Fish for breakfast

On September 22, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I was out for one of my usual morning walks in early June at the Dunedin Marina and parked in front of this mural which is on the front of the small restaurant that sits on the marina. It’s a good central place to park and I always look for manatees and dolphins before my walk. From here I can walk in 3 different directions. South towards Clearwater is on the water but there’s no shade so I usually take that route on cloudy days. East takes me through downtown Dunedin and north takes me along the water through neighborhoods with lots of old oak trees.

The north route has lots of blooming things to look at.

A bunny along the grass.

A Momma duck and her 2 tiny babies walking across the street.

I got back to the marina and saw 2 osprey chasing each other. They were heading for the osprey nest in the big pine tree.

One of the osprey had a fish with him and landed and started to dig in to his freshly caught breakfast. They have a big nest in this tree and hang out here all year. Nesting season for them won’t start again until mid-winter but they are still here. I guess there’s good fish in this marina.

A few days later my walk started at the Safety Harbor waterfront.

Someone had tied a flag to the railing in front of the closed pier.

After my walk I was standing in front of the pier before leaving and saw an osprey fly in with a fish. I ran back to my car and got my camera and he was still eating. It looked like he was struggling a little in the wind and the poor fish kept flopping. Osprey, also know as fish hawks, only eat fish so they can be found along the water. Osprey were almost completely wiped out due to the wide use of DDT (a pesticide) that made their egg shells too thin to develop. The pesticide was banned in 1972 and these guys have made a big rebound although now mercury from the fish they exclusively eat has caused concern. When I would come down to the Tampa Bay area to visit my parents in the early 90’s I rarely saw an osprey and now I see them everywhere.

Little fuzzy quackers in the pond

On August 18, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

This spring has been a banner Cape May warbler year. I was at Possum Branch Preserve at the end of April which doesn’t get a lot of migrating birds but this morning there were several.

A black throated blue was also there, feeding in the mulberry tree.

Smaller flying critters along the path around the pond.

A purple gallinule was in the middle of the pond, standing on the spatterdock.

I think this bunny noticed me. He didn’t run though.

An osprey flies by with breakfast.

It was fun to see a big mallard family on the edge of the pond.

I plopped down on the grass for a while and watched them feed. Mom seemed proud of her babies.

Momma duck had better keep an eye out for this guy at the other end of the pond.

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.

Walking around Midtown Atlanta

On September 9, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Atlanta2 Comments

On the first morning we were in Atlanta I got out early for a long walk. I headed down to Colony Square near Piedmont Park. The big complex is a mixed use area with offices, condos, restaurants and shops. Many years ago we used to cut through here on our way to the park for the Dogwood Festival. It was weird being back after so many years. The park is just down the block but I was saving that walk for later.

On my way back I stopped and walked around the old IMB tower (now called One Atlantic Center). They have a pretty garden in the back and had lots of hydrangeas. Many years ago it was the tallest building in Midtown and you could see it from the interstate.

A lot of the streets in Midtown look like this, all lined with trees. Walking back around 8am I expected to see lots of people pouring into the office buildings but it felt like a Saturday morning instead of a Monday. I guess a lot of people still work from home even though all I hear is “back to the office”.

For lunch we went to one of our favorite local taco places and the parking lot was full of Canadian geese. The lot was next to a small river which might be why they hang out here (and hoping for a handout). People must be feeding them here because a few walked right up to us when we got out of the car.

We got our food and was sitting outside when more geese showed up. Of course I had to stop eating and take a quick video.

After lunch Brett had to head back to the condo to do some quick work so he dropped me off at the other side of Piedmont Park and I walked back through the park to get to our condo. This is my favorite spot to get shots of Midtown across the lake.

I found some baby ducks hanging out with some turtles as I walked across the bridge over the lake.

Walking by the soccer fields, it took me about an hour to get back.

A hot walk at the zoo

On September 7, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn zoo animals5 Comments

The last time I was at Zoo Tampa for a walk was the end of May. It’s just been to hot and humid. I saw this cute mallard family in one of the exhibits.

I noticed a great blue heron sitting on a nest over the alligator exhibit and was thinking I wanted to get back to see if there were babies but that didn’t happen.

I couldn’t tell what was going on with the flamingos in the back. I think they were flirting. They create these mud spots to nest on and I think they were working on that.

The manatee hospital at the zoo had 2 patients. They were tube feeding them both medicine. I didn’t want to bother the zookeepers and ask them what was wrong with them. I’m assuming they were sick and stranded themselves and were rescued.

The manatee in the holding pool was sharing his lettuce with some mallards.

All lined up.

A shot of the otter taking a dip.

These primates were so funny to watch. How nice of him to pick the bugs off his friend.

Up close with some zoo animals.

On June 22, 2024June 23, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn zoo animals4 Comments

When my sisters were here in February we went to the zoo one morning. Instead of using a coupon to get in at a lower price, I paid full price for the “pay for the day and come back all year for free” ticket. This is a good place to get in an hour walk. I was traveling light on this morning with only my phone.

It was fun watching the gibbons fly across the ropes.

Hanging out with a yellow billed stork in the aviary.

An otter swims by.

A view of the manatees from up top on the outside observation deck.

