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.

The resurrection fern only turns green after a rain so the old oak trees looked really pretty with the fern coming to life.

The azalea bushes were blooming and the bright pink popped in the woods.

The dark clouds were still lingering over the lake.

The moorhens were busy chasing each other.

A turtle swims by.

Yes, there are many alligators lurking in there.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

A two park morning

On April 5, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

I found Pinky Nose again in early January. She was hanging out at the back boardwalk at Chesnut Park for weeks. She was not shy. I’m assuming people were feeding her.

The bald cypress trees at the end of the lake were still shedding their fall leaves. I pulled over and was on my way to get a shot of the sun coming through them when I saw the deer heading towards me so I backed off.

I was standing right off the trail and they walked right by me. They were so close so I took the above with my phone.

A quick video of them cruising by.

A pileated woodpecker was looking for bugs under the bark.

After my walk at Chesnut Park I stopped at nearby Possum Branch Preserve to look for cedar waxwings. I had heard there were a few there the day before. There was only one there on this morning. They are usually in flocks so it was weird to see just one. He had been feeding on the mulberries and was taking a break.

A palm warbler with a mulberry bite.

I spotted a Wilson’s snipe, a winter visitor, deep in the reeds. He popped his head out for a few seconds and I caught the above.

This big one was taking a nap on the bank. It looked like he was grinning at me.

It was sporting a necklace from the marsh. I was pretty far back and these were taken with my 400mm lens and cropped up. If I got any closer he would have taken a dive into the water. They are pretty shy here and usually jump in the water when someone is coming but I wouldn’t take any risks anyway.

A shot of him from across the pond. He had moved down closer to the water.

Chesnut park in November

On February 15, 2025February 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I was out for a walk at Chesnut Park in late November and easily found Rudolph. Everyone was calling her that because most of her nose was pink (instead of red but close enough) and she had been sighted for several weeks at the same place on the back boardwalk.

I spotted a lot of ladies that morning on the back trail.

As I was walking back to my car I saw 2 bucks that were grazing but when they saw me they took off.

While walking on the middle boardwalk I saw a doe looking underneath the boardwalk. I realized there was another one (that looked younger) on the other side and started videoing as she walked underneath me and greeted the older one. The older one didn’t seem to want her around so she left. There’s plenty of deer here so I hope the younger one finds some friends.

All the usual birds were there including a wintering black and white warbler, a chickadee and a titmouse that were both looking for a handout.

I came upon some other walkers that were watching a barred owl deep in the woods. She sat still for a while and watched something on the ground.

She flew down into the swamp and eventually grabbed something (maybe a lizard?) and flew into the tree. It was so quick I didn’t get a shot of her with it.

Cleaning off her beak after that bite. After this she took off deeper into the woods and we lost sight of her.

The sun coming up through the trees.

Winter birds and the moon

On December 26, 2024December 16, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

I could still see the moon when I was at Chesnut Park in late October early in the morning. Only the front part of the park was open due to the hurricanes we recently had.

It was quiet but I managed to find a few interesting birds (although nothing new). Catbirds are very common in the winter but the white eyed vireo and the male common yellowthroat are a little bit harder to find.

The grackle was singing in the sun, showing off his beautiful feathers.

The park is full of squirrels sometimes being cute.

Two weeks later the rest of the park opened and I was happy to be walking on the back boardwalk again. The trees looked a little barer and apart from the tons of fallen logs in the swamp the park looked the same. The water levels in the park were still high but it stays high coming off the rainy summer anyway.

I could still see the partial moon high over the lake.

The views around the lake were a lot clearer with the storms moving out a lot of the bushes and reeds that had grown up high along the edges.

Almost all grown up

On November 30, 2024November 18, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals2 Comments

Early in September I made a quick drive through Chesnut Park on the way home and saw the twins again. They were getting big but still had those spots on them.

I didn’t stay long and shot the above from the car.

Mom was close by checking me out.

Later in the month Hurricane Helene came through and the park was closed for several days while the rangers removed the fallen trees off the roads. They only opened the front part of the park and I stopped in the next day. I’m sure the deer and other critters liked having the park to themselves but everyone was wondering how the wildlife faired in the storm. Right when I drove in I saw a Mom and young one playing and chasing each other. I snapped the above from the car.

Then the young one stopped in front of my car and was digging around in some debris. She was almost as big as Mom and her spots were starting to fade.

The park still had a lot of trees down and the back part was closed for for several more weeks.

