Neighborhood critters stopping by the eagle nest

On October 19, 2026October 19, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animalsLeave a comment

I realized I had not finished posting the final chapters of the story of this year’s eagle nest in my neighborhood. These were all taken several mornings back in March while I was at the nest early in the mornings. One morning it was foggy and when I first got to the nest I could see a doe down along the utility field.

Half an hour later as the fog was lifting several more deer showed up. They spent some time playing before heading back into the tall reeds. I’m pretty sure they saw me so I’m not sure if they were showing off for me or they do this every morning.

The baby eagles were almost fully grown and they were being vocal this morning.

Mom was higher up in the tower and was screaming at something.

The new boyfriend had landed on the nest with some food and one of the babies grabbed his leg with his beak and was pulling on him. Max, the father had died a few weeks before (hit by a car) and Mom had found a new boyfriend, Mickey. The babies were still not letting him get on the nest yet. Of course they think he is an intruder even though Mom doesn’t care.

A few days later the babies were working on their wings and the oldest was getting some air. The younger one wasn’t getting as high but had climbed a little farther up the tower. It always makes me nervous at this stage because if they get too much air and fall off the nest they don’t have the wing strength yet to get back up. Several years ago this happened and the residents living here called Louise, the eagle rescuer to come get the baby and take it to a rehabber. Since this an electric tower they can’t put the baby back up on the nest since they would have to cut off the electricity to a big part of the area for a while to get it back up.

I turned around and saw this lady staring at me.

One morning a flock of glossy ibis flew by.

The deer couple came walking by. I had seen them a week earlier.

Watching the sun go down behind me one afternoon.

Stay tuned to see if the babies start flying.

Along the water at Chesnut Park

On September 26, 2026October 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

It was the very end of April and I was back out for a morning walk at Chesnut Park. I found a deer hiding in the back woods. I realized it was a male with those short stumps on his head.

Walking across the picnic area by the lake I could see several deer up ahead. I don’t see them in this area often.

A young parula still had his baby yellow beak.

Ginger, the domestic duck, was still hanging around the docks. This was the last time I saw her. I’m hoping she just moved on.

A grackle showing off his colors in the sun.

A green heron was still in breeding colors with those glowing orange legs.

Flying by the dock included an osprey with a fish, a night heron and wood ducks.

I thought this wood duck was going to land on top of that alligator’s head.

The elusive least bittern made a quick appearance in the reeds. I was lucky to get a few shots of him before he went back into hiding. These guys are usually hard to spot and we don’t see them often here. I just happen to look across the area and saw the reeds moving thinking it was just a green heron. I’m glad I was paying attention.

A purple gallinule flew across the water with a worm in his mouth. Where was he going? He could have eaten that worm on the other side of the spadderdock.

He was skipping along with that worm and I realized there was a baby following him into the big leaves.

There were 2 baby purple gallinules hiding under those big leaves but they both came out in the open when the parent came over with that big worm. They are so cute with that bit of pink on their beaks.

Visitors to the neighborhood eagle’s nest

On August 8, 2026September 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

It was mid-February and I was still spending a few mornings at the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood.

The babies looked fully grown but they were still practicing their flapping, building up those wing muscles.

There are so many other fun things to see at the nest. One morning a kestrel couple landed right in front of me and then started mating. She looked over at me like “Can I get some help here?”

Most mornings I see nanday parakeets, or at least hear them go screaming by. This morning a few of them landed on the wires and trees nearby.

They were chewing on the bark of an old pine tree. I couldn’t tell if they were eating the bark or eating the bugs off the bark.

They stayed a short while then took off across the field.

This was a special morning seeing a deer couple so close. They walked along the utility field but stopped right in front of me.

The beautiful buck started eating right in front of me. I did step behind a big oak tree when they walked up but he could still see me. We don’t get those big antlers often in our neighborhood.

After a while she ducked into the reeds along the utility field and he took off across the street.

A warm morning walk at Chesnut Park

On July 18, 2026August 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The welcoming committee as I drove into Chesnut Park in mid-March.

I saw many ladies this morning. This one looked like she had something wrong with her fur. Mange or maybe she was just shedding. This was the first time I had seen one look like this at this park.

Walking along the back boardwalk. The sun was trying to peek through the trees.

I noticed a least bittern right up near the edge of the lake. They are usually tough to spot but this one was sitting in front of the reeds, out in the open.

Birds out on the dock included a grackle and an anhinga.

This turtle was covered in algae. I took this with my phone since he was so close.

It was getting hot fast as the sun came up over the trees.

Watching the national bird growing up

On July 4, 2026August 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In early February I stopped by the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood to check on the babies. I didn’t see any adults around but when I looked farther down the utility field I could see Margie (the Mom) and Mickey (the new boyfriend) sitting together.

One morning one of the adults was sitting on the other side of the nest tower yelling.

Mom flew in with food and started feeding the young ones. It looks like she was eating first and at this point I think the babies are eating on their own so one must have waiting for Mom to finish before digging into the leftovers.

