Fun animals at the zoo

On January 17, 2026February 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, zoo animals4 Comments

We had a brief cold front (meaning high of 75) in late October. Brett and I decided to spend the morning walking at the zoo. We got there right as the macaws were having their fly over. They free-fly from the front of the zoo and circle around the main area before landing on the perch. They were moving so fast it was hard to keep up with them.

The Marabou storks were flirting on the nest. They already had an egg so they must have been celebrating.

Koala bears sleep up to 22 hours a day and it’s rare to catch them awake. This one did a few stretches and a big yawn before going back to sleep.

I guess three’s not a crowd. I was watching this couple flirting and then another parakeet showed up and they all flirted with each other.

The flamingos were waiting to be fed.

At first I thought this yellow billed stork was trying to hear what I was telling him but no, he was just scratching an itch. It’s fun when they come close in the open aviary.

The ducks were using the manatees as a floatation device. The manatee hospital is always busy caring for, rehabilitating and releasing injured manatees.

A quick video of the manatee eating his yummy lettuce.

A turtle pops his head up to give us a look.

Another “this never gets old” treat.

On December 20, 2025December 3, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

A sliver of sunrise was peeking through the clouds at the end of August on my walk at the Safety Harbor waterfront. After a short walk I headed to nearby Philippe Park to walk the stone stairs on the back side of the Indian mound (I was prepping for all of that walking and stairs on the Italy trip coming up).

Right as I walked out on the walkway on the waterfront this dolphin popped up in front of me. There were 2 feeding along the seawall and I spent half an hour watching them swim back and forth in front of me.

It was high tide this morning so they were herding the fish into the sea wall.

I took so many short videos with my phone and these were the best ones. At this point there was a small crowd also watching.

This was one of those “it never gets old” treats that we see here in the area.

The dolphins finally moved down the sea wall and towards the open bay so I started my stair climbing while it was still cloudy.

So many spots

On November 29, 2025November 14, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

At the end of August I made another late afternoon drive through at Chesnut Park, hoping to see more of those cute spots. There were a lot of deer along the back wooded line of the ball field including the guy above.

Then I saw 4 fawns playing together at the farthest end of the field. I think this was a big year for baby deer.

After a few minutes they all headed into the woods so I continued my drive through the park.

At the other end of the park I found a Mom and baby.

I sat in my car and watched them feed on a beauty berry bush.

Then I found 2 more at the far corner of the park. These two were also playing and then one crossed in front of my car.

This lady was alone and I waited for her to cross the bridge and go onto the trail before passing by as I headed home. This was a fun afternoon.

This never gets old.

On November 15, 2025October 31, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

I was making many trips to Chesnut Park in late August. There isn’t much else to get excited about since it’s so hot here and birds are scarce. The fawns here are such a treat to see and they grow up so fast. I stopped in late one afternoon and the park was almost deserted (way too hot and I drove through instead of walking) so the deer were out along the street through the park.

This little one was old enough now to hang out with the whole herd including a buck.

After leaving the park I drove through a nearby neighborhood and saw this couple feeding in someone’s yard. For some reason the deer sightings in my neighborhood have been very scarce and this is the first summer in 4 years I haven’t seen any babies in our neighborhood.

These two ladies were taking a break.

A hot summer walk in the park

On November 1, 2025October 31, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals1 Comment

Another early morning walk at Chesnut Park in early August to look for baby deer.

I didn’t see any out on the ball field but when I drove to the back to park my car I came across this family right in front of my parking spot.

I saw this cutie once I got on the boardwalk. I had heard people were feeding the baby raccoons earlier this summer and now it’s evident with this guy walking up to the boardwalk to see if I have a snack for him instead of scurrying away. There are signs all over the park to not feed the wildlife and people are keeping an eye out for anyone that does.

I got a quick peek at a baby that gave me a parting glance as she followed Mom deeper in the woods.

Only the usual year-round birds are here in the summer including little tufted titmouse. They also come up close to see if you have some seed for them.

The water on the lake was still and quiet.

While on the dock an osprey flew by with a half eaten fish being chased by a red shoulder hawk.

A tiny critter taking a break in the shade.

Color along the boardwalk. I think the bottom shot is poison oak.

More fawns in the park.

On October 25, 2025October 24, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

I was back at Chesnut Park in early August hoping to see more baby deer. This time of year there isn’t much in the parks except mosquitoes and deer flies so it’s a good reason to load up on bug spray and get out for a walk. I got there early and first stopped at the baseball field. Across the field I could see some adults including one male.

