Fish for breakfast

On September 22, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I was out for one of my usual morning walks in early June at the Dunedin Marina and parked in front of this mural which is on the front of the small restaurant that sits on the marina. It’s a good central place to park and I always look for manatees and dolphins before my walk. From here I can walk in 3 different directions. South towards Clearwater is on the water but there’s no shade so I usually take that route on cloudy days. East takes me through downtown Dunedin and north takes me along the water through neighborhoods with lots of old oak trees.

The north route has lots of blooming things to look at.

A bunny along the grass.

A Momma duck and her 2 tiny babies walking across the street.

I got back to the marina and saw 2 osprey chasing each other. They were heading for the osprey nest in the big pine tree.

One of the osprey had a fish with him and landed and started to dig in to his freshly caught breakfast. They have a big nest in this tree and hang out here all year. Nesting season for them won’t start again until mid-winter but they are still here. I guess there’s good fish in this marina.

A few days later my walk started at the Safety Harbor waterfront.

Someone had tied a flag to the railing in front of the closed pier.

After my walk I was standing in front of the pier before leaving and saw an osprey fly in with a fish. I ran back to my car and got my camera and he was still eating. It looked like he was struggling a little in the wind and the poor fish kept flopping. Osprey, also know as fish hawks, only eat fish so they can be found along the water. Osprey were almost completely wiped out due to the wide use of DDT (a pesticide) that made their egg shells too thin to develop. The pesticide was banned in 1972 and these guys have made a big rebound although now mercury from the fish they exclusively eat has caused concern. When I would come down to the Tampa Bay area to visit my parents in the early 90’s I rarely saw an osprey and now I see them everywhere.

Artwork on Main Street

On June 11, 2025July 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I usually start my walk at the Dunedin marina. I keep hoping to see that they have started fixing the damaged pier and boat docks but so far 8 months later it all looks the same. I’ve heard the city is waiting on insurance money or FEMA or both. They will also need to wait to get the right people to do it. I’m sure with all of the dock and pier damage up and down the western coast of the state those guys who fix that are busy.

It was blasting wind so after walking near the marina I headed up to Main Street to get out of the cold and wind until the sun came out . I thought the fish lock was the best.

The side of the wall on one of the buildings always has a cute seasonal painting. It was late March when I saw this.

Some of the fun artwork along Main Street.

I have still not been in the history museum. It opens at 11am and I’m usually home from my walk by then.

Flowers outside a restaurant.

I love the tile work on the fountain and stairs.

A few of the painted dolphins around the city.

I took this picture of the Dunedin boat club house several years ago. It sits on the front part of the marina and I recently read that it had been torn down due to extensive hurricane damage. It was built in 1931 and had survived 93 years here until Hurricane Helene flooded it last September. There were several benches in front of it that looked over the water and was shaded in the mornings and I would take a break on my long walks sitting on them. The whole area has been fenced off and I’m sure the benches are gone. I sure miss that spot. I’ve read that they will rebuild the club house (on concrete stilts this time) some time next year.

Foggy season was starting

On February 10, 2025March 7, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights4 Comments

I woke up early one morning on Thanksgiving weekend and it was super foggy outside. I got ready and headed out for a walk hoping to get some fog shots. It was a slow drive through the fog but when I got to the Dunedin marina there was hardly any fog.

The sun had broken through and I could just see a little fog across the water over towards Clearwater beach.

I was driving home after my walk and 10 minutes later I hit the fog again so I stopped at the Oldsmar pier. I could barely see the end of the pier.

The fog on land was starting to lift but it still looked creepy with the crows flying towards me.

White ibis were busy feeding in the grass along the water.

The sun was starting to peak through and the tide was far out. I love foggy mornings in the winter. It makes it feel like winter here. I like going for walks in the fog but driving around on a busy street in heavy fog is not fun.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

The day before everything changed

On December 4, 2024January 21, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

Hurricane Helene was due to sneak by the Tampa Bay area with a direct hit much farther north on a Thursday night in late September (on my birthday). The area was expected to have rain, wind, record tides and flooding. I went out for a long walk the morning before. The morning was a little dreary which kept the heat down. The first thing I noticed when I got to the Dunedin marina was the flag. The usual flags were down and a single hurricane flag was flying. I don’t remember seeing this before.

It looked like any other rainy morning. Although people were still there pulling boats out of the marina and putting them on trailers to leave.

