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.

Cute little ones in the woods

On September 13, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

It was late May in the woods in the park near my house. Early in the morning I found a barred owl sleeping on a tree close to the boardwalk. You couldn’t miss her. I snapped a quick shot and kept going.

As I got a little farther a young one was sitting on a tree, also close to the boardwalk. The baby was busy preening but stopped for a second and stared at me.

I made my way to the end of the boardwalk and turned around. When I was coming back the parent owl was just waking up. Again, I snapped a quick shot and kept going since people were starting to crowd up on the boardwalk and get pictures with their phones.

Deep in the reeds along the lake a juvenile grackle was begging for Mom to feed her.

I found one of the frogs again.

As I was watching the frog a few birds went by including the tricolored heron in the first shots and the limpkin in the last shot. I was hoping they didn’t get the frog.

A juvenile limpkin was getting a snail snack from Mom.

Mom fed this young one several times. The baby looks like Mom but is much smaller. They eat a lot of apple snails that grow in abundance here.

An osprey flies by with a fish.

The summer rains hadn’t started and the swamp area was dried up. There is usually a pond here.

Baby critter season was in full swing.

On September 6, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

I made it back to the ruby throated hummingbird nest at Chesnut Park just in time to catch Mom feeding the little babies in early May. Zooming in with my 600mm lens I could see 2 tiny beaks peeking out over the top of the nest. Mom was feeding the one on the left in the 2nd shot.

This is an uncropped shot with my camera. The nest is across the river and up in a tree. I’m not sure who the first person was that found this nest. Talk about a needle in a haystack. I guess the hummingbird buzzed by them on the trail and they followed it with their eyes to the other side and saw it land.

I didn’t stay long at the nest. Walking along the boardwalk I spotted the usual birds, a limpkin and a male anhinga drying off his wings.

There’s always a lot of baby moorhens in the spring.

I was able to find the green frogs again since they were spending time near the small dock. An alligator was close by the frogs.

I ran into some friends on the back boardwalk and we were talking about how the 2nd raccoon family had moved from their original tree. I had not seen them yet and thought I would miss them. As we were looking around for the owl we saw this baby raccoon stick his head out of a hole. I took the above with my phone.

The Mom had moved her 3 babies to a tree farther down the boardwalk. We only got a look at the one baby but could hear some noises coming from the tree. I heard a few weeks later the family was seen moving around the area, the babies all grown up.

A doe was watching us take pictures of the raccoon.

Looking up at the trees I could see the sun was up high and it was time to go home.

When I got back to my car the above were feeding right in front of the parking area.

A two nest morning

On August 23, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals5 Comments

I did not find this ruby throated hummingbird nest on my own. It became a well known nest once it was spotted and at first I heard there were tons of people there to get shots of it so I waited several weeks before going.

I took the above with my phone. The nest was off the trail and across the wide creek. It’s in the red star area. I brought my heavy 600mm lens and the first shot is heavily cropped. There had been several hummingbirds buzzing around the area and I guess some people watched them fly across the creek to the nest.

Just down from the hummingbird nest was a raccoon nest. This nest was easy to spot. The tree was almost up against the boardwalk and Mom would sleep hanging out of the hole as her babies got bigger.

I heard there were 3 babies in that hole but after waiting over an hour I only got a quick glimpse of one baby when Mom was moving around.

Mom came back outside the hole and entertained us for a few minutes before going back to sleep.

I made a quick lap around the park before leaving and saw one of the eagles in the usual spots.

Wading critters near the dock.

A morning walk at Chesnut Park

On July 19, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In mid-April I was out for a walk at Chesnut Park early in the morning. I parked my car and was walking towards the trail and these two ladies came cruising over the bridge and onto the trail I was heading for. I followed them to the boardwalk and they went into the woods.

I saw 2 young barred owls sitting in the same tree. The one on the far left kept his back to me the entire time. The one on the right was leaning over, almost upside down. I think that was how he was sleeping. I’m not sure how comfortable that is.

