A morning of usual critters

On April 18, 2026April 18, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I was at Roosevelt Wetlands in late December hoping to find some great winter ducks but only the usuals were there. Above a pied grebe was watching me take his picture.

Ring-necked ducks are usually here during the winter.

And coots are easy to find in the winter.

A year round bird but not that common is a Cooper’s Hawk. He was hiding in the shadows.

Eastern phoebes and savannah sparrows are plentiful here in the winter.

Boring ole mallards were trying to sleep on the main trail.

Since things were slow at the wetlands I left early and stopped at Philippe Park on the way home. The great horned owls nest here in the winter. Dad was sitting high up in the tree and was easy to find.

Mom was still sitting on the nest. They sat on the nest for a month and abandoned it twice this winter. Something wasn’t working for them. Maybe the eggs weren’t hatching? Everyone thought they would have left the park by now for the season but I’ve recently heard that she’s back nesting on a different tree in the same park. Maybe third time’s a charm?

It was low tide along the sea wall and ibis and a few laughing gulls were feeding in the muck.

Diving for breakfast

On January 26, 2026February 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

More sunrise shots from my visit to Fort Desoto Park in October.

Zooming in with my camera I could see some barges out in front of the bridge.

When I first got to the north beach I saw 2 white pelicans floating in the lagoon. There had been hundreds here a few days before but this was all I saw on this morning. Two more flew by right before the sun was up over the trees.

Shorebirds in the sunrise.

Brown pelicans were diving for bait fish far off the beach. It was funny to watch the laughing gulls trying to steal the fish from the pelican’s beak.

A Cooper’s hawk flies overhead, scaring and flushing the shorebirds.

After leaving the beach I stopped by the Arrowhead trail to peek out across the water and I could see the tons of white pelicans far off a spoil island. They were hiding there this morning instead of feeding in the lagoon off the beach.

Boat traffic along the water.

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

Looking for birds during spring migration

On August 2, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I had heard there was a ruby throated hummingbird nest at Sand Key Park in Clearwater but I never thought I’d find it so easily. This lady built this nest on a low branch hanging right over the trail near the playground. I was standing in the bushes watching her and every time someone would go jogging or walking by she would fly off and land on a branch nearby. I didn’t make it back here to see if she was successful with babies or if she abandoned it and moved somewhere more private.

While I was watching the hummingbird this black throated blue warbler hops right in front of me. He paused for a few seconds and took off.

Other yellow birds I found this morning in mid-April were a prairie warbler and a common yellowthroat.

There were several Cape May warblers, both males (in the first two shots) and a female (in the bottom shot).

I heard screaming from behind the trees and looked up and saw the above osprey flapping his wings. He had a half eaten fish in his talons.

Another osprey flew up behind him and he took off with his fish. They both went flying off over the trees.

I was walking on the trail and saw this Cooper’s hawk starting to feed on something. I couldn’t tell what he had at first, thinking maybe it was a mockingbird or dove.

Someone walked past me and got close to the tree and the hawk took off with his meal. It was then I realized he had a red bellied woodpecker. I’ve never seen anything eating a woodpecker before. It’s kind of sad but I know the hawk has to eat too. I just wish it was an annoying mockingbird.

This turned out to be a fun morning. I never expect too much and I didn’t see anything new but I did see a few cool things.

Busy month at the bird bath

On January 8, 2024April 15, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

We had a late baby in the backyard near the end of September. I had just gotten home and Brett says “There was a baby deer in the backyard” What??? I grabbed my camera and ran out the back door just as they were heading down the fairway. I quickly snapped the above but then I didn’t want to chase them so I headed back inside.

As we headed into early October we were just getting the usual birds in the backyard. Carolina chickadees and blue jays are always coming to the bird bath.

In the 2nd week of October I saw a catbird on the bath early in the morning. It was the first one I had seen this fall. We usually have a few hanging around the backyard in the winter.

A few minutes later I looked out the window and saw another bird on the bath with the catbird. What was that bird?????

It was a Swainson’s thrush. The first one I’ve seen in the backyard.

A little later that morning I saw 2 of them on the bath and a yellow bird was with them. What was that???

