After I visited with the wading birds on my last visit to Fort De Soto, I headed down the beach in search of other birds. I wasn’t expecting to find a Whimbrel walking towards me!

A pair of photographers scared the bird towards me, so I crouched low and focused as fast as I could. I quickly lost my soft blue background as the bird headed to higher ground on the beach. I had never been this close to a Whimbrel before. Who knew that he had bluish-gray legs?

The bird stood in some beach grasses and began to preen. A plane flew overhead and he stopped to peer up, wondering what the commotion was all about. Then he resumed his preening. Look at that long beak! It’s shaped to help him hunt.

I know a pair of Whimbrels was resident at Fort De Soto this winter, so hopefully it won’t be long before I see one again.