Mom was sleeping in a nearby tree.

A wintering coot that hadn’t left yet was eating some grass from the lake.

Looking out on one of the docks I caught sight of two baby wood ducks. They were swimming quickly towards the reeds.

Then I realized there was a family of wood ducks up against the reeds. They floated just outside the reeds for a while and then headed back into hiding.

The above was taken with my phone. This is where the baby ducks were hiding.

Tree swallows were flying around overhead.

A grackle was yelling at something, something they do often.

Dragonflies were everywhere.

The lake was calm and quiet.

Saturday's Critters

Babes in the woods

On July 12, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

As soon as I walked up to this tree these 2 heads popped out. I wasn’t the first to see these juvenile pileated woodpeckers. This was a known nest and was easy to find. I didn’t get to the park until the babies were almost grown though. I had heard there were big crowds watching when they were much smaller so I waited until the frenzy wore off.

Mom came in several times to feed them.

Once the parent left to go get more food the babies would quiet down for a while until the parent came flying back in and then the screaming started back up. This was Dad flying in (only the males have a red streak across their cheek).

We were quietly waiting for a parent to fly back when we heard some banging on the ground right in front of us. Dad was banging around looking for bugs.

He was right at our feet and I took the above video with my phone.

One more feeding from Mom and I was ready to go home and eat lunch. These babies fledge a few days later.

A new owl family

On July 7, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I was thinking I had missed the baby owl season when I went for a walk at Chesnut Park in early April. There was a 2nd barred owl family and my timing was pretty good. Both babies were right on the boardwalk.

The oldest baby was so cute, looking around at everything with such curiosity.

Mom was nearby watching both babies.

The younger baby was just a little bit fuzzier than it’s older sibling and was sitting lower in another tree. I waited a short while to see if Mom would get some food and feed them but they all stayed in their spots so I headed down the boardwalk to see what else I could find.

A rabbit was chomping on the grass out in the field.

The lake looked good enough to jump in but I knew it was filled with alligators. Yes, people ski on this lake but they say the alligators stay close to the edges in the quiet spots. I wouldn’t risk it.

A few fly overs included a swallow tail kite and a great egret.

This limpkin had a yummy snack. He had pulled the meat out of an apple snail and was gulping it down in pieces.

Before leaving I stopped by the owl area again and the babies had moved farther back into the woods. I saw Mom sitting on a branch right up against the trail. Then I noticed a squirrel was on the same branch farther down and was climbing up near the owl. They were so close I took the above with my phone.

A short video of the squirrel getting closer to the owl. I couldn’t decide if the squirrel was stupid, brave or crazy. He would run up to the owl and then run down again and did this several times. Finally the squirrel jumped off the branch and ran under the boardwalk. Mom owl just sat there. She must have already eaten.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Boys and girls in the woods

On May 24, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

It’s not often that I see the “boys” at Chesnut Park. I was there early one morning in February to look for owls but I got distracted by the beautiful bucks that kept crossing the trail. I saw 3 different ones with all different sizes of antlers. They were not shy at all. The park is full of does and the bucks spend most of their time in woods farther north of the park and only come to the park during mating season.

Later on the boardwalk I passed two ladies who had come for a drink in the small pond.

I wondered if they were Mother and daughter since they were having a bonding moment.

A not quite fully grown purple gallinule was feeding close to the dock.

I see an adult flying out on the lake.

A tiny alligator was also close to the dock. It’s rare to not see one here.

It still looked like fall in the woods.

The lake was covered in duckweed but was already turning brown from the few cold nights we had.

A rainy walk at Chesnut Park

On May 12, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn flowers and plants3 Comments

My shoulder was bothering me so I went out for a walk at Chesnut Park in late February with only my phone. It had been raining the night before and had just stopped early in the morning when I headed out. Everything was green and swampy.

I saw some deer along the boardwalk and was able to get a video of her jumping up to get the good leaves.