So much destruction and not even a direct hit.

On September 30, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights13 Comments

I can’t believe I am posting this picture again. So soon after Hurricane Ian, Idalia and Debby. This is just devasting. The Tampa bay area got so much damage from Hurricane Helene this past week mostly coming from storm surge. Pinellas County has water on 3 sides (the gulf leading into the bay) and no house near the water was spared. So much flooding. The hurricane wasn’t even a direct hit but the storm surge was the highest on record.

Brett and I moved 3 years ago from a house on the water (in the bay) to farther inland. We were so blessed to only have tons of yard debris. Above is a 3rd of our debris pile in the driveway and more across the street. We are still cleaning up. We did not get any flooding in our neighborhood.

Over the weekend I was out running errands and stopped by my favorite walking places. The Dunedin marina was my first stop and the pier there was destroyed. The marina was blocked off so we couldn’t get close. It’s interesting the dolphin statue on top of the concrete base was still standing. The hotel next door was flooded and they were trying to get the sand out of the rooms and were pulling out carpet and furniture.

Lots of debris and damaged docks in the marina. Many of the boats were missing. Some got pulled out onto trailers the day before but some were found stranded farther down near Clearwater Beach.

The tall condo building next to the marina lost both of their docks.

My next stop was the Safety Harbor marina and fishing pier. They had minimal damage with only a small portion of the dock damaged.

The beloved fishing pier where the manatees hang out was gone. It had recently been closed due to minimal damage from Hurricane Debby in August.

The next morning I stopped by the Oldsmar pier, 10 minutes from my house. The pier was still there but was closed. It had a lot of missing planks and the end had come off. All of the houses in the neighborhoods nearby were flooded out.

This fun boat was a decoration in front of a seafood restaurant. The restaurant was badly damaged and I saw the boat much farther down the street.

The front yard the night after the hurricane.

All of this damage above is insignificant to what happened to the coastal areas. The beach areas have been closed for days but the videos and news coverage is heartbreaking. All of the beach areas, Davis Islands, Harbor Islands and neighborhoods along the bay were damaged. As you drive through neighborhoods all of the houses have furniture, rugs, carpet, cabinets, dry wall, etc piled high on the curbs.

Pictures of the beach from Bay News 9 here.

The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is a wild bird rescue that is on the beach. They rescue and rehabilitate thousands of birds every year. Their facility took a big hit. I swiped the below shot from their facebook page. They could really use donations to rebuild and can be made here.

Sadly this storm did not end with us and continued to reek havoc north into North Carolina. Brett’s nephew and his girlfriend live in Ashville and we did not have contact with them until yesterday morning. They are safe but downtown Ashville has been wiped out. And, there’s another storm brewing in the gulf again.

Driving around in June and July

On September 28, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The first week in June I had a red shoulder hawk in my car. This beauty had been sick and was rescued and rehabilitated at Moccasin Lake Park and was going back to the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay to stay in the flight cage for a few days to build up his wing strength before being released.

Three days later a baby Cooper’s hawk and a sick red tail hawk also made their way to the Raptor Center. Look at those big talons on the red tail hawk!

The next week I had a full car load. I picked up a sick vulture that had been rescued north of where I live and then headed to the Raptor Center to pick up more critters.

A pair of baby doves, a sick blue jay and a young pileated woodpecker all got loaded in my car to make their way to Penny, the rehabber in south St. Pete.

A pouch of juvenile possums also came along.

A few days later a juvenile swallow tail kite was rescued close to my house so I picked it up and drove it over to the Raptor Center. The brown specks on his head and white specks on his wings will go away when he is fully grown. He was also not old enough to have his “swallow” split tail.

I got a call that there was a kestrel with an injured wing on the ground at the Tampa airport. The airport maintenance guys were able to catch it and called the Raptor Center. I was able to meet them at the cell phone parking lot and drive it to the center. Nancy thinks the wing will be able to heal.

At the end of June I was transporting a hawk, a barred owl and 4 screech owls that had been to a vet and was going back to the Raptor Center. They were having a fundraiser near my house so I met them there at the end of the event to hand off the injured birds. They had brought their ambassador kestrel and great horned owl and had a crowd of people who were curious about the birds.

At the beginning of July I was heading down to south St. Pete to take some critters to Penny, the rehabber and the above peacock also made the trip. The peacock had been found nearby with an injured leg and the Raptor Center was sending it to a peacock expert rehabber in nearby Clearwater. Peacocks roam freely all over the Tampa bay area and get a bad rap. People don’t like them because they are loud and messy so they tend to get “injured” around the area. I recently wrote about them in this post.

