A pretty red tree and a big alligator

On August 30, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

I made another trip to the bird rookery in north Tampa in early May. The royal poinciana tree near the little park area was blooming and the wood storks were hanging out in it while taking a break from feeding the little ones.

A wood stork flew right in front of me and got a drink of water.

The baby great egrets were screaming to be fed.

A young black crowned night heron was also screaming for Mom to feed him.

A young moorhen gets a snack from Mom.

There were a lot of glossy ibis but they stayed in the far back and it’s hard to see their babies until they are flying.

A female anhinga panting in the heat.

I’ve seen tiny alligators in the pond but this was the first big one I’ve seen here. He climbed right up on the bank and plopped down for a while.

He walked around the bank and into the street, then turned around and headed back down in the pond and under the water. I had my 600mm lens with me so these are pretty far away and cropped up.

More from hanging out at the “Bar”

On June 16, 2025July 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

More sunrise shots (taken farther down Heron Hideout Trail) from my visit to Circle B Bar Reserve in March after a 3 year hiatus.

The twin tree was still there.

I saw several male painted buntings feeding along the trail right as the sun was coming up. They were right on the trail and were not shy.

A female northern harrier made a pass overhead.

Trail views on Marsh Rabbit Run trail.

The usual birds were there including many glossy ibis and green herons.

The common club-rush plant was everywhere in the marsh. There used to be water here and now it’s all choked up.

Down at the end of the trail sits the end of Lake Hancock.

More alligators along the trail.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

The annual rookery trip

On June 15, 2024July 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

In early April I made my annual trip to north Tampa to visit the bird rookery in the middle of a small pond. The first thing I noticed was the above dirty wood stork. Maybe he had just taken a bath in a muddy spot.

I could barely see these baby wood storks deep in the bushes. This was the only wood stork nest with babies I could see on this morning. It feels late this year. By late March last year the rookery had tons of baby storks.

A lot of great egrets were still busy flirting and working on their nests. Most of them had their green breeding feathers around their eyes and those pretty wispy flirting feathers.

There was one nest with a teeny baby great egret. It looked to be a day or two old.

Another nest had a bigger baby great egret that was begging for food.

There were a lot of glossy ibis but they nest in the far back and we can’t see them from the street. We have to wait until the babies are big enough to fly around the rookery.

A female grackle sitting pretty on the bush.

Every year it feels like there are less and less birds nesting here. The rookery island looks the same size. Have they moved on somewhere else or are there truly less birds? I made another trip in early May but more on that later.

More from the bird rookery in late March

On June 17, 2023June 7, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

There were several glossy ibis flying over the rookery in late March. I’m not sure if they were nesting yet since they nest in the far back hidden part of the rookery. The color of their feathers really popped against the sun as they flew by.

Tricolored herons were still flirting. They nest later than the great egrets and wood storks.

A great egret showing off.

Yes, that’s an almost grown cormorant with his entire face down his Dad’s throat. He was trying to get the fish that Dad was regurgitating for him. I think he still wanted more.

A wood stork showing off his underneath green feathers.

There were so many wood stork babies here.

That fish was way to big for the baby to swallow. The parent realized that pretty quickly and didn’t want it to go to waste so down the hatch it went.

First time baby sighting

On August 2, 2022July 23, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

You don’t see many glossy ibis in the Tampa Bay area. For years the only place I saw them was at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland but in recent years I’ve seen a few on this side of the state. Lettuce Lake Park in north Tampa was another place I would see them. Recently there has been one hanging out at the nearby Possum Branch Preserve but it’s hit or miss to see it there. Last year I saw one at the bird rookery in north Tampa but I didn’t see any babies. This year there were several adults there and on my last visit in late May I saw babies.

They nest on the back side of the rookery so there’s no way to see the babies until they are juveniles and moving around on the rookery. There were 2 families there with the parents feeding them all over the rookery. They would fly off to get food and the juveniles would travel all over the bushes. The parents always seemed to find their own babies when they got back.

One of the juveniles was old enough to fly down into the pond and get some water. He didn’t have the deep burgandy color on his face but his green feathers on his wings were beautiful.

They were patiently waiting for Mom to come back with food. Some were practicing their wing flaps and hopping.

Deep in the bushes I could just barely see a much younger set of twins.

