Watching the national bird growing up

On July 4, 2026June 20, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In early February I stopped by the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood to check on the babies. I didn’t see any adults around but when I looked farther down the utility field I could see Margie (the Mom) and Mickey (the new boyfriend) sitting together.

One morning one of the adults was sitting on the other side of the nest tower yelling.

Mom flew in with food and started feeding the young ones. It looks like she was eating first and at this point I think the babies are eating on their own so one must have waiting for Mom to finish before digging into the leftovers.

When Mom flew up near the top of the tower the oldest started flapping his wings. He still had a lot of pin feathers but was getting a workout. It was so great to see them almost fully grown and flapping.

Mom flew over to the other side.

I was visiting more at sunset since I could get a better view of the babies from this side.

A pileated woodpecker landed in the tree in front of me one morning while I was waiting for the babies to wake up.

Phoebes were common in this area during the winter.

A doe stops to look at me for a second as she walked by along the utility field.

This kestrel was busy grabbing crickets from the field and was eating them right in front of me.

More to come on the eagle family. Have a great 4th of July!

Another “As the Eagle World Turns” chapter

On June 22, 2026July 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

In early February the baby eagles in my neighborhood were getting big enough to get some great views of them. One was down in the nest sleeping on this morning.

Mom was leaving the nest several times a day to get food. I think there was something stuck in that straw because she dropped it off and the baby started eating something.

Mom keeping an eye out and taking a much needed break.

This was Mom’s new boyfriend, Mickey, coming in with a stick. Her mate was hit by a car in January and this guy moved in quickly. The babies would not let him land on the nest and he didn’t seem to push it. One morning he started bringing in sticks and then taking them to the other side of the utility tower. I think he was working on a new nest.

The kids are wondering what this new guy was doing.

Mom landed on the that side of the tower and was helping him place the sticks. I was wondering if they would actually start a new family while those kids were still over on the other side.

Mickey was bringing in food for Mom and after a few bites she would take the rest over to the kids.

Then they mated! I guess this means they are now an official couple. They didn’t finish the new nest and eventually Mom and the babies let Mickey land on the original nest. More to come on these babies growing up.

There’s always a squirrel on this feeder nearby. The owner has it hanging on a tree close to the branch. I wonder if they think the birds are eating all of the seeds.

A crow landed in front of me with a snack.

The kestrels are always around when I visit the eagle nest.

The cardinal’s color pops out in the dead reeds.

One morning a bluebird couple was hanging out on the bat box in front of the eagle nest. He had a snack and did not share it with his girlfriend.

As I stood there waiting for the baby eagles to wake up I looked over towards the reeds and saw the above in front of me. There was only a short 2 rail fence in between us but I didn’t think they would come over the fence. I had my monopod and big heavy camera in front of me.

That black coyote is beautiful. This couple has been seen a lot early in the morning in this area.

They both looked over at me. I heard something right behind me. I turned around and a guy was walking his 2 little dogs. I said to him ‘Do you see those 2 coyotes over there?” He said “I do now” as he picked up both dogs and walked backwards towards his condo. The coyotes trotted off and into the reeds.

“As The Eagle World Turns”

On May 11, 2026June 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

This is Margie and Max. They have a nest in my neighborhood on a utility tower. Margie has been nesting here around 10+ years. She lost her mate, Major, in early 2024 and Max showed up later that spring and flirted with her. They both came back that following fall and had 1 baby in early 2025. The above was taken in the fall of 2025 when they were working on rebuilding the nest. They had 2 babies that we think were born in late December.
(Louise from Project Eagle Watch gave the parents the names. Babies are not usually named but get a number.)

Looking down the utility field I can see one of the parents hanging out on a tower farther away.

This was Margie calling out to Max in mid-January. Max was hit by a car right by the nest and Louise, who rescues eagles, was able to get him but he did not survive. Margie spent several days calling out for her mate. Now she was going to have to leave the 2 babies alone and go out by herself to get the food several times a day.

This was the first time I was seeing the babies on the nest. They were finally big enough to see them peeking out. Mom seemed to be doing okay but she had to have been exhausted feeding them alone.

A week later the babies were getting big and starting to flap their wings hard, although they still just had pin feathers. Another male started hanging around nearby but Margie wouldn’t let him get near the nest yet. More to come on him.

I get to see a lot of other wildlife as I wait for the baby eagles to wake up. Kestrels also spend winters in this same area. The kestrel above was sitting on a bat box along the utility field. He flew down and caught a cricket to eat.

More kestrels on the wire and tree nearby.

