Art along my morning walk

On August 25, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

In mid-May I was out on the Safety Harbor waterfront for my weekly walk here. When it’s too hot to be walking around in the woods with my camera, I walk close to the water. I was hoping to get a breeze but there wasn’t a ripple on the water this morning.

Looking across the bay at Tampa I could see someone paddleboarding. This was a great morning for paddleboarding since the water was so smooth.

A bunny was feeding before the mangrove boardwalk.

Since there was no breeze along the waterfront I decided to walk through the town area and noticed some of the artwork at the library.

Plumeria (also known as frangipani) was blooming all over Safety Harbor.

Murals along my walk.

The most colorful corner goes to the Safety Harbor Art & Music center.

An early morning on the beach

On July 9, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

In early April I was out early enough to see the lights still shining on the Sunshine Skyway bridge. I was on my way to Fort Desoto Park. The park opens at 7am and this time of year the sun comes up later so if you get to the park right when it opens you can catch sunrise.

I was out on east beach at 7:05 and zoomed in to see pelicans diving for fish right in front of the bridge.

The gulls were also swarming around.

After some shots at east beach I quickly headed over to the bay pier to get a few more shots before the sun was up too high.

The above osprey was having breakfast.

I’m not sure what this nanday parakeet was eating, or maybe just chewing on the branch.

Over on north beach I could see the oystercatcher sitting on eggs. This area had been roped off and guarded with bird stewards the entire time this couple were sitting on eggs. They are state-designated threatened due to loss of habitat. Their eggs blend into the sand and it would be easy for someone to trample over them if the parent left the nest (due to crows, gulls or other birds bothering them).

Looking out at the gulf.

Watching a grackle harassing the much bigger great blue heron on the pier.

Flashes of orange and blue on the waterfront

On June 25, 2025July 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights8 Comments

At the end of April Brett and I were out on the bay waterfront in St Pete for a long walk. We started out near North Shore Park and walked towards the pier.

We passed all of the sailboats at the marina and noticed a lot of boats for sale.

It was too early for the restaurant and bar on the top floor to have customers so we climbed up the back stairs and was able to walk around on the top.

The view from the top looking straight, looking north towards the small airport and then looking right from where we had started.

The back view at the top looking out on the bay.

On the way back I noticed some flashes of orange and blue flying across the park. I was wondering if they were escaped pets but then I saw the girl with the bird stand calling out to them. She brings them out to the park to get flight time in and they are trained to come back to her.

Videos of them flying free around the park.

They came back when she called them. I guess she’s pretty confident they won’t go flying off and not come back. I guess it’s the treats that will always bring them back. She’s had them for many years. You just never know what you’ll see out here.

Round trip across the bay

On May 28, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights8 Comments

Above is a view of downtown Tampa from the water. This was my 2nd trip across the bay on the Cross Bay ferry. My first was back in 2019 when my sisters were visiting. Since my sister and her husband were visiting in late February we decided to do it again. This time we started in Tampa since the Indy Grand Prix race was going on in St. Pete and we wouldn’t be able to park anywhere nearby there.

Passing by the cruise ships.

Red was the color of the day. I guess it’s so you can see the boats better, in case you can’t see those big guys on the water.

Picking up the pace as we head out into the open bay. Tampa was far behind us.

As we approached St. Pete we went farther south and came in south of downtown, on the other side of the airport. We docked near the Florida Fish & Wildlife docks and as we got off the boat we could hear the cars from the race loudly buzzing around the track (since it was Friday they were practicing but boy was it loud).

We only had about 30 minutes to walk around before our boat left to go back so we just walked around the marina area where we docked.

The sun was just starting to go down as we made our way back to Tampa.

Passing a tugboat before getting into Tampa.

We got back just as the sun was going down (Tampa General hospital is on the left). It was a beautiful late afternoon on the water and the tickets are a great price to be out on the water for a few hours. The ferry only runs in the winter here and then goes back up north for the summer. I need to make more of an effort to get out and do more tourist type things like this in the winter.