I had to laugh as I was heading down Penny’s street a peacock walked right in front of my car. I was going slow but it might not have been lucky if someone was speeding through this neighborhood.

This was my cargo that morning. Three baby possums.

A week later I transported 3 screech owls to the Raptor Center that had been rescued.

Hiking and history outside of Atlanta

On September 26, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Atlanta9 Comments

While Brett and I were in Atlanta in early June for vacation we wanted to get out of the city and find somewhere to have a quick hike that wasn’t hours from town. There are so many great places in the north Georgia mountains that we had been to while we lived here but we found a place closer to where we were staying. Forty minutes away was Autry Mills Nature Preserve. We got there right when they opened and headed for the back trail.

We had never been here before and it was fun to explore a new place. There was a creek running along the trail.

The woods were pretty thick here.

We didn’t see a lot of wildlife and no birds but we got a peek at a lone deer.

I was able to get a video of her walking towards us but she stopped as she got closer and started feeding again. We left her in peace and continued on the trail.

Part of the nature preserve has become a Heritage Village with several historic buildings from nearby being moved into the preserve. The above visitor center was original to the property and was built in 1860 and was a tenant house for the farm that was here. The Summerour family originally lived here with 900 acres in the 1840’s (eventually acquiring over 2,100 acres of land).

The green store was built in the 1920’s and operated through the 40’s. It was located nearby and moved here to the preserve. It wasn’t opened the day we were there but I was able to peek in the window.

The Warsaw church was built in the 1870’s and was named after the part of town. We were able to walk through here. The pews have name plates with the founding fathers on them.

Another tenant house, this was one of the original Summerour family homes that was build in the early 1800’s and was relocated to the farm in the 1990. Pictures are taken through the window.

The formal Summerour home was build in the late 1880’s. Pictures were taken through the window.

Little critters on the flowers in the garden.

This was a fun morning of hiking and discovering a new place in our old hometown. I would like to get back here, hopefully in the fall when the leaves are changing. After all of this walking we were hungry and found a nearby BBQ joint before heading back to Atlanta and doing some intown sight seeing.

A last trip to the beach for the summer.

On September 23, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It was early June and I was back out on the beach at Fort Desoto Park early in the morning. It had been 2 weeks since my last trip and I was hoping to find the baby oystercatchers again to see how much they had grown.

The first thing I spotted was a lone roseate spoonbill.

Then I found 2 of the baby oystercatchers. It took me a while to find them since they blend in so well. At first they were sleeping but then one got up and walked around.

I realized there was another area roped off near the lagoon. Closer to the water I could see both oystercatcher parents with the 3rd baby.

After a few minutes later both parents started to take a nap.

The smallest baby was wandering around while the parents slept. At this point I plopped down on the sand to take a break as well.

Eventually the parents and 3rd baby made their way back to the lagoon and joined the other 2 babies. They all walked around for a few minutes and then hunkered down for a nap again so I headed down the beach to see what else I could find.

This is a common sight along this area of the beach. Beach patrols go out and mark off turtle nests. They can usually find them by the drag of the Mom’s weight back to the water and the big hole her body makes as she lays the eggs. All of the nests are recorded and dated and they keep track of when they may hatch. Since they hatch at night and the park is closed at night the babies aren’t usually disturbed trying to get to the water.

Someone’s artwork in the sand.

I was there early enough to have the beach almost to myself. There was a few other photographers there as well.

When I was leaving I found these nanday parakeets near the parking lot.

I didn’t make it back out to the park this summer. It’s just too hot and there hasn’t been much sighted during this time. I’m hoping the white pelicans will be back in October and I’ll make the trip if I hear they are back.

Aren’t all babies cute?

On September 21, 2024September 16, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I had been going to Roosevelt Wetlands every few days to see if there were any black necked stilt babies. There had been several couples nesting across the pond so even if babies had hatched it might be hard to see them. On the first day of June I got lucky. There was one family with three little ones feeding not far from the trail. They are so cute when they are that little (aren’t all babies cute?). Both parents stayed close by as the little ones were running around exploring.

A little blue heron wandered a little too close to the area and one of the stilt parents flew towards him and did a few dive bombs. At first the blue heron was not going to move but eventually he headed a little farther away.

There was a moorhen family also feeding in the area and a few times the moorhen Mom tried to run off the baby stilts.

