Manatee mosh pits

On May 13, 2026April 27, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals1 Comment

When my sister was visiting in early February one of the tourist things we did was spend a morning at the Manatee Viewing Center at the Tampa electric plant. The warm water that is generated by the plant is discharged into the canal here in the Tampa bay and in the winter the manatees gather here to stay warm. Above is the view when you first step out on the big viewing deck.

There’s another big deck farther down the canal where you can watch the manatees swim by as they come and go into the canal. All of those dots in the water are manatees. The grating on the right that juts out into the water is where the warm water comes out. There are several of these.

Zooming across I could see a small rainbow to the left of the palm tree from water being sprayed.

Manatee mosh pits. One had his snout turned up as he rolled over. There are hundreds of manatees here when the weather gets cold. The morning we went it was 38 degrees which is crazy cold for Tampa. The manatees seemed to huddle together to stay warm.

A few of the manatees as they passed close by the deck. The one in the bottom shot had barnacles along his neck.

A shark swims by.

Ibis flying by.

This tricolored heron was trying to catch bait fish.

Some of the artwork at the entrance. This is a fun free outing to do in the winter. Whenever my sisters are here in the winter we try to visit. This was the last morning my sister was here and luckily it was sunny (although cold) because the weather had not been great most of the week.

After spending the morning watching the manatees swim by we heading to Ybor City to have a yummy lunch at the Columbia Restaurant.

“As The Eagle World Turns”

On May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

This is Margie and Max. They have a nest in my neighborhood on a utility tower. Margie has been nesting here around 10+ years. She lost her mate, Major, in early 2024 and Max showed up later that spring and flirted with her. They both came back that following fall and had 1 baby in early 2025. The above was taken in the fall of 2025 when they were working on rebuilding the nest. They had 2 babies that we think were born in late December.
(Louise from Project Eagle Watch gave the parents the names. Babies are not usually named but get a number.)

Looking down the utility field I can see one of the parents hanging out on a tower farther away.

This was Margie calling out to Max in mid-January. Max was hit by a car right by the nest and Louise, who rescues eagles, was able to get him but he did not survive. Margie spent several days calling out for her mate. Now she was going to have to leave the 2 babies alone and go out by herself to get the food several times a day.

This was the first time I was seeing the babies on the nest. They were finally big enough to see them peeking out. Mom seemed to be doing okay but she had to have been exhausted feeding them alone.

A week later the babies were getting big and starting to flap their wings hard, although they still just had pin feathers. Another male started hanging around nearby but Margie wouldn’t let him get near the nest yet. More to come on him.

I get to see a lot of other wildlife as I wait for the baby eagles to wake up. Kestrels also spend winters in this same area. The kestrel above was sitting on a bat box along the utility field. He flew down and caught a cricket to eat.

More kestrels on the wire and tree nearby.

A red shoulder hawk flew into the tree and started yelling. He didn’t stay long.

A cute little tufted titmouse with a sunflower seed from a nearby feeder.

It’s always fun when the parakeets fly in. This nanday parakeet was feeding on the seed ball.

Where wild Moms raise their kids

On May 9, 2026April 22, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

Moms raising their kids on the ground. A brown thrasher feeding her almost grown baby and starlings babies begging for that worm.

A tiny Mom, the ruby throated hummingbird, raising her baby in a tiny nest the size of a golf ball high up in a tree.

Moms raising babies up in trees include the pileated woodpecker and great horned owls.

These Moms raise their babies in rookeries, often high in trees or bushes over ponds with alligators to keep the babies safe from snakes and raccoons. These are roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, great egrets and little blue herons.

Raising babies near water and often with many kids to keep up with include mute swans, limpkins, wood ducks and geese.

Skimmers and oystercatchers raise their babies on the beach.

This is one tough Mom. Since Pinellas county is so overpopulated most eagles nest in utility towers or cell towers. There are only a few out of 40+ couples that are in trees. This single parent Mom, in my neighborhood, lost her mate this winter when her babies were just starting to grow up. She raised these babies alone, getting food for them non-stop all day. She did get a boyfriend later on to keep her company. I’ll have more on this eagle soap opera later.

Big critters raising their babies in the woods.

Walking through a shower

On May 6, 2026May 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

We were getting a lot of fog in the mornings in early January. I made a trip to the nearby Oldsmar pier for a quick walk. I felt like I was walking in a cold shower as I walked out on the pier.

Land looked a little blurry from the end of the pier.

The very end of the pier was still fenced off since the hurricanes took out the tip of it. I have heard that the city recently repaired it and the end is open again so I’ll have to check it out soon. Looking out over the water I couldn’t see land across the inlet.

The sun tried to peak out but then it got foggier.

Birds all lined up in the fog as I stopped at a store on the way home.

Fun things under water

On May 4, 2026May 4, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals6 Comments

I had such a clear view of the fish that I felt like I was snorkeling without getting wet. Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park has an underwater viewing bowl. It was heavily damaged during the hurricanes in 2024 and was just recently renovated and reopened. The glass was so clean and unscratched and the water here in the springs is also clear as I watched them swim close to the windows.

At one point the fish were parting and a wild manatee came right up to the window.