The water along the seawall was clear and I could see fish swimming around. I think these are tiny sheepshead fish with those stripes.

A great egret was still hanging around. I wonder if he knew what was coming.

Later that afternoon the clouds were getting crazy so I ran over to the Safety Harbor fishing pier area to see if I could catch some lighting.

The shade sails that cross the picnic area were already down and the tables were tied together.

These kiteboarders were enjoying the blasting wind. They were doing some great tricks and knew what they were doing. The wind was so strong it was no place for amateurs.

Six oystercatchers flew over my head and I was wishing I had my camera with me.

A sun dog halo was peaking through the palm trees.

Helene came through the next day with catastrophic flooding. Anyone near the coast, channel, inlet or river was flooded. You can read what I posted a few days after here. It’s now early December and a few of the parks near the coast are still closed including Fort Desoto Park. Many of the restaurants, shops and motels along the beach areas are still closed. Some are trying hard to renovate and get opened by spring break, some will not ever open again. Most of the homes that flooded are still waiting on permits, inspections, insurance money, workers, etc. It could be a year or two before most move back into their homes.

Critters at the marina

On November 25, 2024November 25, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

In early September I was out for an early walk at the Dunedin marina.

I was standing on the pier and a cormorant popped up right below me.

As I walked around the marina I noticed a big blob in the water in front of the boats on the right. Several manatees were hanging out in between the docks. At first they were in the middle of the channel (to the right of the yellow arrow).

I stood there for a while keeping my eye out for them. A few minutes later they came a little closer to the sea wall. There were at least 2 of them.

Then they came right up to the sea wall. I could see their snouts coming up for air in between the shadows of the railing and at one point one of them showed his big backside.

This green heron was not afraid of my shadow.

An anhinga sits on a boat lift crane.

I always see little ruddy turnstones walking around the rocks in front of the marina. They pick the bugs out of the oyster shells attached to the rocks.

Even though the clouds were moving in a boat heads out for an afternoon cruise.

Fun birds at the marina

On October 5, 2024October 3, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I never expected to see juvenile oystercatchers at the Dunedin marina. I was out for a walk in late June and was glad I had my camera in the car. The above were almost fully grown. They still had a little black tip on their beaks and their backs feathers were still pale gray. Although I shouldn’t be too surprised since I have seen a pair on the nearby causeway pretty regularly. They must have found some secret place to nest because this area is very populated.

One parent was nearby and was showing the young ones how to look for food along the oyster beds around the jetti in front of the marina. They did find a few morsels. The other adult that was with them stayed farther away and I couldn’t get them all in the same shot.

Twins hanging out together.

Eventually they all took off together towards the causeway.

While watching the oystercatchers a reddish egret flies by.

The purple martins were still there and the babies were almost grown and learning to fly. At some point in in early July they all left until next spring.

So much destruction and not even a direct hit.

On September 30, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights13 Comments

I can’t believe I am posting this picture again. So soon after Hurricane Ian, Idalia and Debby. This is just devasting. The Tampa bay area got so much damage from Hurricane Helene this past week mostly coming from storm surge. Pinellas County has water on 3 sides (the gulf leading into the bay) and no house near the water was spared. So much flooding. The hurricane wasn’t even a direct hit but the storm surge was the highest on record.

Brett and I moved 3 years ago from a house on the water (in the bay) to farther inland. We were so blessed to only have tons of yard debris. Above is a 3rd of our debris pile in the driveway and more across the street. We are still cleaning up. We did not get any flooding in our neighborhood.

Over the weekend I was out running errands and stopped by my favorite walking places. The Dunedin marina was my first stop and the pier there was destroyed. The marina was blocked off so we couldn’t get close. It’s interesting the dolphin statue on top of the concrete base was still standing. The hotel next door was flooded and they were trying to get the sand out of the rooms and were pulling out carpet and furniture.

Lots of debris and damaged docks in the marina. Many of the boats were missing. Some got pulled out onto trailers the day before but some were found stranded farther down near Clearwater Beach.

The tall condo building next to the marina lost both of their docks.

My next stop was the Safety Harbor marina and fishing pier. They had minimal damage with only a small portion of the dock damaged.

The beloved fishing pier where the manatees hang out was gone. It had recently been closed due to minimal damage from Hurricane Debby in August.

The next morning I stopped by the Oldsmar pier, 10 minutes from my house. The pier was still there but was closed. It had a lot of missing planks and the end had come off. All of the houses in the neighborhoods nearby were flooded out.