A wild Mom mallard and her babies were eating some of the manatee’s lettuce.

I went underneath and saw them through the glass. It’s nice that the underwater viewing area is air conditioned so I stayed a little longer than I should have.

Up close with a puffer.

They had a dinosaur exhibit for a few weeks and since I was there early on a weekday morning I walked through the exhibit. I’m sure there was a line to get through it on the weekends. It made for a fun walk.

Scaring off a goose

On June 1, 2024June 1, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I have seen an Egyptian goose in the Tampa area once. One showed up last summer in south St. Pete. They are an invasive species and are seen out in the wild in south Florida. I had heard there was another one at the Largo Nature Preserve and the first time I went I didn’t see it. On a recent trip I walked around the preserve on the golf course side where I heard he usually hung out and didn’t see him but when I got to the other side of the preserve he was there, walking along the bank.

After taking a few shots of the goose I realized there was a mallard Mom with babies swimming around in front of the goose.

Dad flew in and was staying close to the family. I thought “How cute” as they made their way down the side channel.

Then I saw the goose flying towards the side channel.

Look how cute the family is! Both parents were keeping the babies close.

I watched the goose go down to the water and get a drink right in front of the family. It was then I realized what was going on.

This mean invasive goose was going after a baby for a meal. He slipped into the water and snuck up on the family. Mom squawked at the goose.

The goose backed off at first but stayed close by and then kept testing the parents. Dad wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping the babies safe even though he was right there. Mom was fighting off the goose. At this point there were a handful of people on the trail watching. Two ladies started picking up sticks and rocks and throwing it at the goose. No one was going to get in that water though. The water is full of alligators (which also makes a meal out of baby duck).

The goose finally swam away to the other side and the family kept going down the channel. I couldn’t tell if anyone hit the goose with a stick or rock but he seemed to have given up for the time being. Someone said they started out with 13 babies and now they are down to 9. Was it the goose or other usual Florida animals (hawks, owls, eagles, otters, alligators) that got them?

The mallard family went away swimming fast and stayed together. Although the babies were probably oblivious to what was going on.

The goose flew over to my side of the channel and walked right up to me.

I took this with my phone. He seemed to be mad like it’s my fault he lost a meal. I put my camera down and waved my arms and yelled at him (like the crazy person I am). He took off and flew around the bend and headed back towards the golf course.

These geese are invasive and are not protected. There’s an urban legend that they originally escaped from the Miami zoo when Hurricane Andrew came through in 1992 and did a lot of damage to the zoo. There are a lot of them in south Florida and have taken over some parks. They are aggressive and poop a lot. I hope it doesn’t happen here.

A busy morning on my bike

On November 18, 2023November 12, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

It was mid-July and I still hadn’t seen the baby turkeys this summer. I had heard they were around from neighbors but I kept missing them. I went out for a bike ride one morning and there they were. Crossing the street and almost grown. I knew they would be in the woods in a second so I hopped off my bike and snapped the above.

As I passed them by I was able to get a quick shot before they went under the wooden fence and disappeared into the woods. They were still in that “cute” stage.

As I got around to the open utility field I saw a deer couple. The male looked young with those tiny antlers.

I saw another turkey family, all grown ups, far off on the other side of the field. They were heading behind someone’s house. When I got around to the other street they were feeding in front of a home, scratching around for bugs.

I stopped by the pond behind the golf center and found some baby mallards on the other side of the pond. I rarely see baby ducks here. In our old neighborhood in Tampa there were always a ton of babies almost all year round, both mallards and muscovy.

I also found some baby moorhens.

A great egret flies by as I was taking pictures of the moorhens.

Across the golf course I could see a doe running into the cover. I’m thinking she looked pregnant.

Flowers blooming around the neighborhood.

New birds in the muck

On September 9, 2023September 3, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Roosevelt Wetlands is a small reserve right next to the waste plant. It has a great trail that runs across the lake and is usually quiet. Just don’t go when the wind is blowing towards the reserve. I got there pretty early and first saw 2 skimmers skimming along the lake.

It looks like this moorhen bit off part of a lily pad.

A kildeer flew close by.

Some wintering birds were still there in early May. A sora rail and a spotted sandpiper.

Cute duck family.

A lesser yellowlegs was creeping around in the muck.

Two new birds in one shot. A white rumped sandpiper on the left and a semipalmated sandpiper on the right. These aren’t super rare birds for this area but for some reason I kept missing them. They were also creeping around in the muck.

A least sandpiper was also with the new birds. I had not seen one of these since 2012.

Another shot of the white rumped sandpiper.

A little sandpiper party.

Another shot of the semipalmated sandpiper.

I finally saw the gull billed tern. He flew by really fast and this was the only shot I could get of him. He circled around the pond and then left. He isn’t an exciting bird but a new one for me.

The only new bird I didn’t see that was sighted there before was a stilt sandpiper. Maybe next time.

The rookery was hopping in late March

On June 3, 2023May 26, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I made a road trip back to the bird rookery in north Tampa in late March. The noise was so loud from all of the baby birds screaming to be feed. The little spoil island in the pond was full of babies. Although this great egret above looks like he’s still flirting.