Tag: bald cypress trees

A two park morning

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

I found Pinky Nose again in early January. She was hanging out at the back boardwalk at Chesnut Park for weeks. She was not shy. I’m assuming people were feeding her.

The bald cypress trees at the end of the lake were still shedding their fall leaves. I pulled over and was on my way to get a shot of the sun coming through them when I saw the deer heading towards me so I backed off.

I was standing right off the trail and they walked right by me. They were so close so I took the above with my phone.

A quick video of them cruising by.

A pileated woodpecker was looking for bugs under the bark.

After my walk at Chesnut Park I stopped at nearby Possum Branch Preserve to look for cedar waxwings. I had heard there were a few there the day before. There was only one there on this morning. They are usually in flocks so it was weird to see just one. He had been feeding on the mulberries and was taking a break.

A palm warbler with a mulberry bite.

I spotted a Wilson’s snipe, a winter visitor, deep in the reeds. He popped his head out for a few seconds and I caught the above.

This big one was taking a nap on the bank. It looked like he was grinning at me.

It was sporting a necklace from the marsh. I was pretty far back and these were taken with my 400mm lens and cropped up. If I got any closer he would have taken a dive into the water. They are pretty shy here and usually jump in the water when someone is coming but I wouldn’t take any risks anyway.

A shot of him from across the pond. He had moved down closer to the water.

Saturday's Critters

Looks like spring in the fall

On By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants3 Comments

While most people up north may still have snow, this is what central Florida looks like now. These are from my trip to the Florida Botanical Gardens at the end of November. It was warm then and even though we had a few cold weeks it still looks like spring here now.

There were still a lot of blooms before winter here.

I love seeing the light up flamingos that are part of the holiday lights.

The bald cypress trees were just starting to shed their leaves.

I interrupted this blue jay trying to snack on the berries.

Parts of the gardens were still closed due to tree damage from the hurricanes.

My favorite trees here are the silk floss trees that bloom in the fall. There are two large ones here and this one in the parking lot is the smaller of the two as you can see by the shadow on the ground.

While it was past the blooming peak there were still a lot of the blooms on the tree.

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Christmas walk through the gardens

On By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

A non-birding friend wanted to go for a walk early one morning last week at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. I tagged along without my camera so all of these are taken with my phone. The Gardens does a big Christmas light show at night but it’s also fun to walk around during the day here and it’s not so crazy crowded. The big silk floss trees were nearing the end of their blooming. There were still a few blooms at the top of the tree but most were on the ground.

The bald cypress trees were changing color which made it almost feel like fall if it wasn’t so warm. We were walking around in shorts and t-shirts with the weather being in the high 70’s but at least the humidity was low.

The food stand left bags of popcorn out from the light festival the night before. The squirrel knocked one down and started to have a blast. He was going to have a tummy ache. Eventually his friends showed up and they had a popcorn party. I wasn’t going to stop them.

A small sample of some of the decorations. They had some of the lights still on which made it cool to see in the daylight.

The monarch butterfly let me get really close with my phone. She may have been laying eggs.

The giant milkweed plant in the butterfly garden was full of caterpillars.

I have made it to the light show at night over the years. You can see some of my older posts here and here.

SkyWatch Friday

Too early or too late?

On By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants9 Comments

In mid-November I went looking for some fall color near my home. I wasn’t expecting to find much but the bald cypress trees turn orange during this time so I was hoping I wasn’t too early or late. The trees at Kapok Park were mostly still green or had already lost their leaves. While there was only a hint of orange, the park still looked pretty with the lake surrounded by the cypress trees.

One of the many crooked trees at the park.

I can’t remember what this plant is but when the wind blows it looks like it’s snowing.

SkyWatch Friday

Is if fall yet?!?

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

The usual birds can be found on the boardwalk at Largo Nature Preserve. They are acclimated to people being around and the limpkin didn’t even fly off as I walked by.

This snowy egret looks like he is walking on water. He’s actually half skipping and half flying along the surface looking for bugs or fish in the water.

I had forgotten that northern shovelers hang out here in the winter although I rarely see males here. This time there were several males with their dark green faces.

Other critters include a butterfly and an otter that came out of the water far down the canal.

I stopped by Kapok Park on the way home to see if the cypress trees had turned orange. The small lake there is surrounded by them and can be quite a sight when they turn colors but this year they were mostly brown and had lost a lot of leaves already. Maybe it was due to the lack of rain we’ve had this fall. There was a hint of orange so it did feel a tiny bit like fall, even if it was 85 degrees in late November.

My Corner of the World

Circle B Bar Reserve

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I caught the barred owl just waking up from his morning nap at Circle B Bar Reserve in early March.

An osprey hovering close to the trail.

My favorite tree twins in the middle of the lake. Here it still was missing it’s leaves. Bald cypress trees lose their leaves in the winter here in central Florida.

The sun was already high up in the air by the time I walked down Marsh Rabbit Run.

A quiet early walk at Circle B Bar Reserve.

SkyWatch Friday

It’s starting to look like fall in mid- December.

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

The usual birds at  Chesnut Park in mid-December.

A sleepy alligator.

Color from across the lake. It finally looks like fall as the cypress trees start to turn.

The sun peaking through along the trail. These were taken with my phone.

It’s not often I see two pileated woodpeckers on the same tree. I took this with my phone since I couldn’t fit both of them in with my 300mm lens and I couldn’t back up into the swamp.

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