Santa Rosa Island Terns

Gull-billed Terns

Gull-billed Terns

Least Terns

Black Skimmers

Black Skimmers

Least Tern

Least Tern

Black Skimmers

Royal Terns

Royal Terns

Royal Terns

Kirk and I went birding on the Gulf Islands National Seashore at Fort Pickens near Pensacola. It was fun to see all of the nesting terns. The Least Terns were particularly thick on the dunes, with nests spaced about 10 feet apart.

Black Skimmers

I saw skimmers throughout my trip whenever I was near the coast, but I got my best looks at Lake Okeechobee. A larger flock was gathered in the parking lot one afternoon. We got to see Skimmers actually skimming the water along Cedar Key. The birds look comical on land, with their heavy, brightly-colored beaks.

Terns

Royal Tern (Sterna maxima)

Least Terns (Sterna antillarum) Typically, these guys were flying non-stop around the beach, diving into the surf. I took advantage of them resting on the sand. They never seemed to rest with the flocks of other terns.

Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis) I was trying to get a picture of the Common Tern in the foreground and didn't even notice the Sandwich Terns getting it on in the background. These birds were very graceful flyers. They have black bills with yellow tips.

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) I did not see many of these guys. This one was sitting in a flock with the Sandwich Terns. Notice the orange-red bill with the dark tip.

In addition to these terns there were Forster's Terns at the beach. The most common terns I saw were the Least Terns and Sandwich Terns.

Bird Watching at the Dunes

I spent a rainy Wednesday birding along the lakefront. Despite the weather, I had a good time. There were a lot of Forster's Terns and one new bird for me was a Black-bellied Plover.