots of gulls/terns/skimmers too. Tons of opportunities. Go early to beat the beach crowds, especially on weekends.
Posted by Jay Martin on November 19, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Thanks Drew - that will be close - sounds great
Posted by Mia McPherson on November 19, 2009 at 6:59 PM
Boyd Hill in south St Pete.
Mid Pinellas County, try Sawgrass County Park, and Weedon Island.
In North Pinellas County try Honeymoon Island and the Dunedin Causeway going to it.
Fort DeSoto is great, both North Beach and East beach turnaround. Don't forget Arrowhead Trail either, but watch for rattlesnakes, I saw the my largest eastern diamondback there. Same with Honeymoon Island Osprey Trail, be careful of rattlesnakes.
Posted by Nate Chappell on November 19, 2009 at 11:06 PM
I found that Dunedin Causeway to Honeymoon Island which Lia mentioned to be spectacular for waders, shorebirds and osprey.
Posted by Jay Martin on November 19, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Thanks Lia and Nate - those all look like great places. Almost any species would be exciting at this point, but are there any exciting species to look for over that way? - from what I've seen Burrowing Owls breed in that part of Florida - do you happen to know any details? As you can see, I have some research to do - but not much time and haven't come up with any great birding websites for that part of Florida.
Posted by Nate Chappell on November 19, 2009 at 11:18 PM
I'm not sure if you consider Roseate Spoonbill and Reddish Egret special but I do and photographed both at the spot mentioned - although I don't know if they are there all the time. I can't help you with the owls.
Posted by Richard Ditch on November 20, 2009 at 10:24 AM
As I replied in a previous topic(Kingfisher in FL?) in this forum: get the latest copy of the ABA/Lane Guide to Florida.
From that previous post:
There's a wonderful series of books now published by the American Birding Association known as ABA/Lane Guides (the very first one was self published by Jim Lane over 30 years ago). These books are intended to serve visiting birders in key parts of the county, giving location details and precise driving directions for finding the "most wanted" regional specialties. The books also contain detailed bar charts showing how likely it is to see a particular species in that location for every month of the year. No birder spending the time and money to visit a place looking for birds would consider going without the latest Lane Guide to the area.
I have the 4th edition (1996) of A Birder's Guide to Florida by Bill Pranty on my birder bookshelf, purchased before a business trip to FL that never came off. The bar charts show Belted Kingfisher as "fairly common to common" in the Panhandle and North Florida from mid October to mid April, and "uncommon" there the rest of the year. The farther south you go, though, the less likely it is to see one in any season.
If you can't find a local chapter of Audubon with a book store you can purchase any of the ABA/Lane guides from the ABA web site.
All mentioned sites are really great and don't forget the pier right there at st pete for beautiful Pelicans and other waders, I saw my first diamond back at Dunedin Osprey trail last week. That guy was huge!
Posted by Jay Martin on November 20, 2009 at 11:34 PM
Thanks everyone for the great advice -looks like I might get a chance to watch a few herps as well - we just have the timber rattlesnake up here. I'll keep an eye out for its larger cousin while I'm down there.
Posted by Richard Jacobs on November 23, 2009 at 5:58 AM
I live on Tierra Verde, 5 minutes from Ft. DeSoto. Check the tides http://www.fortdesoto.com/tides.php, for the best times, which are low tides. Bring some wading shoes. If you would like to visit, I have 2 galleries of Ft. DeSoto birds on my site, http://dickjacobsprophoto.com. Moose Peterson also has a video on photographing birds at Ft. DeSoto on Kelby training. The other sites mentioned, Boyd, Honeymoon Isle, etc., at good, but none compare to Ft. DeSoto.
Discussion
11 repliesFort Desoto is hard to beat and you will be close if you are in St. Pete. A lot has changed there since I was last there due to hurricanes moving sand around but the lagoon behind North Beach is great for waders including Reddish Egret and Spoonbills. A lot of shorebirds are around as well. Lots of gulls/terns/skimmers too. Tons of opportunities. Go early to beat the beach crowds, especially on weekends.
Mid Pinellas County, try Sawgrass County Park, and Weedon Island.
In North Pinellas County try Honeymoon Island and the Dunedin Causeway going to it.
Fort DeSoto is great, both North Beach and East beach turnaround. Don't forget Arrowhead Trail either, but watch for rattlesnakes, I saw the my largest eastern diamondback there. Same with Honeymoon Island Osprey Trail, be careful of rattlesnakes.
From that previous post:
There's a wonderful series of books now published by the American Birding Association known as ABA/Lane Guides (the very first one was self published by Jim Lane over 30 years ago). These books are intended to serve visiting birders in key parts of the county, giving location details and precise driving directions for finding the "most wanted" regional specialties. The books also contain detailed bar charts showing how likely it is to see a particular species in that location for every month of the year. No birder spending the time and money to visit a place looking for birds would consider going without the latest Lane Guide to the area.
I have the 4th edition (1996) of A Birder's Guide to Florida by Bill Pranty on my birder bookshelf, purchased before a business trip to FL that never came off. The bar charts show Belted Kingfisher as "fairly common to common" in the Panhandle and North Florida from mid October to mid April, and "uncommon" there the rest of the year. The farther south you go, though, the less likely it is to see one in any season.
If you can't find a local chapter of Audubon with a book store you can purchase any of the ABA/Lane guides from the ABA web site.
http://www.buteobooks.com/americanbirdingassociation.html