Breakfast on the causeway

Posted on April 15, 2023 by dinajohnston

So many birds on the Dunedin causeway when I went for a drive on a cold early morning in late February. At first it looked like they were all dowitchers but I found a few other birds mixed in. They were feeding along the rack line on the north side of the causeway were its rocky along the water.

A few tiny sanderlings were mixed in with the dowitchers.

You can always find a willet here.

There were dunlins mixed in with the crowd. They looked drab here in their winter colors without the brown and black feathers they have during the summer.

Someone walked by and spooked them (not many people walk this side of the causeway). I was taking most of these from my car.

They were all feeding together in large groups. The dowitchers seem to favor the newer greener seaweed. The dunlins were feeding in the older brown seaweed.

Several times they would all take off and circle back to the same spot. There were also a few ruddy turnstones in the mix with those orange legs.

A lone willet flies along the causeway.

Splish, Splash

Posted on February 18, 2023 by dinajohnston

In early January I headed out to see what I could find on the Dunedin causeway. I was hoping for another look at the black scoter in better light since I heard she was still around and it was a sunny morning. I couldn’t find her and heard that she was floating around on the other side of the bay. I did find an oystercatcher couple though.

Both of them were feeding when I first saw them. Then they both started taking baths.

It was fun watching them splashing around. They both eventually came out and started walking down the causeway. It would be great to see them with a baby this spring but I’m sure they nest on one of the spoil islands close by. Once all of the spring breaks start this causeway will be packed.

Finally saw that duck

Posted on February 6, 2023 by dinajohnston

I headed over to the Dunedin causeway to look for the elusive black scoter. I had recently driven down to south St. Pete to look for him without any luck. Then a few days later I hear there is one right at the causeway nearby. The first thing I saw was this turkey vulture eating a fish that must have washed up on shore.

The dark clouds had started to move in so it was hard to tell what was floating around out there. The two above were a pair of cormorants.

Was this it? No, I realized as I cropped it up on my camera. Just a common loon but still a cool find.

There she was. The black scoter that I could finally add to my list. She was pretty far out and these are extremely cropped up but she counts! Not a pretty duck by any means. I would have probably thought it was a female lesser scaup if I wasn’t paying attention. She’s a fairly rare duck but there were two sightings in two weeks. Unless, she’s the same one that was down south that ended up here.

The rocky beach on the north side of the causeway was littered with these fish. This was at the end of December when red tide was creeping north up the beaches. Luckily it didn’t hang around too long and is gone.

I stopped at nearby Possum Branch Preserve for a quick walk since I hadn’t been since May. It’s too hot and void of birds in the summer and I missed fall migration due to my shoulder surgery. I was meeting Brett for lunch so I didn’t stay long but it was good to get out there and walk the trails.

I saw this ibis with his lunch as I was leaving.

Sleeping shorebirds

Posted on January 28, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was a quiet morning on the Dunedin causeway and I noticed a lot of sleeping shorebirds. After my walk I got my camera out of my car and started snapping the shorebirds. I found a lone black bellied plover mixed in with a lot of dowitchers. When I cropped this up I noticed the little dunlin on the right.

I usually only see large flocks of laughing gulls here so it was great to see all of the dowitchers sleeping together. Some were trying to nap and some were feeding. There were a few dunlins and ruddy turnstones mixed in as well.

My camera could only catch a small portion of them at a time.

Some were flying in and out of the sleeping group.

A little farther down the beach I found a lone skimmer.

A pelican cruises right above the water.

A foggy morning

Posted on January 23, 2023 by dinajohnston

Another foggy walk along the Dunedin causeway in early December. I thought the sun was going to break through when I first got there but it seemed to get foggier as the morning went on.

After my walk I pulled my camera out of the car and walked down near the edge of the water. The tide was low and there were a few shorebirds feeding or sleeping. I caught a lone marbled godwit flying in to nap with the laughing gulls.

I stopped by the marina before heading home. I could see a bright red Santa on top of a boat, really popping with color in the fog.

The usual birds (a pelican and great egret) hoping a fisherman will show up to steal his snacks.

Sunset walk

Posted on September 22, 2022 by dinajohnston

A sunset walk on the Dunedin causeway in early August.

It had been raining most nights so it was nice to see the sun for a while (although the rain is usually good in the summer since it cools down the heat). The causeway was packed for a Wednesday night so I was trying to get some shots in without so many people. Here it almost looks like I had the place to myself but that wasn’t the case.

Almost the end.

Turning around, the rain was coming from the mainland quickly but the sun cast a glow on the clouds.

One last look before heading home.

Crazy summer skies

Posted on September 1, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was heading out to the Dunedin causeway for a walk when this rainbow popped up.

Out on the causeway I could see rain far out in the gulf and I didn’t see any lightning so I started a quick walk but stayed close to the car.

When I got to the nearby bridge I could see rain all around me out in the water but the sun was out over the causeway. Even with the sun out the wind was blowing pretty hard so it stayed cool for my walk.

This great blue heron hangs out under the bridge. There’s usually people fishing under here so he’s hoping for a handout.

There’s a small tree on the causeway that has tropical white morning glory (also know as moonflower) all over it.

Right when I got back to my car most of the rain had moved out and a rainbow came out. I love mornings like these when the sky does crazy things.

Dancing for your breakfast

Posted on August 27, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was headed for a long walk on the Dunedin causeway in mid-June and wasn’t planning on seeing anything interesting but I threw my camera in the car “just in case”. I was almost back to my car when I saw a reddish egret feeding along the causeway. I ran back to my car and grabbed my camera and watched him feeding for a while.

He was busy hopping around, catching fish after fish. He started getting close to some people who were putting their kayak in when he took off. I thought he would be gone but he flew just around the people and landed again.

I guess he was pretty hungry since he kept catching fish. I spent half an hour taking pictures of him before he stopped and started preening. Reddish egrets are fairly common at Fort Desoto but this was the first time I had seen one here on the causeway. I’ll have to keep putting my camera in the car.

Summer walk on the causeway

Posted on August 15, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was heading out to the Dunedin causeway for an early morning walk in late June and saw that a baby turtle had been painted on the water tower right before the causeway. I had to turn around and take a quick shot. He’s so cute.

It was crazy hot even at 8am in the morning. I caught the drawbridge going up as I was about to cross it. It was a good spot to take a rest,

The usual great egrets and pelicans were hanging around the short bridge, hoping to steal some bait fish from an unsuspecting fisherman.

A fun bike rack in front of the kayak rental station.

After a long walk at the causeway I headed down to the marina for a quick walk. (I was really just stalling until my favorite lunch pick up place nearby opened at 11am).

The sea fog rolling in.

Posted on March 31, 2022 by dinajohnston

I love being out in the fog so when I peaked out the window in mid-February I got ready quickly and headed out the door for a walk on the Dunedin causeway. It kept getting foggier as the morning went on. I guess the sea fog was rolling in. The tide was super low which made it even cooler.

I had my camera in the car so I pulled it out to get some shots of the oystercatcher couple that was feeding along the causeway. Someone walked up behind me and spooked them to fly to the other side of the causeway.

A few of the other birds included a sanderling, a snowy egret, a marbled godwit and a young ring billed gull feasting on a dead fish.

Later I saw the oystercatchers again and snapped a few more pictures before leaving. They seemed to be having a lot of luck with whatever they were eating (tiny crabs?).