It’s a female scarlet tanager. She took a long bath.

A bluebird stopped by while she was bathing and she’s like “Why are you interrupting my bath?” The bluebird took a sip and left.

She came back the next day.

Other birds that showed up that morning was a black and white warbler (I see them often in the backyard in the winter) and a red eyed vireo.

I caught the squirrel getting a sip as well. These were all taken through the window.

A few mornings later I looked out the kitchen window and a Cooper’s hawk was on my neighbor’s garage roof.

Blooming in the front yard in October.

I took this during the peak solar eclipse back in October. I was bummed that we didn’t get to see the darkness this year. The last one we had was the summer of 2017.

Critter transports in mid-September

On December 23, 2023December 19, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals3 Comments

More rescue transports for the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay. These are from the middle of September into October. I got a text in the middle of September that a baby squirrel needed a ride from an emergency vet to a rehabber. Emergency vets will take in wildlife but they usually don’t treat them. They call rehabbers to come and get them. This teeny tiny baby needed to get warmed up and fed so I made the trip and brought it to the Raptor Center. It’s better if the parent raises the babies but someone had found it in their yard and the Mom never came back.

A few days later I headed over to the Raptor Center to take a box full of squirrels and an injured crow to Penny, the rehabber in St. Pete.

On the way from Brandon to St. Pete I stopped at an emergency vet in South Tampa. Someone had found a Cooper’s hawk laying down in their driveway. I was crushed when I picked up this beautiful hawk and saw how sick he was. He had either been hit by a car or had eaten a poisoned rat. Either way he had a tough road ahead. If it was a poisoned rat he will probably not make it.

A week later I made another trip from the Raptor Center to Penny, the rehabber. This time it was a young squirrel and the cutest baby bunny.

A few days later I made another trip with the same type passengers. This baby bunny was even tinier.

Early October brought my first gopher tortoise passenger and there were 3 of them. Two had been hit by a car and one had been found lost on a construction site. They made the trip from Raptor Center to Swamp Girl Adventures in Kissimmee, near Disney World. Kim at Swamp Girl specializes in rehabbing all types of turtles/torts and other reptiles. Gopher tortoises have Florida state-designated threatened protection due mostly to loss of habitat from over population and building. They are listed as a rare species in this area and there are several programs trying to re-introduce them into the wild. These guys were very special passengers.

The next week was a quick trip. A great horned owl with an injured eye had been picked up by a rescuer near my home and I picked it up from her and drove it out to Raptor Center in Brandon.

In mid-October I had a car full of critters that I had picked up at the Raptor Center and drove down to Penny in St. Pete to finish rehabbing and eventually release. An osprey with an injured wing, the same owl with the injured eye I had picked up days before, an injured screech owl and a tortoise. The tortoise was not a gopher but someone’s pet that had an injured shell. A dog had bitten through the young shell and the tortoise was surrendered to a vet. I’m not sure what Penny will do with it once she fixes the shell. Maybe it will get sent to a zoo or sanctuary.

A 4 stop road trip morning

On June 15, 2023June 13, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

It was an early morning in April and I was looking for a new bird. A great-tailed grackle had been spotting in St. Pete somewhere in the North Shore Park area.

I found this guy but it was a boat-tailed grackle. The only real difference between the two are the color of the eyes. The boat-tailed has black eyes and the great-tailed has yellow eyes. Their call is also different.

There he was, right in the parking lot near the pool. Those bright yellow eyes gave him away. He was right in the area where people had been spotting him. I haven’t heard of one being in the Tampa Bay area before. They are found on the western part of the country so he was far off course.

Meanwhile, this Cooper’s hawk was there as well, looking at me like I was crazy.

I noticed the trees were blooming.

I’m not sure if squirrels can eat these big balls hanging from the palm tree but this one seem to be hiding in them.

I made a quick stop at nearby Crescent Lake Park to see if the white pelicans were still hanging around the lake. I only saw 2 of them on this visit. I don’t know if the other ones were somewhere else in the park or if they had already headed north for the summer.

Another quick stop on the way home and I found some black-necked stilts and yellowlegs. They were all hanging out along the ditches near the waste plant. It was still a little early for stilt babies.

My final stop of the morning (but really only a quick drive through) was of the peacock neighborhood. There’s a neighborhood in Clearwater that has tons of wild peacocks roaming the yards. I had recently heard there was an all white one there so I drove through looking for it. I found it but more on that later.

The backyard in early December

On January 21, 2023January 9, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The turkeys were regular visitors to the backyard in early December. One afternoon I saw these 2 looking like they were having a spat. I’m pretty sure they are siblings. Maybe the red head is a male? They were born this spring so they are still pretty young.

Another day I caught them feeding. I think he saw me through the window.

The young doe was also coming by almost every day. She was alone every day until one day I think I saw her with some other females.

One day we had 2 females with a younger deer come by and feed. I was hoping our little Bambi had found some friends.

I heard Harley (our cockatiel) yell his “There’s a hawk in the backyard” scream and I ran over and saw this Cooper’s hawk sitting in the oak tree. I couldn’t get a clear shot of him through the window so I snuck out the back door and was able to get the above. He was not spooked when I walked right up to him. I’m assuming this is the same one that was in our front yard a few months ago.

House finches and pine warblers have been regulars at the feeder and bird bath this winter

I checked in on the neighborhood eagle nest the first week in December. I had been seeing a lone eagle around the neighborhood and this was the first time seeing them both on the nest. I went by right after this and saw a head peak up from the nest but I haven’t seen any other activity. I hope she’s sitting on eggs. I can’t see her from the street so I can’t tell

I thought this was a new bird

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

No, none of the above are the new bird. These are old birds I saw before I found the new one. I had heard about a northern harrier being seen pretty consistently at Circle B Bar Reserve for a while but I was trying not to chase new birds since I don’t seem to have much luck finding them after everyone else has seen them. Finally after several weeks of hearing about this bird I headed over for a walk fully expecting not to see it. All of the usual birds could be found as I walked down the trail. A red winged blackbird, a turkey vulture, a red shoulder hawk and even a cooper’s hawk that was trying to hide in the trees.

The usual birds were flying close by. A night heron and a great blue heron.

A common sight in the winter at the reserve, black bellied whistling ducks cruising around.

Across the lake, I could see 2 eagles sitting up to the right of their big nest.

A little blue heron found a worm in the water.

Here he is. My first northern harrier. I wasn’t standing there alone. There were at least 20 other people in the area looking for the bird. He showed up far across the marsh and then slowly started cruising towards the trail.

He flew by several times and then perched on a dead tree right in front of the trail. It’s his face that makes him different. From the side he almost has an owl-like face. Harriers are not extremely rare in central Florida but this is the first one I’ve heard of at any of the main parks so it was easy to find him. He was only here for the winter but maybe he’ll come back next year. After digging around in some older posts, I realized that I had seen a harrier back in 2016 at Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. The shot was a far away blurry pin dot shot so I’m not really counting that sighting (am I?).

Two parks in the morning.

On April 9, 2020March 30, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Birds on a wire. Crazy black hooded parakeets staring down at me.

Although we have butterflies all year round here in central Florida, they are rare to find in the winter. Now more are showing up since it was warming up in late February.

Skimming the surface, looking for snacks on the water.

I rarely see Cooper’s hawks. This one was hiding off the trail.

Always fun to see the turtles. People feed them here so they are not shy.

A northern parula signing his heart out.

Limpkin with a snack.

Off the boardwalk, taken with my phone.

After leaving Largo Nature Preserve in late February I stopped by Kapok Park on the way home. It was quiet and not many birds around. I had not been here in a long time. The small lake here is lined with cypress trees which turn orange in the fall. I always forget to come here to get pictures of them. By now all of the cypress trees are fully green again but I won’t be seeing them for a while.

A warm walk in January at Circle B Bar Reserve

On February 24, 2020February 24, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Birds flying high.

Black bellied whistling ducks hanging low in the grass, trying to avoid the haws and eagles flying overhead.

A blue headed vireo being cute.

An osprey was sitting on a branch that crossed over the trail. I was trying to make sure he didn’t poop on me while I was trying to take his picture. I’m not sure what type of fish that was but it had a red tint to it.