A red shoulder hawk flew into the tree and started yelling. He didn’t stay long.

A cute little tufted titmouse with a sunflower seed from a nearby feeder.

It’s always fun when the parakeets fly in. This nanday parakeet was feeding on the seed ball.

Another bike ride past the cows

On July 13, 2023July 11, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals3 Comments

AAnother bike ride in mid-April on my favorite trail that runs through the cow pastures. The sun had just come up when I got out there.

I stopped when I saw 2 sandhill cranes walking across the pasture. As I stood there they both went under the fence and onto the trail right in front of me. I had to quickly back up to fit the first one in the shot. I was trying to keep my distance but they kept walking closer. I hope people aren’t feeding them here.

Some of the usual birds along the trail. A great crested flycatcher and a meadowlark. Both with distinct calls so I heard them before I saw them.

When I first got to the eagle’s nest the almost grown babies were eating and a parent was sitting up there with them. Then the parent took off.

Cruising right past me.

As I was standing there watching the eagle flying around I saw the juvenile eagle fly down to the almost dry pond just under the nest. It seemed to be trying to catch something small but I don’t think he succeeded. It might have been a lizard.

The above is not a good shot and I almost didn’t take it thinking it was a red shoulder hawk but when I got home and cropped it up I realized it was a merlin. I have not seen one of those in a long time.

I think this calf now has his own personal cattle egret to follow him around and eat his bugs. They were staring at each other for a while.

This cow had his cattle egret close by but the colors on the cattle egret’s face looks like he was ready to start nesting.

Taken with my phone on the trail, the utility tower on the right is where the eagles have their nest.

And then there was one

On June 10, 2023June 4, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? It was the end of March and I was sitting under a big tree at the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood when I thought I saw movement in the reeds under the nest. At first I thought I was crazy but then I saw her move again and realized a deer was watching me. She stood there frozen for about 30 seconds and then moved farther into the reeds.

The kestrel couple were still hanging around and stopped on the wire above me to enjoy a snack.

A few days later I was sitting on the other side of the nest since the babies seemed more visible from this angle. I only saw one baby sitting up but the other one could be sleeping.

Both parents were sitting high up on the other tower. A man walked over to me (I was sitting close to the pool and people stop and ask me about the eagles) and said there was a baby eagle down on the ground by the other condo building. I packed up my camera and chair and ran over.

There it was, sitting under a big tree. Several people were keeping an eye on it. They had tried called several agencies but couldn’t get anyone to respond. I called Raptor Center of Tampa Bay and Louise came out pretty quicky. Louise is our nearby resident raptor rescue expert.

She had her caught in no time and was checking her out to see what her injuries were. There were no injuries that she could see. Louise was thinking she was flapping her wings a little too hard and got some air and ended up landing down near the condos and couldn’t get back up to that nest in the tower. The eagle didn’t fight her at all but just watched Louise.

I helped hold the eagle while Louise put the hood on her (it keeps her calm and quiet) and put her into the crate. Off she went, to the raptor center to be checked out. Since the nest is in a Duke energy tower the eagle could not be placed back up there. Duke would have to cut the power to half of Oldsmar for a while to get her back up and they won’t do that. She spent a few weeks at the center until she was fully flighted and then released in central Florida.

And then there was one. I was glad I was there when the other baby got rescued because otherwise I would be going crazy wondering what happened to it. Now the younger baby will get the full attention from the parents. Louise said that 2 years ago both babies fell off the nest so I hope this last one stays put.

The next morning the monk parakeets were back on bottle brush tree.

A soft shell turtle was at the pond across the street from the nest. It looked like she was laying eggs.

Busy morning at the eagle’s nest

On April 24, 2023April 2, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography9 Comments

It was almost the end of February and I was still struggling to see the babies. The parent was just dropping off food now and the babies were eating on their own. At this point they still had some gray fuzz on their heads.

Things were still quiet at the nest. The oldest was screaming for food in the mornings before Dad dropped it off. Mom snoozed on the top of the tower when she wasn’t screaming at the opsrey for flying too close.

There are a lot of loud annoying birds nearby as I sit and wait for the baby eagles to wake up. There are a ton of mockingbirds and blue jays. The blue jays were gathering sticks for a nest.

The oleander bushes had started to bloom.

When I first got to the eagle’s nest I saw this squirrel popping in and out of this hole in the utility pole. I’m sure this hole has been used by many critters to nest I. I have also seen red bellied woodpeckers in here.