🎵 “A 3 hour tour” 🎵

On May 21, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights7 Comments

My sister and her husband were coming to visit for the Grand Prix race (in St. Pete) in late February. They came a few days early so we could do some tourist stuff. Our first fun thing was a dolphin/sunset tour out of Dunedin. We left at 4:30 and boated down the intercoastal waterway passing by Clearwater.

I think that dog was having more fun on the water than anyone else as we passed close by the Sound Amphitheater.

Colors were popping as we got farther down the waterway and passed sailboats and kite surfers. We could see the pirate ship tour boat farther back on the left.

Passing underneath the Sand Key bridge.

We made our way into the gulf and passed by Clearwater Beach and the long Pier 60 as we headed north.

We got all the way to the tip of Caladesi Island before turning around to head back to Clearwater. The sun still had a ways to go before setting so we took our time coming back.

The sun was shining on the new hotels that sit on the south end of Clearwater Beach. When I was growing up and coming here to visit my grandparents this beach was all 2 story motels.

The boat stopped at the end of the beach and we watched the sun go down with a few other boats. It was a busy night on the water.

The Little Toot boat was following us as we made our way back into the intercoastal waterway. It was a beautiful night and got chilly quick when the sun went down. Luckily we were prepared and brought jackets with us.

Passing the pirate ship.

The sky was turning orange and the birds were flying around before going to bed as we made our way past Clearwater and back to the Dunedin marina.

The 2 1/2 hour trip turned into a 3 hour trip when we docked. It was a perfect night. We saw lots of dolphins but the boat was full and I didn’t bring my camera and longer lens so I hung back and let the tourists watch them. It’s always fun seeing the reactions when people don’t get to see them often or see them for the first time.

The best place for sunrise in Tampa

On May 19, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights6 Comments

The Sunshine Skyway bridge was all lite up in purple before the sun came up. I was heading to Fort Desoto Park, my first time back since last June (more on my visit posted last week here).

I was at the park when it opened at 7am and headed straight to East Beach for sunrise. It was too early for spring migration and I wasn’t sure if I would see any shorebirds up at north beach since that part of the park had just opened up since the hurricanes so I didn’t rush.

I stopped at the bay fishing pier for more sunrise shots.

After my walk at north beach I stopped back by the bay pier to look for dolphins and realized the back half of the pier was closed due to damage from the hurricanes. They just rebuilt this pier last year. I think the pier was okay but a lot of the railings were missing or falling off.

The cormorants were enjoying having the end of the pier to themselves without fishermen in the way.

I missed driving down this street. It leads to the longer gulf pier.

The gulf pier was open and in good shape. It was pretty empty since it was cold and windy. There were only a few people fishing and I didn’t see any dolphins.

Watching the big boats go by.

A jellyfish on the sand.

I stopped at the East Beach turnaround before leaving and there were a few kiteboarders out in the wind. I’m sure that water was cold.

A quick video of them coming back into shore.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Finally out on my favorite beach again

On May 14, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights9 Comments

It felt really good to be out on this beach in mid-February. My last visit to Fort Desoto Park was in June. I didn’t make it down here in the summer and then the hurricanes hit in September and October. The park had a lot of damage and was closed for several months. They opened back up in stages and the north beach area did not open until early February. To the naked eye it looked the same but there were small changes. The park rangers sifted through the sand on the main beach areas to clear all of the debris that had washed up on the beaches here. I was out at the beach just after the sun came up (I stopped at East Beach to get sunrise shots but more on those later).

It was low tide and I walked up to the end of Outback Key.

The sun coming up over seashells.

The back side of the lagoon had a lot of big clam shells that had washed up with the tide. The shells were empty and most were covered in barnacles. Wilson’s plovers were hiding among them. It’s a good place for them to nap because people wouldn’t be walking through those shells and stepping on them.

A piping plover walks by me with his orange legs.

All of the usual birds were on the beach including great blue herons, reddish egrets and a wintering ring-billed gull.

Almost to the northern end of the key. It was going to be a long walk back.

This guy got stranded in the low tide. It was going to be a while before that boat was getting out of that spot. The shorebirds were keeping him company.

I noticed that the grassy areas at the north tip were gone and found out that they didn’t wash away. They were covered with sand. In certain areas you could see how much more sand had stuck on the beach during the storms.