This fun boat was a decoration in front of a seafood restaurant. The restaurant was badly damaged and I saw the boat much farther down the street.

The front yard the night after the hurricane.

All of this damage above is insignificant to what happened to the coastal areas. The beach areas have been closed for days but the videos and news coverage is heartbreaking. All of the beach areas, Davis Islands, Harbor Islands and neighborhoods along the bay were damaged. As you drive through neighborhoods all of the houses have furniture, rugs, carpet, cabinets, dry wall, etc piled high on the curbs.

Pictures of the beach from Bay News 9 here.

The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is a wild bird rescue that is on the beach. They rescue and rehabilitate thousands of birds every year. Their facility took a big hit. I swiped the below shot from their facebook page. They could really use donations to rebuild and can be made here.

Sadly this storm did not end with us and continued to reek havoc north into North Carolina. Brett’s nephew and his girlfriend live in Ashville and we did not have contact with them until yesterday morning. They are safe but downtown Ashville has been wiped out. And, there’s another storm brewing in the gulf again.

Morning walks in early June

On August 12, 2024October 3, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, flowers and plants3 Comments

My husband is now working part time from home and has more flexible hours so in early June he went with me on my morning walk around the Safety Harbor fishing pier. He hadn’t been to the pier in years so we started there before walking around the area. Since he’s not much of an early bird we didn’t get there as early as I usually do. We were lucky to catch manatees coming up for air.

A short video of them coming up for air. They were close to the pier and I was able to get them with my phone.

Looking up from the manatees, I saw a flock of pelicans go by.

Brett taking a few moments to take it all in on the mangrove boardwalk.

I was able to catch a mangrove crab on the boardwalk. These guys are usually skittish.

The next morning I went out a little early by myself for a walk at the Dunedin marina. Right when I got out of my car I saw a mallard couple swimming across the marina with some babies. They were moving quickly and went under the dock.

I had forgotten the night blooming cereus blooms along the street nearby. I turned the corner from the marina and saw the flowers along the fence. They usually only bloom at night but if you are here early in the morning you might catch them right before they close up for the day. There are a lot of these plants in Dunedin and Safety Harbor and sometimes people have parties at night to watch them bloom.

The lily-of-the-nile was blooming along the walk as well.

Lots of stuff at the marina

On June 24, 2024July 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It was early April and I was out for a morning walk at the Dunedin marina. It was quiet and the water was as smooth as glass. Smooth enough for me to notice that manatee coming up for air in the middle of the channel.

Some of the ladies from the sailing club had their little boats out but there was zero wind. I guess they were going to wait and see if it picked up later.

A recent storm had caused a bigger sailboat to get stranded on the rocks. The anchor must have come loose. This is a common sight after a big storm.

The purple martins were working on their nests. I took the above with my phone but I was glad I had put my camera in the car. I walked back to the car and headed back to the front of the marina to get some closer shots.

There were several house finches hopping around on the fence on the side of the marina. The male was really pretty, posing for me.

The purple martins were busy bringing in sticks and bugs but I couldn’t tell if they were actually feeding any babies in the martin house or just themselves.

A better shot of the manatee with my camera but he was heading out of the marina. You can see all of the barnacles on his back and face.

I noticed the pigeons on the top of the tall condo building next to the marina. One had landed on the slant and just slid down. He couldn’t seem to figure out how to land on the flat part. Or maybe he was sliding down for fun?

Out and about

On May 2, 2024April 22, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

Views from my early March walk at the Dunedin causeway. I saw something moving down in the water and peeked over the seawall to see an anhinga drying off on a shelf. He was like “Don’t be looking over in my spot.”. I took these with my phone so he was really close.

When I got over to the marina I found a great egret and pelican on the dock. They are so used to be around people on this dock that they are not very skittish. The pelican eventually when back in to the water to start feeding again.

Just me and my shadow during low tide in front of the marina. The water was like glass this morning.

The view through the mangroves.

The purple martins were back in their condos. They were bringing in nesting material. I had wished I brought my camera. The above was with my phone.

A few days later I was out running errands and stopped by the big Kapok Tree nearby. It was just past peak blooming and the ground was covered with blooms. I grabbed a few from the ground to take back home. The old historic building that started as a restaurant now houses a music store. The music store is closing and the locals hope the building doesn’t get torn down and replaced with condos (which seems to be happening everywhere around here).