Lots of ladies in the park

On April 20, 2026April 4, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals5 Comments

The welcoming committee at Chesnut Park in early January. I was driving in and saw them and pulled over to take a few pictures before heading to the back of the park for a walk. They looked over at me for a second and then went on feeding.

“Get out of the road, Lady. I got a walk to do.”

Out on the dock a purple gallinule was looking for food in the spadderdock leaves.

Gingerbread (named by the regular walkers at the park) is a domesticated duck that was probably someone’s pet and was dumped in the park. She seemed to be doing okay for a while and rescuers were trying to get her so I’m not sure what her status is.

Birds in the bushes above are a red bellied woodpecker and a yellow-rumped warbler.

I found a ruby-crowned kinglet hopping around with the other birds. I don’t see these birds often. The last time I saw one was in 2015. What a cute tiny bird.

A red shoulder hawk looking back at me.

An anhinga posing (actually drying off her wings) on top of the shelter roof.

A lady watching me from the dry swamp. She was so close I took this with my phone.

Lots of ladies as I was pulling out of my parking spot. No males around this morning.

Fighting bucks

On March 28, 2026April 10, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals3 Comments

I have only gotten a few fleeting glimpses of this big guy at Chesnut Park recently. I was there early one morning in early December and saw him running through the woods off the back boardwalk.

I came off the boardwalk and was on the dirt trail when I heard a commotion in the woods. I went in a little ways and hid behind a tree and caught him and a slightly younger buck going at it. I couldn’t get any closer (not that I would have wanted to) so all I got are a few blurry shots of them locking antlers. They fought for just a minute and then the younger buck ran off and the older one went deeper into the woods.

A lady standing in front of the boardwalk.

The usual birds were a titmouse and a chickadee.

Spatterdock in the lake.

This cute pied grebe would flap her wings when coming up after a dive to get the excess water off.

I passed another lady on the trail.

This guy was not shy. I think this is the one fighting the bigger buck.

We were still in drought mode and the swamp was dry and full of the dead cypress leaves.

Get to the park early

On January 24, 2026January 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

The welcoming committee at Chesnut Park. If you get there before 8am you can see lots of deer. As more people come into the park the deer start to head for the woods and disappear. I took the above with my phone out the car window in mid-October. The babies had lost their spots but were still smaller than the Moms.

A young buck was near the back of the park where I park my car.

These ladies (and one buck) were making their way towards the woods in the back of the park.

I didn’t see a lot of birds but managed to find a wintering female indigo bunting and a usual chickadee showing off.

I’m assuming this is a comfortable spot for this guy above.

Looking out over the lake.

More deer before leaving. I saw 18 deer this morning which is a lot. I usually only see a few each trip.

So many spots

On November 29, 2025November 14, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

At the end of August I made another late afternoon drive through at Chesnut Park, hoping to see more of those cute spots. There were a lot of deer along the back wooded line of the ball field including the guy above.

Then I saw 4 fawns playing together at the farthest end of the field. I think this was a big year for baby deer.

After a few minutes they all headed into the woods so I continued my drive through the park.

At the other end of the park I found a Mom and baby.

I sat in my car and watched them feed on a beauty berry bush.

Then I found 2 more at the far corner of the park. These two were also playing and then one crossed in front of my car.

This lady was alone and I waited for her to cross the bridge and go onto the trail before passing by as I headed home. This was a fun afternoon.

This never gets old.

On November 15, 2025October 31, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

I was making many trips to Chesnut Park in late August. There isn’t much else to get excited about since it’s so hot here and birds are scarce. The fawns here are such a treat to see and they grow up so fast. I stopped in late one afternoon and the park was almost deserted (way too hot and I drove through instead of walking) so the deer were out along the street through the park.

This little one was old enough now to hang out with the whole herd including a buck.

After leaving the park I drove through a nearby neighborhood and saw this couple feeding in someone’s yard. For some reason the deer sightings in my neighborhood have been very scarce and this is the first summer in 4 years I haven’t seen any babies in our neighborhood.

These two ladies were taking a break.

A hot summer walk in the park

On November 1, 2025October 31, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals1 Comment

Another early morning walk at Chesnut Park in early August to look for baby deer.

I didn’t see any out on the ball field but when I drove to the back to park my car I came across this family right in front of my parking spot.

