Reflections

On December 6, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

At the end of August I went to Honeymoon Island to look for a fairly rare bird. A Wilson’s Phalarope had been sighted there two days before. There have been sightings of them a few times before in the area and I keep missing them. Their range is west of Mississippi but occasionally one ends up here for a short time. The above are not it, although they are the same shape and size. These are dowitchers and are common here. They were posing nicely for me in a puddle in the parking lot.

Roseate spoonbills were napping in another pond near the bushes and created a pretty reflection.

Another bird that looks like the one I was hoping for but also not it is the lesser yellowlegs. He was feeding along the sand and also created a nice reflection.

There were several kildeer nearby.

After waiting about an hour with several other people looking for the rare bird I took a walk down the beach to get some exercise in.

It was a hot day and soon the beach would be filled with people.

I did not get the rare bird and it wasn’t seen again so it stays on my list of “birds I still haven’t gotten”. I stopped by the nature center before leaving the park and stood out on the elevated deck enjoying the slight breeze up high.

Looking for shells

On May 26, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Above is the proper technique for shell hunting. While my sister and her husband were in town we headed out early for a walk at Honeymoon Island to look for shells.

I had not been out on this beach since last summer and it was a beautiful cool morning. The north beach area had just opened back up the week before after being closed for 5 months due to the hurricanes from last fall.

The mangrove bushes on the beach had been stripped and there was a lot of big dead wood pieces.

Someone had started a shell tree.

A big jellyfish in the shallow part.

We made it almost to the north end before heading back. It was quiet this weekday morning and little chilly so there wasn’t a lot of people out. I’m sure the beach looks much different today. Since it’s Memorial Day there’s a packed crowd and we usually stay away from the beaches on summer holidays.

Royal terns and laughing gulls were trying to stay out of the wind.

White pelicans flying over.

A quick video of the white pelicans cruising high over our heads.

We worked up an appetite and had lunch at a nearby local seafood place before heading home to rest up for our big afternoon on the ferry (more to come). My sister got a big bag of shells and managed to fit it into her carry-on bag to take home.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Being a tourist in my town

On April 22, 2024May 12, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals, Tampa bay sights9 Comments

I finally made it to the Tampa airport to see the big flamingo statue. It’s really big and right in the middle of the airport. I was there picking up my sisters. Both were in town for a week of Florida fun. We had a busy week doing tourist things and eating a lot.

Our first stop was the Manatee Viewing Center at the electric plant. They had put in a new dock that goes half way across the channel. The electric plant seemed so big seeing it this close.

It was much better seeing the manatees close up as they swam under the dock to get to the inside of the channel. The view from the old deck (which is still there) is much farther away. Since it was late February and the water had been cold there were hundreds of manatees in the channel that stays warm from the water flowing out of the electric plant.

I was hoping to see some birds here. Last time I saw an eagle but this time I only got a turkey vulture.

After a morning watching the manatees swim by we headed into Tampa to eat lunch at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.

One morning we headed up to Tarpon Springs to walk along the docks and shops and get some Greek food for lunch. We ate at the famous Hellas Restaurant and then stopped in their bakery to get some desserts to take home.

One day we drove over to Orlando to go to Disney Springs for lunch. Debbie and I were hamming it up with Tigger.

On Debbie’s last day we spent the morning at Honeymoon Island looking for shells. I was tired from the week and took a break on the sand while she continued to look for shells. Somehow she fit a box of shells in her carry-on bag.

We did much more but I’ll save that for later.

Hunting for shells

On January 6, 2022March 17, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights7 Comments

The best spot in the Tampa bay area to look for shells is Honeymoon Island, out past the Dunedin causeway. Thanksgiving morning we heading over for a quick walk before the cooking began. It started off cold but warmed up quickly as the sun kept rising. The tide was super low and you could walk out pretty far in ankle deep water. I love mornings like this. Sunny and cool, low tide and very few people out.

My sister’s stash.

Cold and windy at Honeymoon Island

On February 10, 2020February 11, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

A lone ring billed gull braving the wind on the beach.

A few things on the beach including a large sea sponge in the first shot. The horseshoe crab and starfish were still alive and the tide was coming in fast so they would be gone soon.

A few people were out trying to surf but there really wasn’t any big waves. For a while I watched them sit on their boards. This guy tried once but didn’t stay up long. There just wasn’t enough wind in the gulf.

I came out to Honeymoon Island to walk on the nature trail in the woods but stopped by the beach before leaving. It was drizzling on and off so there were very few people there except for the ones bobbing up and down on their surfboards. Even on a cold windy day it was fun to be out on the beach.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup Our World Tuesday Graphic

No rain or sunset on Honeymoon Island.

On September 2, 2019August 7, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

Late on a Saturday night, Brett and I were heading to Honeymoon Island for a party at the end of June. Seeing the clouds on the way in, we were expecting rain.

The rain was far off in the gulf and stayed out there the entire night.

Crazy grackles hanging out at the pavilion we were at.

The sun peaked out right before it went down creating an orange glow.

A few more clouds rolled in right before dark but the rain held off all night.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup Our World Tuesday Graphic

A new bird for the new year

On January 1, 2019January 1, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

There was a Hudsonian Godwit reported at Honeymoon Island in early fall. Since I had never seen one before, I headed out hoping for the best. I was totally prepared to spend the morning looking and coming up empty-handed since that is what usually happens. This morning was different. There he was, strutting around in front of a handful of photographers. He was feeding right along the shoreline. They are very similar to the common marbled godwit but are slightly smaller and have a slightly different coloration. The beak looks the same though.

Other birds close by were a swallow on a sea oat and a killdeer in the parking lot.

A few moths on the way back to the parking lot.

Linking to My Corner of the World.

Checking on the nests at Honeymoon Island

On March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

True to its name, the Osprey Trail on Honeymoon Island is known for having a lot of Osprey along the trail. There are many nests along the trail and when I was there in late January, the osprey were working on refreshing the old ones.

Both eagles were sitting in a tree near the nest which was a bad sign. They were sitting on eggs earlier so something must have happened to cause them to abandon the nest. They might try again. It was still early.

Towhees, catbirds and yellow rumped warblers were all along the trail.

Lots of vultures here.

New growth in some of the prescribed burn areas.

This guy walked right in front of me on the trail.

I hadn’t been to Honeymoon Island since last spring. I wanted to see if the osprey were nesting yet. Honeymoon Island is a barrier island north of Clearwater Beach. In the 1940’s the island was a place known for people to spend their honeymoon in the cottages on the island. Once World War 2 started people stopped coming to the island and later the cottages were torn down.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World

Honeymoon Island beach before the tourists get here.

On April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

After walking the nature trail at Honeymoon Island State Park, I headed over to the beach to see if there were any shorebirds hanging around.

The usual birds were there: marbled godwits, royal terns and dowitchers.

The waves were splashing over the jetties. It was fun to be out in one of the last cool windy days before the heat sets in (and the tourists).

SkyWatch Friday

Trail full of birds

On March 27, 2017March 28, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography11 Comments

There were a few tiny birds at Honeymoon Island Park at the end of January. Tons of yellow rumped warblers and the last one is an eastern towhee.

The parking lot was full of yellow rumped warblers. They thought the cars were something to play on.

A very young bald eagle flew by as I headed out on the trail.

I always see kestrels in the winter here.

The trail was full of osprey. They were eating, preening and doing a few other things. That last one I took directly in the sun but it was too funny not to post.