Many of the big oak trees here have resurrection ferns growing on them. The fern goes dormant and brown when it hasn’t rained for several days but then after a storm and lots of rain it comes back to life and turns green. You don’t really notice it when it’s dormant because it blends into the trunk and branches but when it turns green it’s pretty in the trees. I noticed all of the green since we had so much rain during the hurricane. It almost made the woods look like an enchanted forest.

Twins on a hot morning.

On November 9, 2024November 9, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals5 Comments

I had a lot of fawn sightings this summer. In late August I spent the morning at nearby Chesnut Park. I wasn’t planning to walk around with my camera since it was so hot but I had it in my car. When I first drove in I saw the above crossing the street and pulled over and got out for a minute as this Mom and her baby went by.

Then I drove around to park to start my walk and there were twins! I pulled over before the parking lot since they were grazing right along the parking spots.

Trying to get the good leaves from up high.

The twins started to head into a small clearing in the woods and I was able to get the shots above through the trees. After a few minutes they started to make their way into the deeper woods so I left to start my walk.

Cool trees along the boardwalk.

It was quiet along the lake. Not even a whiff of a breeze.

A tiny alligator next to the dock. You can see the oil slick next to him. There are lots of boats on this lake.

Walking back to my car in the shade.

As I was walking back next to the lake a few deer came running in front of me, heading to the woods.

A walk in the park

On October 28, 2024December 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals2 Comments

I was out for a walk at Chesnut Park in mid-August with just my phone. It was too hot to be lugging my heavy camera around and I didn’t think I would see too many birds and the baby deer were being elusive. I did have my camera in the car just in case though.

This lady was feeding along the back boardwalk.

The swampy areas were full of water due to the recent summer rains.

It was a beautiful day.

Virginia creeper growing on a dead stump.

Even though there are big flashing signs when you enter the park to “NOT feed the wildlife” I still see where people have left bird seed. They leave it for the birds but the squirrels eat most of it. Due to all of the feedings the squirrels here are very aggressive and will jump on you to see if you have food so there is a big campaign to stop it.

Trying to stay in the shade as I walk around the lake to get back to my car.

As I was leaving the park I saw a baby deer up ahead. I pulled over and grabbed my camera and took these from the car. I didn’t want to spook them into the woods.

It was a family. They fed for a while but kept an eye on me. Eventually people were walking by with dogs and the deer headed into the woods.

So many young ones in the spring.

On July 27, 2024September 1, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I found juvenile northern parulas on the boardwalk at Chesnut Park at the end of April. These two were awkwardly bouncing around in the bushes and Mom was nearby trying to get them to follow her. It looked like she was trying to teach them to feed themselves.

I also found several female common yellowthroats.

More females. These were blackpoll warblers.

A yellow throated warbler was feeding in the moss.

More juveniles. These are either yellow rumped warblers or yellow throated warblers. I never realized how many warblers nested here. There were lots of young ones learning to fly and eat.

This guy was just too cute to pass up.

A tufted titmouse has a yummy caterpillar.

Another female, the redstart was also along the boardwalk.

Black and white warblers are common here.

A pileated woodpecker landed close by and pecked a few times before leaving.

I only saw one deer this morning.

The cypress trees look like they are dying because they are covered in moss.

Things in the woods

On July 25, 2024September 1, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography9 Comments

A usual sight at any park in central Florida. I was at Chesnut Park for a walk at the very end of April and saw the above. They are in every pond here.

This great blue heron was taking one for the team! He was having breakfast with a baby alligator only the baby was the meal. I saw the heron through the bushes along the edge of the lake. Great blue herons will eat anything including snakes, rats, rabbits and baby birds or ducks.

An osprey flies by as I’m walking near the lake.

I was walking the back boardwalk and saw the people before the owl. There were several photographers already there watching this barred owl in the swamp. The owl sat on this dead snag for a while before flying down to a lower stump near the water.

He sat here for a few minutes before hopping in the water. We were standing far away down the boardwalk not saying a word but when the owl jumped in the water we all looked over the rail.

The owl was watching us watch him take a bath. Still no one said anything but we were looking at each other like “Wow, we are watching a wild owl take a bath.” He spent about 5 minutes in the water and then hopped up to a nearby branch.

He stayed here for a while before flying off farther into the woods. All of the above were taken with my 400mm lens and cropped up.

Before leaving I walked out on the dock over the big lake hoping to see wood ducks or purple gallinules but I struck out. Then as I was leaving a swallow tail kite came cruising close to the dock. He made 2 passes and on the 2nd one it looked like he had some leaves in his talon. Maybe he grabbed a bug off a tree and got some leaves as well.