Little critters at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo.
Not many birds in early July. A cardinal with a snack and a Loggerhead Shrike
As I was leaving the gardens, I saw this hawk up on a light post. I think this is juvenile Cooper’s Hawk.
I stopped for a quick walk around the boardwalk at Largo Nature Preserve but there wasn’t much there either. I think the smart birds went north for the summer. I found this green heron creeping around the boardwalk.
We always say that we stay away from the beaches on a major holiday weekend. We broke our own rule on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We decided to go spend a few hours in the morning at Fort Desoto Park and then swing by to visit Brett’s aunt since her nursing home is close by. We were there before 9am and left before lunch. The crowds were thick before we left.
Sea hares in the water and on the beach.
A manatee cruising by the fishing pier.
On the fishing pier, I caught this dragonfly resting on a fishing pole. This poor shrimp was bait.
Ships passing by the pier and snowy egrets hanging out on the shelter.
We took the scenic route over to St. Pete beach before heading to visit his aunt.
Little critters in the flowers.
Nothing new but not too common with the exception of the cardinal. The others are a prairie warbler, yellow bellied sapsucker (woodpecker) and the yellow throated warbler. I was hoping to find some other birds but I was a little too early for spring migration.
The best find of the morning was the bobwhite. I never see them where I live so this was a treat. He peaked out behind the bushes for a few minutes as I was walking down the trail and then ran back after a few seconds.
I drove over to Bok Tower Gardens in central Florida early in April for a long walk.
Little critters at Lettuce Lake Park in late October.
Little birdies.
A quiet morning at Lettuce Lake Park in October.
Linking to My Corner of the World.
Red shoulder hawks were all over the park.
A kingfisher being still, a rare thing to get an up close shot of one not moving.
Little critters and plants along the trail.
A beautiful morning at Circle B Bar Reserve.
As I walked down Marsh Rabbit Run trail, I heard the black bellied whistling ducks yelling. It’s rare that they are quiet in the morning so I didn’t think anything of it. Then they all started to fly away and I saw on the right of the trail what scared them away.
The alligator got half way across the trail and then backed down into the water. I waited a while before heading on. Maybe he decided there was too much traffic on the trail to cross.
Other stuff along the trail.
Looks like he was close but was actually in the middle of the lake. Cropped in.
A foggy start to the morning but ended up being a beautiful day in early December at Circle B Bar Reserve.
Moorhens were all around the lake. Lots of juveniles from early spring.
Other interesting ducks including the pied grebe in the last picture.
Other critters at the lake. The otter was a surprise. I’ve never seen one there before.
The water tower next to the lake and a hawk hanging underneath it. Probably looking for a slow flying monk parakeet. The parakeets nest under the water tower.
Looking across the lake near downtown St. Petersburg. I hadn’t been in a while so I stopped for a quick walk. There were people in the lake in kayaks doing a cleanup. I know there are alligators in there so you wouldn’t want to be in there without a kayak and a paddle to hit one over the head with.
Flowers and critters at Sweetfield Farms taken in May.
We were there in May for the sunflower festival. We bought some just picked sunflowers to take home. They brightened up the car for the drive home.
After climbing 3 stories to the top of the observation tower at Lettuce Lake, I look over at the pine tree to the left of the tower and this guy was staring right at me. He’s looking at me like “What are you doing up here?”. I’ve never seen them up close before. He stayed for a few minutes then took off to catch a fish. I missed the big splash since he was so close near the tower but caught him flying away with a fish.
A great egret flies by the tower.
Turtles and alligators in the water below. The gator was going after that water bottle.
Tiny critters on the boardwalk.
A juvenile blue heron basking in the sun on the boardwalk.
Squirrels were snacking and napping.
Phone shot of the lake.
Little critters.
Swimming critters.
A scarlet tanager high up in a tree with a snack and a pair of doves that were flirting.
A squirrel eating a branch.
Stopped by Sawgrass Lake park after work in late May for a quick walk before heading home. I didn’t expect to find too much but the scarlet tanager was nice.
