A cloudy windy winter morning

Posted on March 4, 2024 by dinajohnston

A few days after I briefly spotted the rare western flycatcher I went back to Sand Key Park to see if I could get a better view. It was reported that he was still there but after looking for an hour I came up empty. The morning wasn’t a total loss though. The above ovenbird and house wren came out and posed for me. The house wren is common here in the winter but I don’t see ovenbirds often. He was a cutie!

I decided to take a quick walk on the beach before leaving. It wasn’t a nice day out and the wind was blasting.

The beach was pretty empty which is rare here.

There were several guys trying to catch some waves. They spent most of the time I was there bobbing on their surfboards but this guy got up a few times.

Off in the distance I could see someone getting ready to kiteboard. The old lifeguard stand is falling apart. It looks recently painted but the stairs had come off.

The clouds were getting darker and the water was choppy. Clearwater Beach is across the pass.

Cormorants all lined up under the bridge. I walked over to the intercoastal side of the park and walked along the sea wall under the bridge. I’ve seen dolphins here before but none this morning.

The snowy egrets were dancing around the top of the water and snatching bait fish.

Pretty in pink at the wetlands

Posted on January 29, 2024 by dinajohnston

I had not been to the Roosevelt wetlands since May and by the end of October it was time for a trip back. The native muhly grass was blooming bright pink all over the trail.

The trail also had common sneezeweed blooming.

I’m not sure what this great blue heron was eating but it didn’t look yummy.

A coot came close to the edge of the pond.

I could only find a few wintering birds. A prairie warbler and a house wren.

I was scanning the pond for otters (which I didn’t find this day) and saw something dive down on the trail out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was a red shoulder hawk and almost didn’t pay attention but something made me look twice.

It was a northern harrier. It’s the first time I’ve seen one here at this wetlands and in Pinellas county. She stayed for a few seconds and flew off towards the landfill. I waited for a while but she didn’t come back.

Just me and my shadow on the overgrown trail.

I took the above with my phone. I love seeing the pink grass. It only turns pink in the fall here. We had it in front of our back screened porch in Tampa and I miss it. We don’t have a good full sunny spot to plant it in our townhome.

Flappers at Circle B Bar Reserve

Posted on December 11, 2021 by dinajohnston

Some of the little birds that are often seen at Circle B Bar Reserve are the house wren and common yellowthroat.

We were looking for the yellow billed cuckoo along the trail and someone spotted this summer tanager from across the marsh. It’s the first time I’ve seen one here.

We found the pair of cuckoos but they were doing their best to hide high up in the trees.

The usual birds to find in the water here. A common moorhen taking a bath and the grebes have returned for the winter.

“Mom, pay attention. That lady is watching us.”

“She’s not going to bother us unless she’s willing to wade through alligator infested marsh”

“Okay, so we can relax. It’s been a busy morning eating bugs.”

Later I passed the black bellied whistling duck family (looks like the other parent is here) and the babies were all napping. It’s such a treat to see these babies here since the main trails are closed in the summer. This is a late family for late October.

Birds at Circle B Bar Reserve

Posted on June 5, 2021 by dinajohnston

Swamp sparrows were hiding in the bushes in early April.

What a mouthful!

House wrens usually stay hidden but this one popped out for a minute.

You can always find a lot of green herons at Circle B Bar Reserve.

This kingfisher sat still for about 30 seconds and I was able to catch this.

A goldfinch was feeding in the wild grass near the nature center.

Typical shot of the great blue heron on top of a tree along the trail.

Two parks in one morning.

Posted on March 18, 2021 by dinajohnston

A northern parula going for a mulberry at Possum Brand Preserve. This is one of two trees there but only one blooms in the fall.

I’m not sure what the second picture is. I thought it was a red eyed vireo like the 3rd one but the yellow around the eyes is throwing me off.

Yellow-rumped warblers are pretty easy to spot. Mostly drab colors but that pop of yellow on his backside gives him away.

A house wren with a teeny snack in his beak. These guys are usually pretty shy and stay deep in the bushes but this one popped out for a minute.

The grebes are always looking up. Ready to take a dive if a hawk flies by.

The anhinga was across the pond but I managed to catch him with his catch.

After leaving Possum Branch I headed for a quick walk at Chesnut Park. I found a purple gallinule at the end of the dock there. Last year a pair had babies there in the spring so hoping for another crop this year.

I spotted this great blue heron with breakfast.

At the beginning of January, if finally looked like winter at the pond at Chesnut Park. The bald cypress leaves had fallen and blanketed the pond with brown and orange.

At Possum Brand Preserve, some of the cypress trees still had their leaves but they were already brown.

A quiet cold walk in January

Posted on February 22, 2021 by dinajohnston

The cattails and the spider webs were showing up in the early morning sun at Possum Branch Preserve.

Bright pops of red in early January. It was finally starting to look like fall (only in central Florida does it look like fall right before spring).

Birds were scarce this Saturday morning. Other than the usual birds, I only saw a house wren and a thrasher.

Pelican fly by along the canal.

Two coots have taken up residents for the winter in the main pond.

This guy didn’t look that big (taken with my zoom lens).

When I got around the other side of the pond and saw him spread out, he looked much bigger.

Just catching sunrise.

Posted on January 14, 2021 by dinajohnston

I use to set my alarm to get up early on the weekends but lately my internal alarm has been going off early and I got out of bed one Saturday morning in November and headed to Circle B Bar Reserve. Although, not that early since the sun was just peaking out as I hit the trails. It’s the perfect time to be there, quiet and not many people there yet. You can hear the birds starting to talk and the whistling ducks were starting to fly back and forth.

One of my favorite views in the morning.

There wasn’t a lot of different birds out. The usuals were there (moorhens, whistlers, herons, egrets, cormorants) but I didn’t see many uncommon birds. The above are fairly common in the winter (female common yellowthroat, house wren and the purple gallinules) but sometimes a little bit harder to find.

Some of the smaller critters along the trail.

The eagle’s nest is pretty far away but I could still see both eagles on the nest. Maybe she’s looking at her eggs in the nest? Might have been a little early but soon.

Along the trail.

Posted on February 3, 2020 by dinajohnston

Color on the trail.

Crawling critters including that tiny alligator right on the trail.

Small birds along the trail. A green heron, a house wren making a face at me and then chirping and a blue headed vireo.

Having a snack.

A perfect start to a day at Circle B Bar Reserve.

Mellow yellow on the trail

Posted on January 6, 2020 by dinajohnston

The usual herons along the trail.

A green heron sneaking around looking for food.

A house wren singing.

A coot getting friendly.

The yellow flowers always make the preserve look pretty in the fall.

The view from the blind.

Common and uncommon birds at Chesnut Park

Posted on December 12, 2016 by dinajohnston

Above are some of the common birds you see in the winter here. An Eastern phoebe, a catbird, a black and white warbler and a blue-gray gnatcatcher.

Another common year round bird, the pileated woodpecker. Most of the time I usually hear them screaming from high up in the trees. This one came down a little closer.