Tampa, Florida Area in early December

My wife and I will be going to the Tampa Bay/Clearwater/St. Petersburg area in early December and I will be doing some photography, but it's not strictly a photo trip.  How bad was the damage from Hurricane Irma in those areas?  (Coming from an area where Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey inflicted heavy damage and is in recovery, we don't want to visit an area rebuilding.)  I am primarily a bird and landscape photographer and will have lens ranging from 14mm to 500 mm.  Are there bird hotspots to visit at that time?  Where is a central location to stay for that area, we like the beach and water?  Gardens for her to visit?  My wife is an avid walker so we will look for walking paths around the bay, beaches, parks, woods, etc.  Any help with those is appreciated? Thanks for all the help.      

Ft. Desoto is s must.

Thanks

Any of the hotels on St Pete beach are a short drive from Ft DeSoto......this will be your easiest good location to access from the Tampa area.

About 1 hour east is Circle B Bar Preserve, another good bird location.

Merritt Island Refuge on Florida's east coast is good at times.

Gatorland Park (near Orlando) also has a good bird population during breeding season.

If you can find a guide with a small boat the little islands off the mouth of the Alafia River south of Tampa are excellent too.

Ospreys and Pelicans at Honeymoon Island a moderate drive north west of Tampa.

A lot of the areas along the west coast were altered or completely wiped out during Hurricane Irma. Ft. Desoto survived but was changed, along with a lot of the off shore islands. The Venice Rookery seems to be ok and active at present. Gatorland does not have their photographers early in and out program till Jan. Merritt Island has just opened since the storm and is a bit slow, but might be better in a month or so. Also, the Viera Wetlands, in Viera, just opened from the storm. The Apopka Wildlife Drive along Lake Apopka is still closed because of flooding due to Irma. The activity is slowly coming back, but some of the usual places might have altered their activity, we are only now checking and seeing that now.

Thanks to all the information and those suggestions.