Up on the dock that is over the river, I could see people kayaking with the manatees. There are roped off areas where the manatees can escape to if there are too many people around. There are also volunteers in kayaks that make sure that everyone is respectful of the manatees.

One with an injured tail goes floating by the dock. The tail was probably hit by boat motors.

A Mom with her young one was also near the dock. The water in the springs stays warmer than out in the open water in the gulf so manatees come here in the winter to stay warm. The Wildlife Park also rehabs injured manatees until they are well enough to be released.

Is he trying to hide under that tiny leaf on his head???

Most of the animals here are injured or displaced wildlife. This beautiful piebald deer was found as a baby without a Mom and was raised here. She was looking up at me as I stood on the raised deck over the huge deer area. I found some information on piebald deer that you can read here. Less than 2% of white tail deer have this and most with extreme white fur don’t survive long. Hopefully she can live out a long life here.

A baby and some bathing.

On May 2, 2026May 1, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In early January I made my usual winter trip up to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park for a long walk. The pelicans here are all permanently injured birds that live here. They have a safe home and get fed and are not caged in. Many of them were already pairing up for nesting season.

Surprise! There was already a winter baby. The babies born here grow up with Mom and then can fly away free when they are old enough.

When this one was flapping you could see he was missing a wing.

Several of the white pelicans had permanently injured wings.

Splashing around in the small pond.

The pelicans looked like they were having fun bathing.

I saw many other birds and lots of manatees so more to come on this trip.

A foggy morning in the yard

On April 29, 2026May 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

I slept in a little late in early January and when I looked out the window I saw the fog. It was disappearing quickly so I ran out with my phone to get the above in the backyard. The sun was already up over the fairway but not quite over the trees.

Looking down the fairway, the fog was almost gone.

Then I ran out the front door and was walking over to the pond across the street when I noticed the sun coming through the fog and trees.

There was still enough fog along the water to cause a fogbow across the pond.

A January walk in Tarpon Springs

On April 27, 2026May 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

In early January I was out for a walk at Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs. I like walking here in the winter because I can walk along the water and the traffic to the beach is low since it’s too cold for most people to go to the beach. The tide was super low this morning. I could see the smaller Sunset Beach Park across the water.

This guy on a skateboard knew how to give his dogs a better walk with minimal effort.

Cormorants like to hang out on this small jetty on the causeway.

Pretty beach sunflowers on the beach.

Kayaks ready to go out. Maybe later.

Looking back when I’m almost back to my car.

I stopped by Craig Park on the way home and the Epiphany boats were still in the water. The city of Tarpon Springs celebrates the Epiphany in a big way here. You can read about my post when I attended the celebration in 2022 here.

Looking for some anis.

On April 25, 2026May 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I was watching the pelicans diving for fish in late December. I got to Fort Desoto Park right at sunrise and stopped at the beach before heading to the woods to look for some birds.

Two rare birds had been hanging out here for several weeks. The above is not one of them. Starlings are common here but he looked pretty shining in the sun.

A grooved-billed ani and a smooth-billed ani were hanging out together near the bay pier wooded area. I saw them both briefly but was only able to get shots of the smooth-billed one before they both took off over the trees. They aren’t very attractive but they are cool birds anyway. Both were not new birds. The only time I saw a grooved-bill was in 2011 and there was a smooth-billed one here back in 2017.

After seeing the anis I went for a walk on the beach to look for shorebirds.

Plovers were plentiful including the black bellied plover and piping plover above. The piping plover was missing his feet and I’ve seen him several times at the park so he must be doing okay.

Looking across the lagoon, reddish egrets were feeding when a fish jumped out and made a big splash. They were both like “Where did it go?”.

As I was leaving the park I saw something black flying across the road so I pulled over and realized it was the anis in the berry bushes. The smooth-billed one was out in the open and I though he was going to eat the berries but he was just fanning himself.

This was the only shot I got of them both (one in the top left and one in the far right bottom). The grooved-billed ani seemed really shy compared to the other one. They are still at the park, several months later.

I made a quick stop at Crescent Lake Park on the way home to see if the white pelicans were there. Only a handful were hiding in the shade under the big banyan tree.

The only winter ducks that had showed up so far were a few lesser scaup. I checked back here weeks later and there were tons of white pelicans so more on those later.

Dancing cranes on the bike trail

On April 22, 2026May 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I had another sighting of the elusive fox squirrel on the Pinellas County bike trail near Brooker Creek Preserve at the end of December. There were two but one stayed hidden high up in the tree.

I don’t see deer often on this trail so this was a treat to see her looking at me.

Three sandhill cranes walking along the trail.

A kildeer flies by.

This mockingbird had an overgrown beak. This was the first time I had seen this.

A pair of kestrels were in the cow pasture. One was on the utility wire and one took off from a dead snag right when I saw him.

On my way back to the car I saw the three sandhill cranes again. This time they were starting to dance around. They usually do this to flirt but there was three of them and they seemed to be agitated over something on the ground.

One kept picking up what looked like a hollow dead branch and danced around with it. Maybe it was two males trying to impress the female? They did this for quite a while then just stopped and started walking away. What a funny thing to watch.

Grazing near the trail. Is this a miniature horse or a pony?

Heading home I took a less traveled back road and slowed down when I saw a doe on the shoulder. She crossed right in front of me.