Under the fishing pier

On December 31, 2014December 18, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

Manatee snout coming up for air.

Stingray in the shallow water.

I think he was eating the dead fish parts that the fishermen had thrown over the pier.

Blowing his nose.

Do you think he needs a kleenex?

The water was clear enough that you could see what was floating on the bottom. I’m surprised the pelicans didn’t get this stuff when it got thrown over.

Lots of stingrays around the pier.

Pretty pelican floating around.

Taken with my phone camera, this guy swam right up to the pier.

Even more were swimming towards the pier.

Pano taken with my phone camera. This is the view from the pier.

It was a busy morning in early December at the Safety Harbor fishing pier. Lots of people out fishing and I counted 8 manatees floating around near the pier. I think that’s a record. The water was clear, the sun was out. Perfect day for a walk.

A duck with a peacock head

On December 29, 2014December 30, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography11 Comments

My first male bufflehead, swimming with a moorhen.

There was no mate to be seen.

Feeding in the reeds.

He is a beautiful duck with that white body and blue, green and purple face. He looks like he has peacock colors.

As I’m sitting in the grass taking pictures of the bufflehead, I look up and this mallard is looking at me like “What’s all the fuss about? I’m a good-looking dude too.”

I have seen a female bufflehead which looks nothing like the male. All drab colors. You can see my post on her from last winter here. When I heard there was a male near my house, I had to get out and at least try to find him. He was in a small pond in between some office buildings and a hospital. I parked in an empty lot right next to the lake and walked over to the grass and there he was. I sat down, snapped a few pictures and then left. I didn’t want to freak him out. Maybe a lady will show up soon and they can hang out together all winter.

Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention for

Growing in the backyard

On December 28, 2014December 28, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

This is my view looking out the kitchen window. Our neighbor’s plant has gotten so big it is over the fence.

Plant in the yard.

Poinsettia in hanging baskets.

These do stay red through the spring.

Around our fence.

These are pretty in the fall.

Reflection of our neighbor’s boat. Taken from our dock and cropped up. The neighborhood osprey sleeps on top of this mast.

Down at the end of our channel. A Santa in someone’s backyard. I take a left in front of the Santa to get out to the bay.

Mangroves growing in our corner.

I threw last year’s poinsettia in the corner by the shed and it came back this year.

Hibiscus through our fence.

Shine the Divine

Gulls and terns on the beach.

On December 27, 2014December 27, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

The ring billed gulls are back for the winter.

I caught them napping on a recent trip to Fort Desoto.

I think that’s a plover sleeping in front of the gulls. He looks so tiny compared to the bigger gulls.

Tern taking a bath.

Drying off. This is either a common tern or a Forester’s tern.

A nice late afternoon on the beach.

Merry Christmas from Florida!

On December 25, 2014December 25, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights7 Comments

Greeting from central Florida, where you can walk around and enjoy the lights in a light weight jacket.

Check out more sky pictures at Skywatch Friday

Really old porches decorated for Christmas

On December 24, 2014November 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

The Lowe house was built in 1888.

The front door of a small church built in Safety Harbor in 1905.

Outside the tiny church.

Inside the tiny church.

Built in 1896 by Henry Plant’s company. This was the first house to be moved to Heritage Village in 1976.

An old Christmas tree in an old house.

The parlor.

One of the four bedrooms.

A tub built for 2 in the only bathroom.

The Greenwood house was built in 1888.

Old fashion decorations.

Built in 1907, this 13 room house had many uses. It originally sat on a bluff overlooking Clearwater Bay.

More old fashion decorations.

Natural wreath.

Picture taken with my camera phone of the big house.

On a beautiful morning in mid-December after spending an hour walking around the Botanical Gardens in Largo, I headed over to Heritage Village next door. I had not been in over a year and wanted to see if they decorated the old houses for Christmas. Not too many decorations but since it’s free to walk around I couldn’t complain. Heritage Village is a 21 acre living history museum. Walking around the trail, you can see 28 historic buildings dating back to the 19th century. Lots of things to see there.

No mall shopping for me this month.

On December 22, 2014December 23, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography12 Comments

A glossy ibis glowing in the sun.

Another cute gnatcatcher.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Moorhen in the swamp.

Candy corn beak.

A tiny gator snoozing in the sun.

Soon the trail will be full of these bushes blowing in the wind. The ends sprout and blow off and it almost looks like it snowing when they are blowing around.

Christmas is coming fast. I did all of my shopping on-line so I could spend what little free time I have right now out at the parks. The weather is perfect in December. High of 65 and sunny. Why would I want to be at a mall when I could see all of the above? My sister is coming to Tampa this week and we’ll be out playing tourist all week.

Check out more pictures at Our World Tuesday Our World Tuesday Graphic

Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention for

Blooming in the winter

On December 21, 2014December 21, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants6 Comments

Pretty things were still blooming in the winter in central Florida. On a cold (60 degrees) sunny morning I headed out for a good 3 hour walk. I went to the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. Not many birds there but still lots of flowers blooming. I know, everyone else is showing off their pretty snow pictures but soon they’ll be wishing they were down here for a visit.

20mom_badgeWEB Shine the Divine

Fun in the sun

On December 20, 2014December 20, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn Uncategorized6 Comments

Yes I took these right into the sun. I was standing on a sea wall looking for ducks and heard a splash down near the beach area at a park in Safety Harbor. The black dog ran in and was barking at the brown dog to come in. They splashed around and played for a while. They looked like they were having the best time in the cold water. The brown dog got tired and went back on the beach and the black dog seemed to stand there like “Come back, it’s not time to leave yet.” He finally shook off and headed back to the beach.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane. No, it’s a bird. – Skywatch Friday

On December 18, 2014December 9, 2014 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography10 Comments

Juvenile bald eagle soaring overhead.

“Look up. There’s a white pelican flying by.”

“Here comes a few more white pelicans.”

“Now it’s a party.” Too bad they didn’t land where we could see them.

The black vulture has an all black face.

Turkey vultures have a pink face. The one in the front looks like a juvenile. His face will turn darker pink like the one in the back and his feathers will get darker on his next molt.

A lone pelican swimming in the lake.

At first all I saw was the one white pelican swimming by far out in the lake. Later down the trail, hundreds of them flew overhead. They may have been heading to the other side of the lake but we couldn’t see them from anywhere on the trail. It was a beautiful sunny morning in late November at Circle B Bar Reserve.