All of the birds were eating breakfast

Posted on November 26, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was out for a walk at the end of September and the tide was super low. I could see the gulls eating some type of puffer fish that was stranded in the grass beds. Although I never did actually see the gulls eating them, they just kept picking them up and playing with them. Maybe they were waiting for them to deflate.

An osprey cruises by with a tiny fish in his feet.

The little blue heron was busy eating.

There were several snowy egrets looking for food.They look so pretty against the blue water.

This boat must have lost anchor during Hurrincane Ian. It’s still there, stranded near the Dunedin causeway. It’s in pretty bad shape at this point.

Dolphins doing zoomies.

Posted on December 14, 2019 by dinajohnston

It’s not easy getting close up shots of dolphins at the fishing pier. They pop up at random places and move so fast that they are gone before you can get your lens focused. If the light is bad and the water is dark, it’s hard to see them coming up. On a recent Saturday morning, the light was good and I could see them coming up fairly early. They were doing zoomies towards the pier since the bait fish were thick right under the pier. They were filling up on tiny appetizers.

A beautiful sunny morning, taken with my phone.

The usual birds were finding snacks.

I had stopped by the fishing pier at Fort Desoto before heading home to see if “Harry” the hybrid (great blue heron/great egret) was hanging around. He was still there in his usual spot but I got distracted by the dolphins and ended up leaving an hour later.

Dolphin day at Fort Desoto

Posted on October 19, 2019 by dinajohnston

Dolphins were swimming all around the fishing pier in late September.

This fishing boat came close to the pier to pull up some bait fish. It became clear that these guys didn’t really know what they were doing as they ended up hitting the pier and breaking several of the the fishing poles sticking up in their boat. All of the fishermen on the pier were giving them a hard time about getting stuck. They eventually got some bait pulled up and left.

Then they went out to the tower where the pelicans were peacefully sleeping. They got too close to the tower and scared all of the pelicans away. I hope they eventually got the hang of it, for the wildlife’s sake. Never a dull moment at Fort Desoto Park.

Scenes from south Florida

Posted on April 18, 2019 by dinajohnston

On the road to south Florida, this famous eyesore sits at the Yeehaw Junction right before the Florida turnpike exit.

Sitting poolside at Brett’s aunt and uncle’s winter condo, we had a nice dinner with the family, watching the dinner boats go by.

Construction cranes are everywhere here, including next to our hotel.

On the road to Hallendale Beach sits a big statue in the parking lot at the horse race track. After the statue, we turn right to head over the bridge to the beach.

We stopped by Hard Rock Hotel to see the new guitar shaped hotel going up. The last 2 are shots from the top of the parking deck. You can barely make out the skyline of the beach.

The road back to Tampa, we headed across Alligator Alley (I75). We never see alligators on this road though. Just miles of the above view.

SkyWatch Friday

Being a tourist in my own town.

Posted on January 31, 2019 by dinajohnston

When you’ve eating too much over Thanksgiving weekend and you have family in town, you head to the beach. Since the actual beach was too crowded and parking was impossible, my sister and I stopped at the Clearwater Beach marina and walked around for while. Looking at the big boats and enjoying the afternoon. I don’t get over to this area often, too crowded and congested. But, it’s fun to stop by once in a blue moon. It reminds me of coming to visit my grandparents as a child with my family.

We also stopped at Sand Key beach for a quick walk and found these above. They are going to submerge them in the gulf so the coral can grow on them.

SkyWatch Friday

South Florida

Posted on June 7, 2018 by dinajohnston

Late afternoon on Hallandale Beach, north of Miami. A quick walk before dinner.

Things on the beach. The beach was littered with Portuguese man o’ wars. I would not want to come close to one of these in the water. They are known to have a painful sting.

Tile on the walkway and hibiscus near the parking lot.

Big boats are common along the inter-coastal waterway.

Heading home before crossing Alligator Alley.

Some parting shots from our quick trip to south Florida to visit Brett’s relatives.

SkyWatch Friday

Another episode of “Being a Tourist on the Beach”

Posted on March 9, 2017 by dinajohnston

I rarely go to Clearwater Beach anymore. It’s very crowded and cost a fortune to park, if you can get a parking spot. Although, it is fun to go over every once in while to see what’s going on. Right after I picked up my sister from the airport we headed over to the beach to walk around. She had not been in several years. We were hoping to get a good sunset but dark clouds had moved in. I guess the weather had kept most people indoors because it wasn’t too crowded the Tuesday before Christmas. It was fun walking around the beach and marina.

SkyWatch Friday

A rare hybrid and the usual birds at Fort Desoto.

Posted on October 3, 2016 by dinajohnston

A reddish egret hanging around the fishing pier.

This is the rare hybrid that was seen recently hanging around the fishing pier. Local experts say it’s a cross between a great blue heron and a great egret. He’s got a great blue heron beak and body but legs of a great egret. I found him pretty easily right on the pier, looking for a handout like the other birds.

Great blue heron portrait.

An osprey flying by.

This snowy egret has found a good perch.

Someone caught a big one.

It’s always fun to guess where these big ships are going.

Another Saturday morning walk at the Fort Desoto fishing pier

Posted on December 17, 2015 by dinajohnston

I caught this kestrel flying over my head.

He flew over to the top of a pine tree.

Then a frigatebird flew close to the pier.

A juvenile hawk. He let me get pretty close.

The young reddish egret is still hanging around the pier. I’m beginning to wonder if this is a hybrid of some sort. Is it an offspring of a reddish egret and a white morph reddish egret?

A cormorant preening on a light post.

The osprey couple that nests near the Fort were hanging around together. If this warm weather keeps up this December, nesting season will be starting much earlier this year.

A usual sight at the pier. A big boat passing the lighthouse at Egmont Key.

Just another perfect day at the beach. SkyWatch Friday

A common bird in the Tampa Bay area

Posted on October 29, 2015 by dinajohnston

The osprey (or fish hawk) is a fairly common bird here At least for me. I see them in my neighborhood, on the bridges to and from work, in the parking lot at work and most of the parks that are near water. I was walking the trail at the east beach at Fort Desoto looking to see if the owls were back and all I could find were osprey. There are several nests along this trail that sits right on the beach so you can always find several here.