When Mom flew up near the top of the tower the oldest started flapping his wings. He still had a lot of pin feathers but was getting a workout. It was so great to see them almost fully grown and flapping.

Mom flew over to the other side.

I was visiting more at sunset since I could get a better view of the babies from this side.

A pileated woodpecker landed in the tree in front of me one morning while I was waiting for the babies to wake up.

Phoebes were common in this area during the winter.

A doe stops to look at me for a second as she walked by along the utility field.

This kestrel was busy grabbing crickets from the field and was eating them right in front of me.

More to come on the eagle family. Have a great 4th of July!

A cold winter morning at Chesnut Park

On May 23, 2026June 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals3 Comments

I briefly saw the 2 point buck when I got to Chesnut Park in early February.

There were lots of ladies in the back of the park.

I stood still waiting for these ladies to pass me. They were so close I took the above with my phone.

The only wintering birds I saw were yellow rumped warblers.

Titmouse are here all year long. They come close hoping for a handout.

It looked like winter when I looked up in the trees.

Ginger, the domesticated duck that was dumped at the lake a few months back, was still hanging around the dock and seemed to be doing well.

You can usually find purple gallinulles along the dock.

We only see coots in the winter. It’s funny to watch them eat the vegetation in the lake.

The sun was trying to peak out on this cold morning. The wind was blasting on the top of the observation tower and I could see ripples in the water.

Where wild Moms raise their kids

On May 9, 2026June 8, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

Moms raising their kids on the ground. A brown thrasher feeding her almost grown baby and starlings babies begging for that worm.

A tiny Mom, the ruby throated hummingbird, raising her baby in a tiny nest the size of a golf ball high up in a tree.

Moms raising babies up in trees include the pileated woodpecker and great horned owls.

These Moms raise their babies in rookeries, often high in trees or bushes over ponds with alligators to keep the babies safe from snakes and raccoons. These are roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, great egrets and little blue herons.

Raising babies near water and often with many kids to keep up with include mute swans, limpkins, wood ducks and geese.

Skimmers and oystercatchers raise their babies on the beach.

This is one tough Mom. Since Pinellas county is so overpopulated most eagles nest in utility towers or cell towers. There are only a few out of 40+ couples that are in trees. This single parent Mom, in my neighborhood, lost her mate this winter when her babies were just starting to grow up. She raised these babies alone, getting food for them non-stop all day. She did get a boyfriend later on to keep her company. I’ll have more on this eagle soap opera later.

Big critters raising their babies in the woods.

Dancing cranes on the bike trail

On April 22, 2026May 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I had another sighting of the elusive fox squirrel on the Pinellas County bike trail near Brooker Creek Preserve at the end of December. There were two but one stayed hidden high up in the tree.

I don’t see deer often on this trail so this was a treat to see her looking at me.

Three sandhill cranes walking along the trail.

A kildeer flies by.

This mockingbird had an overgrown beak. This was the first time I had seen this.

A pair of kestrels were in the cow pasture. One was on the utility wire and one took off from a dead snag right when I saw him.

On my way back to the car I saw the three sandhill cranes again. This time they were starting to dance around. They usually do this to flirt but there was three of them and they seemed to be agitated over something on the ground.

One kept picking up what looked like a hollow dead branch and danced around with it. Maybe it was two males trying to impress the female? They did this for quite a while then just stopped and started walking away. What a funny thing to watch.

Grazing near the trail. Is this a miniature horse or a pony?

Heading home I took a less traveled back road and slowed down when I saw a doe on the shoulder. She crossed right in front of me.

Lots of ladies in the park

On April 20, 2026May 7, 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.

Around the yard in December

On April 15, 2026May 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

The squirrels were getting frisky in the backyard in mid-December. Don’t they know it’s not mating season? Actually early December is the start of their winter mating season so I may be seeing some tiny ones soon. Just what we need, more squirrels digging up the backyard.

It was good to see that the neighborhood turkeys survived Thanksgiving as they cruised through our backyard. There is almost no turkey hunting in Pinellas county due to the density and urban nature of the area and there are no public hunting areas so these turkeys are generally safe in our neighborhood with the exception of being hit by a car.

A juvenile little blue heron looking for a snack (lizard) along the sidewalk to our front door.

I hate it when the grackles come to the feeder (which isn’t often) but they are pretty.

Black bellied whistling ducks in the rain. I was standing outside with a big golf umbrella watching them as they found a little puddle to drink from.

I was adding some red lights to the back along the roof when this guy fell down. I’m glad he didn’t land on me because neighbors from many streets over would have heard me scream. I know they are out there but he caught me by surprise.

Blooming in the front yard in December.

Brett and I took the long way around the neighborhood after dinner out to see some lights. We saw a lot of deer out feeding.

This is not a great video since it took Brett a while to stop and I was filming from the moving car but the coyote couple passed by us on the sidewalk. The green eyes glowing belongs to the black coyote that almost blends in. It was really cool to see them in the dark but they kept moving fast.