Across the pond I could see another stilt couple that were on eggs. They were nesting on a little spit of dirt in the pond and sadly I had heard a few days later that after a few days of rain the nest got flooded and lost. They usually nest before the summer rains but this couple must have started late.

A Coast Guard plane flies close by.

Swallow tail kites were seen everywhere including this morning.

The beach and pier

On September 19, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

My last trip down to Fort Desoto Park in south St. Pete was the first week in June. Every year I tell myself I’m going to take July and August off from hiking with my camera and I usually don’t. This year I did with only a few outings so I’ll eventually be caught up. Above is a black skimmer coming off the water at the north beach.

A few fly-bys on the beach include a great blue heron and a night heron.

I always like to watch the big boats go by, wondering where they are going.

Up on the pier, the snowy egrets and great egrets were busy grabbing bait fish under the pier. They would do a quick swoop down to the water and grab a fish and head back up to the pier to swallow it.

Shaking off after getting wet.

A quick video while hanging out with the birds.

Small boats were getting close to the pier to pull up the bait fish before going fishing.

This guy was not shy and let me take this with my phone.

Lots of Kermits at the gardens

On September 16, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Atlanta6 Comments

More pictures from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens from our trip in June.

We got there right when it opened on a weekday and there wasn’t too many other people there. Luckily as we walked through the front section a Mom with her babies walked right by. I was able to get a couple of shots before they headed into the bushes.

I saw several eastern towhees. They were not skittish at all. One landed on the sidewalk right in front of me.

The gardens have the most fabulous green frogs when you can find them. On my last trip here (November 2022) I couldn’t find any. This trip there were a lot of them in the big lotus and lily pond in front of the orchid building. I’m sure they keep the mosquitoes down.

There was also a turtle peeking out.

A dragonfly on a lotus bud.

The orchid/rainforest building is on the left with a few buildings in Midtown in the middle.

Walking down the elevated canopy walk.

A ride through the neighborhood

On September 14, 2024September 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

At the end of May I took a spin on my bike around the neighborhood. I had been seeing the swallow tail kites flying high around the golf course and as soon as I took off one came cruising over my head.

Down the street I found a pair of black bellied whistling ducks in the pond. Last year there were babies in the area so I was hoping that would happen again this summer.

There were 2 turkeys in the utility field.

I stopped at another pond and found a bunch of mallards. An alligator was sun bathing a little farther down.

I never noticed this carrotwood tree before. Maybe I hadn’t seen it blooming. I stopped because I had seen a woodpecker fly into it but when I stopped and got off my bike the woodpecker took off. I wonder if they eat the fruit. Of course it’s not native to Florida and is considered invasive. It was probably planted many years ago when the golf course was put in.

Another turkey farther down the road. This one was not skittish. I got off my bike and took the above with my phone.

Deer feeding along the cart path.

This was the last time I saw an eagle in the neighborhood. They usually leave some time in May (most of the ones in the area are now showing up for the winter season),

Babies around the yard

On September 12, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

It was mid-May and a tufted titmouse family came for a bath. There were 3 babies and 1 parent that came to the bird bath every day for a week. The babies still have a little cream color on the beak near their faces and didn’t have that little bit of rust in their bellies. They were so awkward trying to take a bath.

I’m not sure why this squirrel was licking the plant. He might have been licking the ants off of it?

A male cardinal got a snack underneath the bath and then took a bath.

We also had a lot of juvenile bluebirds coming for a bath for several days. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them. They were so cute.

A lone brown headed cowbird was in the grass just past the feeder. I don’t see them often but this was the 2nd time I had seen one in the backyard in 3 years.

Two juvenile northern parulas were hopping around the tree in the front courtyard waiting for Mom to bring them bugs. I saw them moving around and snuck outside and got the above shots.

Hibiscus blooming in front of our driveway.

I planted sunflower seeds in a small spot in the front that gets a lot of sun in late April. By mid-May I had big stalks coming up, almost as tall as myself. I was excited, hoping I would get a few blooms. One morning I walked out and realized deer had eaten half the plants. They pulled most of the leaves off one plant and half of the other. There were hoof prints in the bed. I was crushed. I left the stalks thinking they would come back and finish eating them but they never did. They continued to grow and eventually bloomed. More on those later.

Sunset across the street.

My neighbor’s church was having a fundraiser lunch and their theme was “Spring birds in Florida”. She asked me if they could use some of my pictures and I said sure and then I was asked to talk about them so I gave a presentation on birds in the neighborhood. It was hard to narrow down to 30 minutes worth of pictures from the tens of thousands I have taken over the years. It was a fun afternoon.