I’m hoping next year we’ll see even more of these beautiful birds at the rookery.

Baby bird season

On May 28, 2022May 23, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I headed up to the bird rookery in north Tampa in early April. I knew it was a little too early for a lot of babies but it was a nice afternoon out and this is an afternoon shoot spot since the sun comes up across the lake in the morning. Great egrets were in all stages of nesting. Some had eggs, some had small babies and some looked like they were still flirting and working on nests.

There were at least 2 nests up front with baby wood storks. They look so pretty when they are babies with that orange beak and blue around their eyes. Woods storks are listed as a threatened species since their numbers are still small and are vulnerable to changing water levels. We are fortunate that they are a common bird in the Tampa bay area. I see them at many of the parks I visit as well as in the ponds in my neighborhood.

Birds were busy flying in and out of the rookery, bringing food to the babies and adding sticks to the nest. I was able to catch a great egret and a tricolored heron going by.

A tricolored heron was picking up sticks from the water and bringing them back to a hidden nest.

A rare thing to see in the Tampa bay area. It looks like some glossy ibis have been nesting here in the last few years. The nest is on the back side of the island so I haven’t seen any babies yet. For a long time I only saw them at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland but I’ve seen a few here lately.

Flying across the trail

On April 19, 2022April 8, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

I walked out on the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in mid-March and saw this. Lots of wading birds out in a small pond that had developed from the recent rain.

So many birds feeding in this one spot. Great egrets, snowy egrets, cattle egrets, great blue herons, wood storks, spoonbills and one large sandhill crane.

All of a sudden the sandhill crane took off across the marsh.

Glossy ibis were flying across the trail.

Spoonbills were flying in and out of the pond all morning. At one point one flew so close I couldn’t fit him all in and he was carrying a stick. He must have been heading for a nest.

Typical sight along the trail. A great blue heron in a dead snag.

Far out in the lake, a great egret sits alone.

The bird rookery

On June 12, 2021May 31, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Catching a little blue heron lift off.

Snowy egrets were showing off.

Baby great egrets were screaming for Mom to feed them.

The sky over the Tampa rookery was busy in early April. It was like standing at the airport during the holidays watching the planes take off.

The cormarants and anhingas are usually high up in the trees but I saw this anhinga sitting on a nest low on the other side of the rookery.

There were many other birds at the rookery besides the usual egrets and herons. A night heron, a female red winged blackbird and a catbird were also sighted. I was excited to see the glossy ibis here in the bottom picture but it looked like the couple was working on a nest on the backside of the rookery so seeing little glossy babies is a slim chance.

Out and about

On June 8, 2021June 8, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

“Why did the butterfly cross the road???”

The glossy ibis has been hanging around Possum Branch Preserve for a while now.

The green heron was creeping around under the bushes.

I found the bluebird family again. One of the young ones was popping his head out of the nest. He’s flying around now so I’m not sure if the parents are still feeding him.

Oh the faces we see in a Florida pond!

I stopped by the old Kapok Tree in mid-March. It still had a lot of blooms on the tree but most of them were on the ground. I keep forgetting to go by here and catch it in full bloom. Back when I was a toddler there was a famous restaurant here called the Kapok Tree Inn. It was an old ornate building with lots of different rooms. We would come here to eat when we came to Clearwater to visit my parents. It closed in 1991 but the building is still here and is a music store. It still looks the same inside.

Great old trees

On April 19, 2021March 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

I had a quick walk at my local pond in early February. It was a quiet morning. Just me and the anhinga watching me take a picture of her.

The glossy ibis was still there. Maybe they’ll stay permanently.

A teeny critter flying around the clovers.

I stopped by another park close by to check on the owls. Mom was half asleep and there was no sign of babies. I had heard there were two but both were sleeping far down in the nest all morning (later there 3 babies so stay tuned for baby owl shots).

This squirrel had a mouthful as he was running across the parking lot.

The big oak tree where the owls nest. We had heard from a ranger that they were taking this tree down later this year. They say it’s getting rotten inside and could fall on a car or worse a person. Several trees nearby have come down in bad storms. It still looked solid to us. Everyone was freaking out and talking about signing a petition to keep the tree up but if it’s dangerous, it’s coming down. The ranger said the owls will find another tree.