All of the usual winter critters

On March 21, 2026April 10, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I wasn’t expecting to find anything new at the Largo Nature Preserve in early December. I did find some usual wintering birds including a blue-gray gnatcatcher and a yellow rumped warbler.

Yellow crowned night herons hang out along the boardwalk that circles the small lake. Years ago they nested here but I haven’t seen any nests in a long time.

A female blue winged teal is common here in the winter.

Northern shovelers are occasionally seen here in the winter. There were several males and females on this morning.

A pied grebe was running away.

I found some tiny critters trying to hide on the leaves.

The bald cypress trees were starting to show their fall colors.

Looking for a ghost

On February 26, 2025March 7, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

Right before Thanksgiving weekend I was back out at Roosevelt Wetlands (next to the county waste plant in Pinellas county). I was hoping to see the northern harriers that spend their winters at the reserve. I had heard they were back but didn’t see them the week before.

Dragonflies were still out and about since it hadn’t gotten cold yet.

The usual winter birds were there including tons of blue-gray gnatcatchers and eastern phoebes.

A great blue heron flies by and lands in the marsh in front of me.

A wood stork cruises by.

Some friends and I walked to the other end of the marsh. It was an hour later and we still hadn’t seen any harriers. We got about half way back and Lorraine decided to take the middle trail back to her car. I was standing around watching the little birds when I saw her waving her arms from across the trail.

The male harrier (also called the gray ghost) had just flown by.

After flying down the channel outside of the reserve he circled back and came right over my head. I was glad I hung back to watch the little birds and was glad I saw her waving at me.

A 2nd look at the western flycatcher.

On April 25, 2024April 25, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I went back to Sand Key Park (in Clearwater) in early February to see if I could spot the rare western flycatcher that has been hanging around there for several months. I had heard it was still there but finding it wouldn’t be easy. I didn’t get there super early. It was after 8 and just a few minutes after I arrived I saw it in the bushes. On my last trip I briefly saw the back of it and then searched for it for an hour without seeing it again so I was happy to see it so quick this trip.

There were usual birds there as well. A lot of catbirds and blue gray gnatchatchers.

After finding the flycatcher so quickly I decided to leave and stopped on the causeway to get a short walk in over the bridge. Halfway up I stopped and took the above. Sand Key is on the left of the bridge in the distance and Clearwater Beach is on the right.

Since I was in Clearwater I stopped at Lake Bellview. I heard there was a canvasback duck there. It would not have been a lifer but I haven’t seen one in years. All I could find was redheads and ring neck ducks.

I did find a gadwall (the gray one in the middle) floating around with some ring neck ducks. I haven’t seen one of the those in years.

The rainbow bird and a new one

On February 29, 2024February 17, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

There were reports of a new bird in town. He had been there for several days so I headed over to Sand Key Park to take a look. The above looks like the new bird but it’s just a plain ole eastern phoebe. He was sitting out in the open when I got to the park.

I walked around the area and ran into another couple also looking for the new bird. They had just found it and it popped out for a few seconds. I managed the above quick shot before he went back in the bushes. The western flycatcher (formally know as the pacific slope flycatcher) should not be on this side of the country. He shouldn’t be on this side of Texas. Somehow he must have gone to far to the left when he was migrating south for the winter. He’s still there but it will be interesting to see if he leaves during spring migration. I spent another hour looking for him again but he stayed hidden in the bushes.

While I was waiting for the flycatcher to make another appearance this painted bunting flew right in front of me. What??? He sat there out in the open for a while. I didn’t see any females around or any other males.

He hopped around feeding in the seed for a while and was not shy at all.

There was also a ton of blue gray gnatcatchers.

I walked over to the end of the beach area and noticed it was starting to get cloudy. I could see the tourist pirate ship heading back towards the marina just past the bridge.

A quick snap of the view of Clearwater beach south end. It was cold and there wasn’t too many people out.

Soon there won’t be an inch of space left on Clearwater beach to build on. They keep tearing down the few remaining old 2 story Mom & Pop motels who don’t stand a chance anymore and are building high rises. Sleepy Clearwater beach now looks like Ft Lauderdale beach (and cost almost as much to park here).

A drizzly morning walk

On February 26, 2024April 19, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

I don’t hate foggy dreary days. It’s the only time it feels like winter here in central Florida. I’d rather it not drizzle though when I’m out walking around with my camera. I got to the Roosevelt Wetlands in late November when it was foggy but as I started walking down the trail it starting to drizzle (or spit as my Dad used to say). I just put my hood over my head and kept walking.

I could see a bunny up ahead on the trail in the middle of the goldenrod. Most of the goldenrod was starting to fade here.

There was a redhead duck couple swimming away from the usual mallards, coots and moorhens. They stayed on the other side of the pond.

In the middle of the pond a coot was being chased away by some moorhens.

The grackles were keeping the anhingas company on the dead snag.

Even without the sun shining on him the grackle was showing off his pretty colors.

A female grackle also looking pretty on the alligator flag (thalia) plants.

I can’t ignore the blue gray gnatcatchers.

A sora rail was hiding in the reeds along the bank.

It drizzled on and off while I was there. The sun was trying to peek through the clouds when I was leaving.

A loggerhead shrike was sitting close to the trail. He was a little wet.

The sun was about to come out on the way home so I stopped at Possum Branch Preserve for a quick walk. It was pretty quiet but there was a lone redhead floating in the main pond.

