The Black Skimmer colony that I posted about yesterday is at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a non-profit bird hospital. I enjoyed walking around and seeing the birds that are under treatment there. They have so many pelicans! Black-Crowned Night Herons hung around all over, offering nice photo ops.

When you walk out to the beach, there are birds everywhere. There’s the skimmer colony, but the skimmers are just some of the crowd. The gulls and terns practically cover the beach. I had to laugh as I watched the Laughing Gulls strutting up and down the beach in their fading summer plumage. Their black heads look so scruffy as they molt!

All the times I’ve visited Fort De Soto, I’ve wanted to get pictures of the Willets in flight. They are so common as they walk up and down the shore, but they fly very quickly. Normally I have the tripod-mounted Beast and by the time I see the bird and get set up, I miss the shot. At the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary beach on Sunday, I was using my 70-200 + 2x TC combo, and my reaction time was faster. I finally got my sharp flight shot of a Willet.