All lush and green, this was taken in early April before the drought started taking a toll on the marsh.
I did not change the color on this glossy ibis. They were in their breeding feathers and the colors were so deep. When the sun hits them you can really see the patterns.
So many purple gallinules lately. They are so much fun to watch.
One lone baby limpkin. Mom was close by looking for food.
Far out in the marsh, this great egret caught a stick with his fish.
Mom moorhen feeding the baby.
Now that’s lunch! He caught the fish but then moved locations. I caught him right as he was swallowing it.
I caught this squirrel eating right next to the hummingbird feeder.
The only decent shot I got. I forgot to bring my tripod and even though I had my monopod, the light was awful. The feeder was in the shade so I wasn’t able to get a good picture of the hummer hovering over the feeder.
Bug on a ball. Lettuce Lake Park in north Tampa was quiet on a Saturday morning in late June. So I did what any respectable birder would do. I left and went somewhere else.
Twin Lakes is not a park. Just a lake at the entrance to a subdivision in what I call is the boonies. This subdivision should win a prize for one of the top birding neighborhood spots in Tampa. Constant traffic, dog walkers and joggers going around this little lake. The first thing I spotted was a baby moorhen.
A mom and younger baby was close by.
The baby was getting a bite from Mom. It’s funny to see his little wings go so fast when he was getting his food.
The above juvenile grackle was chasing after his parent for food.
I had heard there were baby purple gallinules at the lake. I first saw the adults coming out of the leaves right in the middle of the pond.
Then I saw three tiny black dots. These are highly cropped taken with my 300mm lens.
The parents stayed close to the babies.
Walking around, the parent must have been looking for food.
The baby is so tiny. He could only be a few days old. There must have been another family with older babies because I had read about them over a week earlier.
I don’t know what that was she had in her mouth but it didn’t look like food.
Not too bad for a walk around two different parks. Even though it’s summer and hot and not many birds around, there’s still a lot to see out there.