I saw this cutie once I got on the boardwalk. I had heard people were feeding the baby raccoons earlier this summer and now it’s evident with this guy walking up to the boardwalk to see if I have a snack for him instead of scurrying away. There are signs all over the park to not feed the wildlife and people are keeping an eye out for anyone that does.

I got a quick peek at a baby that gave me a parting glance as she followed Mom deeper in the woods.

Only the usual year-round birds are here in the summer including little tufted titmouse. They also come up close to see if you have some seed for them.

The water on the lake was still and quiet.

While on the dock an osprey flew by with a half eaten fish being chased by a red shoulder hawk.

A tiny critter taking a break in the shade.

Color along the boardwalk. I think the bottom shot is poison oak.

More fawns in the park.

On October 25, 2025October 24, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

I was back at Chesnut Park in early August hoping to see more baby deer. This time of year there isn’t much in the parks except mosquitoes and deer flies so it’s a good reason to load up on bug spray and get out for a walk. I got there early and first stopped at the baseball field. Across the field I could see some adults including one male.

Close to the woods I saw a Mom and her baby. They were looking at something from the other direction of the woods.

Here comes another Mom and baby. They seemed to know each other and greeted each other with sniffs.

All of a sudden many adults appeared from the woods and started to feed and ignored the babies.

The babies were playing and chasing each other. It was such a treat to sit on the sidelines and watch them having fun together across the field. I had my 400mm lens and these are all cropped up.

This lopsided young guy walked right up to me and I kept backing up. I’m sure someone is feeding them which is highly discouraged and there are signs saying it is illegal to do so.

I walked over to the other side of the ball field and could see another baby near the maintenance area.

This handsome guy stopped to glance at me for a few minutes in between eating. More people were starting to show up and the deer started to make their way into the woods so I left to walk the back boardwalk.

A morning walk along the trail

On October 20, 2025November 9, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, flowers and plants4 Comments

It was mid-June and hot on the morning I went for a walk at Chesnut Park. I didn’t take my camera thinking there wouldn’t be too many birds around and the baby deer hadn’t been born yet. I was playing around with some of the settings on my phone to capture the above along the trail.

Some type of mushroom growing on a dead tree. It was huge.

More shots along the trail.

This squirrel came too close. People have been feeding them and the squirrels are aggressive here.

Views of the lake.

The buttonbush was blooming.

This looks like a good place to take a break.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

This Bambi has a Mom

On October 11, 2025October 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

In mid-July I was up early and out at Chesnut Park hoping to see some little fawns. It’s best to get there well before 8am because the deer start disappearing into the woods when all of the walkers and joggers show up. It was 7:30 and I was not expecting to see any but as soon as I drove into the park there was a family in front of the baseball field.

I pulled into a parking spot and got out with my camera and hid behind a tree. The baby was staying close to Mom.

There were several does with the Mom and baby and they were busy feeding.

Oh! I think baby saw me. Eventually as more people showed up at the park the family heading into the woods behind the ball field. I left to walk the boardwalks.

A quick walk on the trail and I didn’t see too many birds.

On the back boardwalk I saw a young buck and a doe walking along side of the boardwalk. The buck looked at me funny and I realized they were looking for a place to duck under the boardwalk to get to the other side. I think it was right under where I was standing. I moved down and they went under and disappeared deep into the woods.

Saturday's Critters

Not yet “purple” kids

On September 27, 2025September 27, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

In late May I was back at Chesnut Park hoping to see the almost grown raccoon families hanging around the boardwalks. All I saw was the above. Someone was sleeping in with his foot hanging out of the hole.

This turtle was laying eggs just off the trail. Unfortunately those eggs are going to be an easy meal for the raccoons to find, if not the crows.

I had heard there were purple gallinule babies along the lake but at first all I saw was one adult just off the dock.

I came off the dock and walked around the lake near the edge and saw the above almost hidden in the shade near some trees. This baby was almost as big as the parent. He was a little skittish so I hid in the bushes for a while.

Mom showed up with a spadderdock bloom and started feeding it to her young one.

She grabbed another bloom and that’s when I realized she had 2 kids to feed. She stayed busy for a while although the older one might have already been feeding himself. He was off by himself looking for food most of the time. Luckily we were off in a hidden corner of the lake and no one came around to scare them off while I was there.

An almost hidden alligator. I could just barely make out his black back through the ferns. I was on the raised boardwalk so I wasn’t too concerned if he woke up.