Lots of birds on the trail

Posted on August 31, 2023 by dinajohnston

I had not been out to Roosevelt Wetlands since last summer. I forget what a cool small reserve this is. I had heard there were some new birds there so I went for a short walk in early May. The raised trail down the middle of the pond is full of Indian blanket flowers and they were in full bloom.

I immediately saw a bunny right on the trail.

The sun had been up for a while and I could see an osprey sitting on the platform nest ahead of me.

I could hear him yelling as I passed the platform and turned around to see the juvenile staring right at me.

This Momma moorhen was busy with 2 little ones.

There were several young little blue herons along the trail. They were just started to get their blue feathers in.

An adult little blue heron shaking it off.

A least tern flies by.

I also saw several spoonbills.

A kildeer was walking in front of me and then disappeared into the flowers.

I did find those new shorebirds that were here but more on those later.

A new bird in an old park

Posted on August 29, 2022 by dinajohnston

I had heard there was a rare pectoral sandpiper at Roosevelt Wetlands at the end of June. I hadn’t been to the wetlands in several years. I’m not sure why it sort of just fell off my list of parks. I wasn’t expecting to find it and I passed someone who had said they had been looking since sunrise and didn’t see it. After looking for it for only a half hour I found it. It was walking around in some mud flats and really blended in. It’s not an exciting looking bird. Kind of bland but it was a lifer for me.

They added a long trail to the wetlands that runs the length of the lake. It was covered in indian blanket flowers which was pretty cool.

A kildeer was feeding near the sandpiper.

I saw a few black necked stilts on my walk in.

On my way back to the car I saw the stilts again and noticed a baby creeping around near the one of the adults. He was a tiny little fluff ball.

He was so cute. The parents stayed close by and kept an eye on me so I quickly snapped the above and left (these are highly cropped). It was a productive morning out and I need to get back here again soon.

Beautiful flying things

Posted on July 5, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was at Possum Branch Preserve in late April and caught the cedar waxwings filling up on mullberries. This was the last time I saw them so I’m assuming they were fueling up for their trip north for the summer. They are beautiful even covered in berry juice.

I saw this pair of swallow tail kites soaring high over the preserve. I think it may be the first time I’ve seen two flying together.

I stopped at nearby Folly Farms next to quickly walk through the butterfly garden.

Things blooming in early April

Posted on May 11, 2021 by dinajohnston

The winter months are my favorite time of the year since the weather is so mild here in central Florida. But, when April rolls around I always think it’s my favorite month. It’s still cool in the mornings and everything is blooming everywhere. The flowers look fresh and haven’t been fried by the summer sun yet.