New birds in the muck

Posted on September 9, 2023 by dinajohnston

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.

Sleeping shorebirds

Posted on January 28, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was a quiet morning on the Dunedin causeway and I noticed a lot of sleeping shorebirds. After my walk I got my camera out of my car and started snapping the shorebirds. I found a lone black bellied plover mixed in with a lot of dowitchers. When I cropped this up I noticed the little dunlin on the right.

I usually only see large flocks of laughing gulls here so it was great to see all of the dowitchers sleeping together. Some were trying to nap and some were feeding. There were a few dunlins and ruddy turnstones mixed in as well.

My camera could only catch a small portion of them at a time.

Some were flying in and out of the sleeping group.

A little farther down the beach I found a lone skimmer.

A pelican cruises right above the water.

Growing up a skimmer

Posted on September 10, 2019 by dinajohnston

In mid-July the baby black skimmers were growing up quickly and heading out on their own. Many were already down at the water line and practicing their wing flaps.

There were still a few younger ones including the one on the left with a young royal tern and much older juvenile skimmer on the right.

Soon the babies will start flying and leave along with the parents and then all that’s left on the beaches are those annoying laughing gulls, looking to steal some kid’s sandwich or chips.

A small part of the skimmer army, lined up along the water.

Photographing New Zealand

Those cute little sand babies

Posted on August 20, 2019 by dinajohnston

This baby was begging Mom to go get a fish. He was hungry, biting the parent’s beak and legs.

So many mouths to feed.

This one above appeared hungry but realized he would not be able to get that big fish down. After a few minutes he just sat down and wouldn’t take the fish from the parent. Maybe the parent had already fed them. The fish ended up in the sand.

It took this one a while but he eventually got it down.

After a while all of the babies were napping.

Another bumper crop of black skimmer babies this summer on the beaches in the Tampa bay area. So many babies and the parents were flying back and forth with tiny bait fish to feed them. I always wonder how the parents can find their own babies in a sea of little birds.

Photographing New Zealand

Fish for breakfast part 2

Posted on October 27, 2018 by dinajohnston

More pictures of the baby skimmers eating their breakfast in July.

Fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Posted on October 9, 2018 by dinajohnston

All of the baby skimmers were screaming for fish.

Parents were flying in with breakfast.

All the babies were swallowing the fish whole. Although, I don’t think that’s a fish in that last picture. I think he was trying to eat some random item on the beach.

It’s interesting how each parent can find their own babies among the many babies all huddled nearby. The adults were very aggressive, some trying to steal fish from other babies to feed to their own babies.

More shots from my morning with the baby skimmers on the beach in late July.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World.

Out on the beach in the summer

Posted on September 15, 2018 by dinajohnston

I hadn’t been out on the beach for a long walk all summer. In late July, I headed out for a walk to get some fresh air and hopefully a cool breeze coming off the gulf. My main reason for going though was to look for skimmer babies. I hadn’t been out to see them in 2 years. I saw the above as I started my walk.

After a while I saw some skimmers soaring over the beach and finally made it to the skimmer nesting area.

The black skimmers nest right on the beach and there were a lot of babies at all different ages.

The baby skimmers have a tough time growing up. Besides sibling rivalry, there are so many other dangers. Gulls and crows will fly in and snatch the tiny ones if the parents aren’t guarding them. The beaches are full of tourist and the baby skimmers blend into the sand. They could get stepped on. Kids like to chase the birds and make them fly off which leaves the babies exposed. A really bad storm could flood the beach and the babies can’t fly off or swim yet. So many hurdles.

The view from the water. There are a group of volunteer bird stewards that rope off the nesting areas to keep people from stepping on the babies. They guard the area during the busy times and answer any questions that curious tourists may have about the skimmers. And yes, those are volleyball nets in the back so the babies could also get knocked out by a stray volleyball. I took a ton of pictures in the hour I was there so more to come on these cuties.

Learning to swim and skim.

Posted on October 1, 2016 by dinajohnston

I was fortunate enough to spend a few minutes on a Saturday morning this summer watching baby skimmers learning to do things that adult skimmer do. They were trying to imitate what their parents were doing. Getting their feet wet and trying to figure out what all the fuss was about putting your beak in the water. Soon they’ll be experts at it themselves.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

The cutest babies of all

Posted on August 6, 2016 by dinajohnston

“I am Skippy the Skimmer and I am the cutest one here.”

“Me first.”

“This is my fish.”

“I’m Sparky the Skimmer and I am a little bit older. I’m starting to get color in my feathers and my beak is getting longer.”

“Where’s my Mom? You’re not suppose to bother me, Least tern.” said the baby skimmer. “But you look tasty and I’m hungry” said the juvenile Least tern.

“Stay away from my baby!” said the adult skimmer.

“You stay away as well”

“I’m sticking close to mom”.

“Who me? I’m not going anywhere.”

“Mom, where’s my fish?”

“I pretend to be brave but now I’m scared and running to hide under Mom.”

“I’m Stanley, one of the oldest babies skimmers here. I’m almost grown up and just learning to fly. I’m also learning to brake.”

I didn’t make it to see the baby black skimmers until late July. I was expecting to see them all grown up but this was a late year and there were still many tiny babies. The babies have a lot against them. Between the tourists getting too close, the crows and laughing gulls trying to get a meal and the risk of high tide, it’s a hard knock life for a little bird. If the tiny babies wander away from the roped off area, a tourist could easily not see him blending into the sand and step on him. If we get another bad storm like Colin back in early June, the tide could get too high and the little babies can’t swim yet or fly away. But, hopefully most make it through. I took so many pictures of these cute little guys so there are tons more to come.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

Arguing over a little fish

Posted on August 10, 2015 by dinajohnston

Back in late July, I was able to stop by the black skimmer nesting site after work. The sun was out and it was a beautiful night. I got there just in time for dinner. Adult skimmers were flying back and forth with fish for the babies. Many of the siblings were fighting over who got the fish. It’s amazing how those fish can fit in those tiny stomachs. Made me want to head home for dinner.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing