A rare hybrid at Fort Desoto

On April 25, 2019April 4, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Not this normal cormorant, but I was wondering what those guts were next to his wing. Someone’s unfinished lunch.

The above beautiful bird is a hybrid of a great blue heron and a great egret. A great bird indeed. He has the body of a great blue heron and legs and face of a great egret. He’s been hanging around the fishing pier for at least 2 years. He’s famous with the locals and I call him “Harry, the Hybrid”. Although now, he’s been spotted at 2 places at the same time so people are now thinking there are more than one. He must have a sibling.

A regular ole great egret with green breeding feathers around his beak.

Out at east beach, the sun had long come up over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

SkyWatch Friday

A beautiful bird at the fishing pier.

On July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

The rare hybrid great blue heron/great egret was sporting his breeding colors back in early April. I did not change or enhance the color in his face, only cropped the pictures up. He looks more like a great egret now but they have bright green around the beak during breeding season. Great blue herons get a little blue around the eyes. He or she looks like he’s ready for a mate. I didn’t see him the last 2 times I was at the pier so maybe he’s on a nest.

Snowy egrets were stealing bait fish from the fishermen. The cormorant scored a big one for lunch.

Showing off on the light post.

Pelicans and frigatebirds were flying by.

Out past the fishing pier, the utility tower had broken off during Hurricane Irma. The broken tower is still laying below the water. People started swimming out to it and the lifeguards had to swim out and yell for them to come back to shore. Not knowing if they were strong swimmers, the lifeguards wouldn’t want them to get out too far into the shipping channels where the big boats come in.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World.

Snacking and nesting at Circle B Bar Reserve

On April 26, 2018March 19, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Sandhill cranes were just starting to nest out in the marsh.

A new meaning to the term “Big Gulp”.

A wood stork trying not to drop the little fish.

Everyone was snacking including the limpkins.

It’s weird to see vultures flirting.

A cormorant flies by.

Lost of activity at Circle B Bar Reserve in mid March.

SkyWatch Friday

Wildlife in “The Burg”

On February 26, 2018February 27, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

There’s always lots of fun critters at Crescent Lake park near downtown St. Pete.

I caught this ibis trying to eat a frog in the middle of the road.

The fungus on this old tree looks like icing on a cake.

I found a few white pelicans floating around the downtown St. Pete sea wall.

Things at the small beach area on the bay side of St. Petersburg (know as The Burg) in late December.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Birds at the downtown Tampa coastline

On September 6, 2017September 6, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Willet, laughing gull, oystercatcher, young blue heron and cormorants can all be found along the water at Davis Islands, a small island next to downtown Tampa.

Loggerhead shrikes are most prevalent there. They were in the bushes next to the boat ramp, in the trees that lined the yacht basin and on the fence that lined the airport. The ones on the fence were a parent and young one that was still being feed.

Mangroves line the yacht basin and the sea grapes in were in full bloom.

At first glance, there aren’t a lot of birds at the south end of Davis Islands where the small private airport and yacht basin meet up. There are lots of bicycles, joggers, walkers, and dog walkers along the road, most are not paying attention to the birds. People look at me like “Why is that girl staring up in the tree?” When you look along the shore line and up in the trees you see lots of things.

Linking to Wednesday Around The World.

Another baby duck family in the neighborhood.

On July 26, 2017July 26, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

More muscovy baby ducks in my neighborhood pond. This has been a busy spring with more duck families than I’ve ever seen in the 13 years we’ve lived here. Baby ducks everywhere. These babies were resting close to Mom. I stopped for just a minute and took these quickly.

A mallard couple in the pond.

We usually see a cormorant or anhinga in this pond.

Linking to Wednesday Around The World.

At the beach

On July 13, 2017July 13, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

The black bellied plovers are really pretty in the summer.

And so are the ruddy turnstones.

The sanderlings are also sporting their summer colors.

Grumpy snowy egret.

Sleepy cormorant.

At the fishing pier at Fort Desoto.

SkyWatch Friday

Fun morning at Fort Desoto

On June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

“Don’t go in there” said the lizard. “I had beans for lunch.”

Even the cactus were looking crispy from lack of rain.

On the fishing pier, the pelican stole the fish from the cormorant.

Flyby on the pier.

Cormorant with an itch.

Rush hour traffic in the gulf.

It was a windy morning so the kiteboarders were out.

SkyWatch Friday

“Oh say can you see!!”

On May 29, 2017May 30, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

This is what you see when you drive into Fort Desoto. This picture does not do it justice. It’s huge.

Blooming things on the trail.

Usual birds on the pier. A cormorant and a few snowy egrets.

Pelicans everywhere.

The osprey have been very accommodating with their meals. Usually they fly off quickly if you get anywhere near them. The ones on the boardwalk don’t even flinch.

Bye, bye, Ibis (take me with you!)

It was strange seeing 2 mallard ducks swimming in the salty gulf.

Summer fun at Fort Desoto.

My first trip to Ding Darling.

On October 24, 2016October 25, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Vacation6 Comments

A cormorant and a green heron along the water.

A juvenile night heron filling up on fiddler crabs.

The fiddler crabs were out by the thousands since it was a low tide.

Pretty purple.

Mangroves at low tide. You can really see the oysters that have built up on the roots.

The water from the observation deck.

For years I have heard that Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge was the place to go to see birds. Half of Sanibel Island, just south of Fort Myers, is the refuge. It is on the east side of the island and runs along the water. There are lagoons and inlets all along the trail. It’s a paved driving trail over 4 miles long. We must have been there during the off season because we saw very few birds there. The winter snow birds hadn’t arrived yet, it was too early for fall migration and the summer birds had disappeared. It was still a beautiful place to visit. I walked most of the trail and Brett would drive ahead and then wait for me to catch up. It was too perfect outside to be in the car. I need to get back there in the winter.