Across the pond I could see this osprey hovering, looking for fish.
Eventually he splashed down and got a fish but took off in the other direction.
Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, an anhinga was having trouble getting his big catch down. He eventually swallowed it in one big gulp.
Another anhinga scored across the pond. It was a busy fishing night right before dark.
This guy was just cruising around.
A few of the other critters on my walk after work.
A very cool tree in the woods.
There’s something comical about baby anhingas. They were yelling for Mom to feed them and I could hear them from far across the pond.
A great egret waiting for her offspring to arrive.
A little blue heron was still flirting, trying to attract a mate.
Snowy egrets showing off.
Crazy antics at the bird rookery in north Tampa in May.
Usual birds at Largo Nature Preserve.
The usual critters as well.
All of the small city parks in Pinellas county were open (playgrounds and bathrooms were closed) in early April so I was going to the same ones just to get out and walk. The parks were quiet and spring migration hadn’t really started yet. Working from home has made me crave long walks in the parks even more. I would usually stop on the way home once or twice a week to walk after work in the spring before it got to hot but now that I”m home it’s hard to get out after work.
Some of the water birds at Horsepower for Kids during my visit in mid-March.
One of these doesn’t belong. An ibis hanging out with the geese on the edge of the pond.
It’s always fun to see the peacocks showing off.
I saw this goose sleeping on the grass in the shade. I was wondering why she wasn’t sitting on her egg, hoping she realized it was there and wasn’t going to reject it.
Later I saw why. She was sitting on a lot of eggs and they all didn’t fit. She did move the one egg closer to her after she got up and stretched. She’s going to be a busy mom.
Heading out on the trails, something flushed a flock of ibis across the marsh.
A perfect morning in January, cold and clear.
Morning glories along the trail.
The usual birds.
Crazy face hiding in the bushes.
Right over the trail, this osprey was eating fish.
A typical morning walk at Circle B Bar Reserve.
Everyone was eating breakfast along the trail.
Some of the birds were eating the seeds from the bitter melon (or balsom pear).
A few usuals along the trail.
A scruffy looking pine warbler trying to hide in the bushes.
A snail kite across the marsh. He had been diving down getting snails to eat but he was so far away I couldn’t get a clear shot of him moving.
All of the above are baby anhingas at different ages. Seen from the boardwalk tower, the nests are right over the water at Sawgrass Lake Park. There were many nests along the lake and luckily there a few close to the tower.
One of the Mom’s sitting close to the overcrowded nests.
Not many other birds around during my walk after work in late May. A few green herons were close to the tower.
Other critters at the park. Someone told me that the snake is a copperhead which is a first for me. He’s one of the 6 venomous snakes in Florida. His head shape doesn’t look like a copperhead on line so I’m not sure if it was one. He slid back under the boardwalk quickly so I didn’t get a shot of his body. Any confirmed ID?
Baby ducks were everywhere on my walk around Carillon Park after work in late April. It looks like those baby moorhens were sitting on cotton in the first picture but that is some kind of algae growing in the lake.
There was also a limpkin trying to feed 2 little babies.
A few of the other birds on my walk. A yellowlegs, a parrot eating something high in a tree and an anhinga with a snack.
Other critters at the lake.
Birds up high.
A few down low.
Wild hogs hiding in the bushes. Not sure where the term “pigtails” comes from?
One of the main trails, Alligator Alley, was finally back open after closing in September of 2017. When Hurricane Irma came through, the trail was washed out and a lot of damage was done to that part of the park. The raised trail across the marsh was finally rebuilt and it was great to walk down it again in late January.
Out on the dock you could see the bald cypress trees going bald for the winter.
Walking out on the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve, the fog was just starting to lift.
On the other side of the marsh, the sun was trying to break through.
Great blue herons in the fog.
A few critters along the trail. That big one always sleeps in that same spot across the ditch.
Lots of the usual birds along the trail.
A bright red flash of fall in the moss. It usually starts to look like fall around here in January.