I hear this screaming behind me and turn around and see this nanday parakeet looking in the hole. I think the squirrel was still down in there but I couldn’t tell for sure. The parakeet was trying to get in there but kept backing out.

Now the parakeet was on the wire and joined by his mate. I got up off my chair and turned around thinking I might spook them away but they didn’t move. They were looking at me like “Yes, we see you but we’re not leaving”.

They stayed for a while, preening and mating several times. I guess that’s why they really want to use that hole in the pole for a nest. I’ll have to check back later to see what ended up using it.

Fly away little ones!

On May 30, 2022May 23, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

It was the third week in March and the parents were so busy bringing in food for their big growing babies.

Originally the parent landed on a lower part of the tower and seem to take a break before heading up to the nest. By the looks of the babies attacking the parent for food I can see why he hesitated. The parent brought in 3 meals within an hour this morning.

At the end of March I stopped by and saw both babies sitting high up in the tower with Mom (you can just see the head of one of the babies farther down). A few minutes after I got there the parent took off.

A few minutes later both babies took off flying down the field. I don’t think it was their very first full flight since they seemed confident in their flights. They flew pretty far away and circle around several times. It was amazing to see these babies going full flight down the utility field. I knew at that point that we would be empty nesters soon enough. They eventually landed on the top of tower next to the nesting tower and sat there for a while.

Here comes the parent with food and both babies headed back to the nest but not before making another circle around the area. For two weeks after this I would see them early in the morning high up in the tower and still getting fed by the parents. One morning only one baby was on the tower and when the parent came back to the nest with food the other baby was following him. I’m assuming he followed the parent out and was watching them and learning.

This was the last time I saw them sitting on the tower. It was just past middle of April. After this I saw them sitting several towers down and then they were gone by the end of April. I hope they are doing well, flying free! Now I have to wait until October to see the parents again.

An eagle family update

On May 16, 2022March 21, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In the middle of March my neighborhood eagle babies were as big as their parents. They were hopping around and moving around the tower near the nest.

One of the parents flew in with a squirrel and both babies attacked the parent. I’m sure both were hungry that morning. The older one usually gets to eat first.

The parent dropped of the meal and left. At this point they were bringing back several snacks each morning. These babies were eating a lot.

The younger one just sits there and watches his big sibling eat first. If there’s any left he’ll get the rest or wait for a parent to bring in more food.

A few days later it was dark and cloudy with a storm moving in so I stopped for a quick visit and caught one of the babies eating while the other was sitting high up in the tower. If the nest was in a tree this would be called branching, where they start hopping around from branch to branch but in this cause they are working their way up the tower.

Another week later and the oldest was still eating first. He eventually stopped and let the younger one eat but not without a “I can already fly” attitude.

A few minutes later a parent flew in with a small fish (in his left talon).

He dropped off the fish and took off again.

After a full meal everything was quiet for a while.

Getting some air

On May 7, 2022April 23, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Early March at the neighborhood eagle’s nest. One morning I got there and heard one of the parents screaming from a tree nearby. She left right after I snapped this and showed up at the nest later with a snack.

These were all in the first week of March. The oldest baby got to eat first and then the younger one got what was left. Most days several snacks were brought to the nest. One morning I was there for an hour and they brought in 2 fish and a squirrel.

After the eldest finished eating he was showing off his flight skills. He was getting pretty high up but his landing was always wobbly.

One of the parents flew off. Probably the Mom who had been there all night.

A week later I stopped by on a cloudy day. Rain was coming in but I wanted to see them before the storm hit. One of the babies was really enjoying his meal. It looked furry so I’m thinking a squirrel. Most of the earlier meals looked like fish.

A few days later and they were really getting some air. At this point both parents would be missing most of the morning. Only to stop by to drop off food for the babies.

Neighborhood Eagle watch Part 1

On March 26, 2022March 13, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I’ve been keeping an eye on my neighborhood eagles. They are in a high utility tower across from a field so they are pretty far away but I can get a good look at them and their lives. The above were taken in early February. I could still only see one baby. I couldn’t see the other baby laying down in the back. Mom was bringing in a fish for breakfast.

Ten days later I could see both babies. One of the parents had brought in a fish with a bunch of seaweed. At this point the parent was dropping off the food on the nest for the babies to eat on their own.

Five days later the babies were quietly sitting on the nest with one of the parents sitting on top of the tower. I heard the adult yelling and it looks like the other parent was flying in. I think she was yelling at him for being gone so long. “Where is breakfast?” She asks. They yelled for a few minutes and one took off with the other one flying off behind him. The kids are like “We are still hungry!”