Hurricane damage in a small town

On May 5, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights3 Comments

Brett and I made the creepy cross over the Sunshine Skyway bridge in the fog in early February. I guess it was better that we couldn’t see how high up we were. We had a fun foggy walk at Robinson Preserve (earlier post here) that morning and then drove to the small fishing village of Cortez, north of Sarasota.

I had read that the area got hit really hard from both hurricanes (Helene in September and Milton in October) and some of the local restaurants were just opening up. They needed customers bad. A lot of hotels hadn’t opened back up yet and there wasn’t a lot of tourists in the area. We found a cute little seafood place right on the water.

We sat outside and had a view of a seafood intake processing plant next door. It was quiet that morning but the pelicans were using the roof to nap on.

One sat right in front of us. We didn’t stay long in Cortez. One of the main streets was closed off and there was still a lot of damage in the area.

After lunch we crossed over the bridge into Anna Maria Island. That restaurant on the right side of the picture was closed and I just read last week it was torn down due to extensive damage from one of the hurricanes. It had been opened since 1971 and is not going to be rebuilt. I’m sure luxury condos will end up there someday.

The parking lot was closed at the small municipal beach on Anna Maria Island. Parts of the beach were fenced off. We were able to find a parking spot nearby and walked over to take a look. Most of the old trees were blown over and had already been cut up and in piles. There was one remaining that will only have little shade this summer.

I could see the city pier down the beach. The pier building was still standing with some damage. The pier leading to it was gone. I’ve heard they will start rebuilding the pier soon and repair the building that housed a bait shop and small restaurant.

Cormorants floating in the still water on the gulf. The Sunshine Skyway bridge was somewhere in those clouds.

At the other end of the small island sat a 75 year old restaurant on the end of a pier. Brett and I had lunch at the Rod and Reel restaurant in 2015 and I took the above then. It was a fun place to spend the morning and have a great seafood lunch. Hurricane Helene wiped out the pier leading to the building and then Hurricane Milton wiped out the restaurant. There is nothing left but the sign, which was found on the island. The owner says he will rebuild but it will take years.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Our first walk at Robinson Preserve

On April 30, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

In early February Brett and I headed an hour south of us to the Bradenton/Palmetto area to take a walk at Robinson Preserve and have lunch afterwards in the nearby Cortez fishing area. It was cold so we got to the park a little later, around 9am. It was sunny when we first started walking the trail and got to the tall observation tower.

On the top floor we could see all around the area. It’s a large preserve that sits on the bay and the back area facing Sarasota was pretty dried up. In the summer most of the area in the bottom shot would be under water and swampy.

Fiddler crabs covered the little beach area at the bottom of the tower. It was funny to watch them running around chasing each other. They are usually shy and run to their holes when people are around but these did not scatter when I walked up. They are really pretty when the sun hits them, showing off the pink and purple.

We followed the trail around the small lagoon and by the time we got on the other side the sea fog had started to come in.

We made our way out to the beach and the fog kept getting thicker. The Sunshine Skyway bridge was out there somewhere.

The birds were pretty scarce and we only saw a few ibis and snowy egrets feeding out in the fog. We had a long walk back to our car and were starving so it was off to lunch.

Sunrise over old Florida

On April 28, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

I love coming up to Chinsegut Wildlife Area early in the morning to catch the sun coming up over the trees.

Sunrise here is what I think old Florida looks like. Lots of tall old trees and fog.

There were lots of birds behind the nature center including the female painted buntings that were in the platform feeder.

There’s a large red headed woodpecker population here but I’ve never seen them come to the feeder area until this morning. This one posed nicely for me.

Then he flew down to the suet feeder and snacked for a few minutes. This is the closest I’ve seen one and there were a lot of people standing on the deck behind the center so he wasn’t shy.

After spending an hour at the nature center feeders looking for the Scott’s oriole (see previous post), I headed out for a walk on the trails.

I made my way down to the lake which is mostly choked up on this side and there isn’t much water here. It’s all grown in and I would have to walk much farther down to the end of the preserve to find the real lake.