Hot walk at Circle B Bar Reserve and a missed opportunity

On June 27, 2016June 28, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography10 Comments

Sandhill cranes on the ground and in the air.

A red shoulder hawk hiding in the tree. I blew this out to get the details in his feathers to show up.

A young limpkin stretching.

A baby limpkin getting feed.

A tricolored heron along the water.

A baby great blue heron still on the nest. Looking all grown up but not yet ready to fly.

Green and orange flash in the bushes.

Alligators were everywhere. They were very loud since it was the beginning of mating season. Now one of the main trails is closed for the summer since the alligators spend a lot of time on the trails raising their young.

I was taking a picture of something else when I caught the above out of the corner of my eye. I quickly turned around to snap but I had the wrong settings to get a good clear picture of him. He was gone in a few seconds. I finally see one walking across the trail in front of me and did not get a good picture. I was bummed but at least I wasn’t missing a limb.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

Growing up in the parking lot at work

On June 23, 2016June 23, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

This is the 2nd year in a row that an osprey couple is raising a family in the light post at work. The babies were pretty big by the time you could see them peeking out over the nest. I finally remembered to bring my camera to work and took the above after work. At first I thought there was only one baby, but there were two.

A few days later I was able to catch one of the babies being fed.

A few days after that, I caught the other parent flying in. He didn’t have a fish with him so I’m wondering if that’s why she was screaming at him.

The next week the babies were fully grown and looked just like the parents except they still have the white spots on their wings and orange eyes. Now the babies are flying around and every morning when I drive into the parking lot I see them on different light posts. When I leave after work, they are both back on nest for the night. Soon they will be gone for good and we’ll all be empty nesters in the parking lot.

SkyWatch Friday

Annual spring fashion show at Gatorland

On June 22, 2016June 7, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Cattle egrets have their flirting makeup on.

The tricolored herons were showing off as well.

The snowy egrets were still in the early flirting stage.

The storks across the lake already had their babies.

This great blue heron was too busy stuffing his face to care about nesting.

I love the way the birds all change colors during the nesting season. Their feathers and faces get brighter. I didn’t make it to Gatorland in Orlando this year until early May. This was my 7th spring to visit the bird rookery there over the alligator lake. The great egrets nest first and most of those babies were already grown. Cattle egrets and snowy egrets were just having their babies. Tricolored herons were sitting on nests but didn’t have any babies yet. It’s always fun to see the birds all interacting together. And yes, I took a ton of pictures that morning so there’s more to come.

At the fishing pier

On June 20, 2016June 21, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography14 Comments

These two female red breasted mergansers are still hanging around the fishing pier. They should be north for the summer by now.

A ruddy turnstone on the rocks.

A royal tern brings her a fish. Since she’s eating it, I guess they are an official couple.

The laughing gulls are pretty this time of year.

Having a conversation about something. All of the gulls are pairing up.

The juvenile reddish egret is still hanging around the pier.

Two baby osprey on the smokestack tower nest.

Someone got their snack stolen. Or maybe, the bird is being paid to advertise.

Saturday morning at Fort Desoto.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

So many babies, so little time – at Lake Mirror

On June 18, 2016June 18, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

So many babies, so little time. This seems to be a big baby duck year. I’m seeing big families everywhere. Getting them all lined up for a family portrait wasn’t easy. The babies are very curious and were running around all over the place. Eventually they tired out and settled down for a nap hiding under mom.

They grow up so fast. One of the first duck families this year at the lake. They are still sticking close together.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

The clown woodpecker family

On June 16, 2016June 16, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography13 Comments

The babies were poking their heads out looking for Mom to bring food. There were 3 babies in the nest but only 2 could poke their heads out a time since they have gotten so big. The babies started getting excited and the Mom flew in to feed them. A few minutes later Mom took off.

Another 15 minutes went by and we heard both parents yelling as they landed on a tree near the nest. I wonder if they were arguing who has to feed them next. The male is on the left with the red stripe on his cheek.

After a few minutes, Dad landed and fed the babies for a few minutes.

The very famous pileated woodpecker family at Circle B Bar Reserve had a small crowd early on a Sunday morning. Everyone was very quiet waiting for the parents to come and feed the babies. I think everyone was half asleep. The parents were very busy coming back and forth feeding 3 mouths. They stopped coming mid-morning. I heard they take a break until late afternoon. A few days after I was there, I heard the babies were already flying. All of the above were extremely cropped.

SkyWatch Friday Life The the Lens Weekly Linkup | Lisa Kerner | Simply Living Photography

High up in the trees

On June 15, 2016January 24, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

A barred owl right over the trail. He looks so curious. He’s thinking “What is that constant clicking noise down there?”

A few branches over was a baby.

A few steps down the trail, a red shoulder hawk was up in the trees.

An almost grown baby hawk was a few branches away.

There are lots of babies growing up at Circle B Bar Reserve. Several barred owl and hawk families were along the trail in early May. Everybody was growing up fast.

Seven swans a swimming

On June 11, 2016June 11, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

They grow up so fast. Baby black swans that are teenagers at this point.

It’s nice to see more black swans around the lake.

Looks like this swan was getting restless,watching for her babies to hatch.

I took so many pictures of these little guys. They were very curious.

Most of the swans were nesting when I walked around Lake Morton in late April. Only a few babies had been born and they were already all grown up. The city has each nest roped off so people don’t get too close. The swans can be very aggressive if you come near the roped off area.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

Flying in to sleep

On June 8, 2016May 27, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I found a killdeer across the pond.

Some of the cattle egrets were sporting their bright “breeding” colors. You can see the difference with the younger cattle egrets that have the drab faces and the ones ready to mate with their bright pink and yellow beaks. Their legs are also bright pink.

An ibis doing a balancing act.

Across the street from the Pinellas county waste plant, there’s a small pond with a mangrove island in it. Before dark, a lot of the birds come here to sleep for the night. I stopped by there recently after work and birds were flying in to spend the night on the little island.