Close to the woods I saw a Mom and her baby. They were looking at something from the other direction of the woods.

Here comes another Mom and baby. They seemed to know each other and greeted each other with sniffs.

All of a sudden many adults appeared from the woods and started to feed and ignored the babies.

The babies were playing and chasing each other. It was such a treat to sit on the sidelines and watch them having fun together across the field. I had my 400mm lens and these are all cropped up.

This lopsided young guy walked right up to me and I kept backing up. I’m sure someone is feeding them which is highly discouraged and there are signs saying it is illegal to do so.

I walked over to the other side of the ball field and could see another baby near the maintenance area.

This handsome guy stopped to glance at me for a few minutes in between eating. More people were starting to show up and the deer started to make their way into the woods so I left to walk the back boardwalk.

A morning walk along the trail

On October 20, 2025November 9, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, flowers and plants4 Comments

It was mid-June and hot on the morning I went for a walk at Chesnut Park. I didn’t take my camera thinking there wouldn’t be too many birds around and the baby deer hadn’t been born yet. I was playing around with some of the settings on my phone to capture the above along the trail.

Some type of mushroom growing on a dead tree. It was huge.

More shots along the trail.

This squirrel came too close. People have been feeding them and the squirrels are aggressive here.

Views of the lake.

The buttonbush was blooming.

This looks like a good place to take a break.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

This Bambi has a Mom

On October 11, 2025October 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

In mid-July I was up early and out at Chesnut Park hoping to see some little fawns. It’s best to get there well before 8am because the deer start disappearing into the woods when all of the walkers and joggers show up. It was 7:30 and I was not expecting to see any but as soon as I drove into the park there was a family in front of the baseball field.

I pulled into a parking spot and got out with my camera and hid behind a tree. The baby was staying close to Mom.

There were several does with the Mom and baby and they were busy feeding.

Oh! I think baby saw me. Eventually as more people showed up at the park the family heading into the woods behind the ball field. I left to walk the boardwalks.

A quick walk on the trail and I didn’t see too many birds.

On the back boardwalk I saw a young buck and a doe walking along side of the boardwalk. The buck looked at me funny and I realized they were looking for a place to duck under the boardwalk to get to the other side. I think it was right under where I was standing. I moved down and they went under and disappeared deep into the woods.

Saturday's Critters

The dolphin show at Fort Desoto Park

On September 29, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

Rush hour traffic heading in and out of Tampa Bay. I was out on the beach at Fort Desoto Park at the end of May and the boats come pretty close as they go by.

After looking for birds I always stop by the pier looking for anything interesting to see. Sometimes I see rare ducks floating around or different birds flying by and if not then there’s always dolphins to watch.

A snowy egret was eating someone’s bait fish.

It’s not often I don’t see a dolphin or two swimming around the pier although sometimes they are too far out to get a decent shot. This morning there were several swimming close to the pier.

Two kept swimming under the pier and it looked like a Mom and her almost grown baby that was sticking close to her.

I took so many videos with my phone. These are my 3 favorite ones. They were so close and kept swimming through the bait fish that swims under the dock. It was such an amazing thing to see them this close and out in the wild. It never gets old.

More boats from the pier. They pass through between the park and the small island of Egmont Key.

A neighborhood spin on my bike

On September 10, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals5 Comments

I was out on my bike early one morning in May with just my phone, hoping not to get rained on but the skies cleared up quickly. As I turned the corner off our street I could see deer running across the golf course.

The goldenrod was blooming along the street.

A limpkin crossing the dam on one of the ponds.

A quick video of a big alligator going into hiding.

A swallow tail kite cruising high over the trees.

There were lots of turtles on the banks once the sun was out.

A juvenile little blue heron creeping around the pickerelweed along the edge.

A yellow crowned night heron out in the day.

One of the smaller alligators that hangs out behind the club house parking lot. He got a little too close and I kept backing up in the grass. This shot was cropped up.

One of the other bigger ones heading into the water. This one seems to live in this spot where there aren’t any houses on both sides of the pond. There’s a small bridge so I was up high.

There are a lot of alligators in the neighborhood since there are so many ponds. Most are pretty small and the 2 big ones aren’t near the golf course. I’m sure if they start hanging out on the course they end up “gone” or “disappear”.