More of the same

On December 11, 2023April 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

More of the same from my walk in late September. I was heading into Chesnut Park for a quick visit and I saw a fawn walking towards the woods. I snapped the above quickly through the window before it was gone.

When I got to the area to park there were several deer hanging out in the playground. I had just parked and they started walking towards me (I was between them and some woods). They slowly walked by and headed into the woods. They were not in a hurry.

I immediately found several female American redstarts on the boardwalk. They were not shy and came down pretty low in the trees.

Some of the usual birds, a blue jay and a blue gray gnatcatcher.

You would think it was fall by this picture but I think the maple leaves were turning red due to the extreme drought. It was still so hot in late September. They were pretty though.

A squirrel eating some yummy berries.

I ran into some more deer as I was walking the trail through the woods.

It still looked and felt like summer everywhere else in the park but the trees provided some much needed shade. Most of the trails and boardwalks here are shaded which makes it a good spot to walk when it’s sunny and hot.

Most of the small docks over the lake have roofs which also keeps the heat down.

We’re heading into the middle of December and now it’s much cooler here. Even if it warms up to 80 degrees in the late afternoon the mornings are in the 60’s and it’s so nice to be out this time of year. It’s that time of the year when people are posting pictures of snow in their yard and we are just happy to be wearing long sleeves!

Spring in the backyard

On May 22, 2023April 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

I haven’t seen blue-gray gnatcatchers in the backyard in a long time. This was early April. I was sitting outside enjoying the cool weather and this one came down close and was singing away.

I was pretty excited to see indigo buntings in the backyard. Brett and I were watching tv one Sunday afternoon and I look over and see one on the bird bath. I was able to sneak over to the window and snap the first shot before he flew off. Then I went outside and was able to get the 2nd shot of one up in the tree before they both took off.

The lone turkey has still been visiting and taking naps in the backyard. I wonder if she was scoping out places to nest.

I could see a hawk on the other side of the fairway.

The lizards were showing off for the ladies.

I realized that our wall outside had a lot of these caterpillars. They are tussock moth caterpillars. They are known to eat your plants but we didn’t really notice any damage to the few we had in the back.

One morning I saw one of the caterpillars spinning what looked like a web over his body and I ran out and took the 1st picture. Later that day it was completely covered. I counted 16 of these on the back wall.

A few weeks later I saw a few of these on the windows. I don’t think a lot of the cocoons hatched though.

The gardenia bush was full in early April and I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them. I just wish the pictures captured the smell.

January visit to the “Bar”

On March 28, 2022March 20, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I was finally back out at Circle B Bar Reserve in late January. I hadn’t been since the middle of December. I missed the trails.

The “hot” bird to get at that time was the male northern harrier (or gray ghost as some people called him). I had gotten some extremely far away pictures in December (pin dots really) and was hoping to get a little closer this time. He still stayed far out in the marsh this trip as well but made a few quick passes closer to the trail. He’s cruising along the marsh looking for food (lizards, etc).

I could see a few hogs out in the marsh as well. I call them Oreos since they have the color pattern of Oreo cookies.

I’m not sure what this was. Some type of insect nest on the bushes?

The usual birds were there: woodstork, night heron, blue gray gnatcatcher, yellow rumped warbler and a pied grebe.

They were spraying some type of chemical to get rid of invasive plants. I hate seeing this. Especially here.

Cute squirrel in the parking lot when I got back to my car.

The moon was still up

On November 22, 2021March 16, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

There’s something magical about being at Circle B Bar Reserve when the sun is coming up. Besides it not being crowded or hot yet, the birds and critters are very active this early in the morning. It was my first time back since April and it felt good to be out on the trails. I usually don’t come during the summer because it is so hot and the main trails are closed due to alligators nesting on them.

Turning around, I could see the moon still up in the sky.

Of course I had to stop and take pictures of my favorite spot before heading down the trails. The last one is with my phone and you can see how big the marsh is on this trail.

The great blue heron was sitting right on the trail. I walked right under him and he didn’t move. I stopped and snapped the 2nd one with my phone so you can see how close he was.

After passing him I turned around to see if he had flown off. Nope, he’s still there watching the sun come up.

A few fly bys. A night heron and a pair of cormorants.

Some of the tiny birds, a common yellowthroat (who looks more like a masked bandit) and some blue gray gnatcatchers.

Lake Morton and Circle B Bar Reserve

On March 15, 2021March 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I do have sad news. Morty, the wild turkey that had been living at Lake Morton for a few months was found dead in the lake. He made it long past Thanksgiving and Christmas. I haven’t heard what had caused it but that’s a tough lake to live on. So many aggressive swans and muscovy ducks there. No one ever said where he came from, he just showed up at the lake and stayed for a while. I had taken the above in early December.

Ducks were already getting frisky in early December even though we still had a cold spell to get through.

This morning it was dark and cloudy and I was standing at the lake watching the ducks when an eagle fly by. Since the lake was quiet, I left and headed over to Circle B Bar Reserve.

It was a quiet morning. A swamp sparrow came out from the bushes and the trail was full of blue gray gnatcatchers as usual.

Nothing new on the trail this morning. It wasn’t until a visit in late January that I saw a new bird but more on that later.

I did see this mom and her two almost grown kids just walking down the trail. They would stop and sniff into the bushes but then pop back out on the trail and continue to cruise. Raccoon butts are so cute! They stayed in front of me on the trail for a while.