Baby critter season was in full swing.

On September 6, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

I made it back to the ruby throated hummingbird nest at Chesnut Park just in time to catch Mom feeding the little babies in early May. Zooming in with my 600mm lens I could see 2 tiny beaks peeking out over the top of the nest. Mom was feeding the one on the left in the 2nd shot.

This is an uncropped shot with my camera. The nest is across the river and up in a tree. I’m not sure who the first person was that found this nest. Talk about a needle in a haystack. I guess the hummingbird buzzed by them on the trail and they followed it with their eyes to the other side and saw it land.

I didn’t stay long at the nest. Walking along the boardwalk I spotted the usual birds, a limpkin and a male anhinga drying off his wings.

There’s always a lot of baby moorhens in the spring.

I was able to find the green frogs again since they were spending time near the small dock. An alligator was close by the frogs.

I ran into some friends on the back boardwalk and we were talking about how the 2nd raccoon family had moved from their original tree. I had not seen them yet and thought I would miss them. As we were looking around for the owl we saw this baby raccoon stick his head out of a hole. I took the above with my phone.

The Mom had moved her 3 babies to a tree farther down the boardwalk. We only got a look at the one baby but could hear some noises coming from the tree. I heard a few weeks later the family was seen moving around the area, the babies all grown up.

A doe was watching us take pictures of the raccoon.

Looking up at the trees I could see the sun was up high and it was time to go home.

When I got back to my car the above were feeding right in front of the parking area.

So many baby ducks

On May 31, 2022May 23, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Bees took over this owl nest box at Largo Nature Preserve. That’s a lot of bees! I don’t think they’ll stay there forever. I think they eventually move on but will they leave a mess behind?

Nanday parakeets high up in a tree. Maybe they are looking for a place to nest?

A young spoonbill taking a break from feeding along the channel.

It’s hard to believe it’s already the end of May. These were taken in mid-April and were the first baby moorhens I’ve seen this year. You know summer is here when the ponds fill up with these babies.

The ponds are full of water hyacinth.

The baby mallards are just too cute to not stop and take a ton of pictures.

Pretty things in early April

On May 18, 2020May 18, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Blooming things at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo.

Critters at the gardens.

Baby moorhens are popping up everywhere now.

Yes, the botanical gardens were open during the “Stay At Home” phase. Lucky for me most people must have thought they were closed because there was only a few other people there. Lots of space to move around in.

Watching some wild parrots.

On October 13, 2018September 4, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

As I was walking around the Largo Botanical Gardens thinking it was a slow quiet morning with not much to take pictures of, a flock of black hooded parakeets flew into the trees right over my head. They ignored me as I watched them preening and flirting. After a few minutes, they took off. That was the highlight of the morning.

Not much else at the gardens. I caught an anhinga sticking his head out of the water and the usual titmouse up in the tree.

Still lots of baby moorhens in July.

Lots of babies at Carillon Park.

On August 4, 2018August 6, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Two very young green herons were waiting for mom to come back with food. They were standing on the boardwalk rail. As soon as they saw mom come into the bushes they hopped back on the branches and headed deep in the bush to get fed.

A common moorhen family. There were at least 6 families along the ponds.

Young grackles and their parents were along the boardwalk.

The usual birds along the boardwalk, a blue jay, an osprey eating a fish on top of one of the office buildings and one of the many anhingas.

A walk around Carillon Park after work in early May.

Baby aliens have taken over the planet

On May 15, 2018May 15, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography9 Comments

My first alien sighting of the season. These are common moorhen babies. They are the funniest looking babies of all of the ducks and are pretty common around here. Moorhens have babies starting in early spring and all through the summer so I will see them everywhere but they are so funny looking that it makes them cute. From those little wings sticking out to their bald red heads, they have a lot of personality for such a tiny thing.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World,

A walk after work

On June 24, 2017June 15, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

I saw this lone spoonbill at the office park lake near my work. I noticed that his eye looked a little funny and he was banded. It seemed okay, just sleepy.

Not sure what these baby mallards were trying to eat. Just like a baby, everything goes in the mouth.

A moorhen Mom with a few new babies.

Some very young grackles waiting for Mom to come back with food.

A male grackle shining in the sun.

The usual stuff at Chesnut Park.

On July 25, 2016July 26, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

A very young titmouse. His beak isn’t fully developed and he does not have that touch of peach color on him yet.

Baby moorhens were near the dock with Mom.

The usual deer near my parking spot in the back of the park.

A red bellied woodpecker looking around.

A small gator under the dock.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

Almost grown babies at Circle B Bar Reserve

On July 29, 2015July 19, 2015 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Baby moorhens at different ages. All born this spring.

A juvenile green heron across the marsh. He still had the baby white fuzz on his head and tail. He was unsteady walking around on that branch.

Daddy cardinal was feeding his baby a chewed on green caterpillar. Yum!

A few of the babies at Circle B Bar Reserve in late June. My last trip for the summer was a hot one. I didn’t see as many babies as I had hoped. I was a little late for the early spring babies. Baby hawks and sandhill cranes were already grown up and gone. The above were still good to stumble upon.

A little bit of cuteness.

On May 23, 2015May 23, 2015 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

It’s that time of the year. The moorhen babies with the big feet show up everywhere. This family with two babies that were growing up fast where hanging around the edge of the lake with white ibis, ducks and swans.

Two baby ducks that were orphans were close by. They seemed to be doing okay without any parents.

Baby mallard ducks were trying to nap under the bush.

One swan Mom was raising her babies in one of the fenced off areas. That way they are protected from predators including hawks and other mean swans.

Little critters flying around the lake.

I stopped by Lake Morton in Lakeland on my way home from another park to see if there were any baby ducks or swans. A few of both were found. Not a big baby boom going on in early May but enough to keep the cuteness going.