The usual at Roosevelt Wetlands

On May 3, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Spotted sandpipers are common here. They only get their spots on their bellies in the summer when they are breeding. This was the first bird I saw as I walked out on the trail at Roosevelt Wetlands in early February.

Northern shovelers are also common here in the winter. I saw 2 couples in the small pond. This couple was busy bathing when I first saw them and they flap to get off the excess water. I’m not sure why ducks need to take a bath when they live in water. I guess they want to keep their backs clean as well.

Another couple was trying to stay hidden in the reeds. I might not have noticed the female since she blended in but the male really stuck out with his mixed colors and yellow eyes.

Ring neck ducks are also common here in the winter.

Two male painted buntings! I had briefly seen one on my last trip here and was surprised they were still here and there were two. They were on the far back corner up against the waste plant and they flushed when I first saw them. I stood half hidden in the bushes and they eventually came out in view.

A great blue heron fly by.

The Indian blanket flowers along the trail were still blooming in the winter.

A tricolored heron flies into the reeds.

A red winged blackbird was calling his mate.

An osprey nest platform sits on the beginning of the trail. It was early for them to be nesting but on my way out one was sitting on the top giving me the eye as I walked under his nest.

A hot walk at the wetlands

On August 1, 2024October 3, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

I made it to Roosevelt Wetlands not long after sunrise in early May.

A least tern flies close by.

There’s been a couple of skimmers coming here to skim the lake. The bay is a couple of miles away and these birds are usually along the shoreline but occasionally they skim the lakes.

There are several pairs of black necked stilts nesting here. There were a few couples that weren’t on nests yet and were close to the trail. It’s early for babies so I’ll plan on coming here several times early in the summer.

A spotted sandpiper was in the muck. They usually only spend winters here so this one was late leaving.

Dragonflies on the trail.

Across the pond I saw this great old snapping turtle coming up for air. His back was covered in moss and he scooted along in the shallow part.

Color on the trail. The first one is Indian blanket flower. I planted a few of these in my front yard where there is full sun. They are drought tolerant and need full sun and I love seeing them all over the trail here. They don’t get watered here at all. Mine died immediately. The yellow flowers are tickseed. There’s just a little here and I was planning a trip down to Myakka State Park in mid-May when the park is full of it.

The sun was up pretty high as I walked back to my car. There is no shade here so it was time to go home.

A two park morning

On May 13, 2024June 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I was out at Largo Nature Preserve on a foggy morning in early March. I didn’t expect to see anything new but you never know. I saw a mallard across the golf course that sits next to the preserve.

There were also 2 Canadian geese on the course. I haven’t seen any since last year.

The limpkins were looking for breakfast. After a quick walk I left and stopped at the Roosevelt Wetlands to see if there was anything there.

As soon as I got out of the car at the wetlands I saw 2 northern flickers on a utility pole. I looked around for a nest but they stayed on the pole or wire for a while. These may have been 2 females.

The blanket flower was coming back from the cold spell and starting to fill out along the trail.

A pair of northern shovelers were sitting on the bank.

The usual birds were there including a limpkin and great egret.

As I walk down the trail I could see tons of birds hovering over the nearby waste plant. I think the bigger one in the top was an eagle.

Towards the end of the trail I could a lot of turkey vultures. It didn’t look like they had something to eat so they may have just been resting.

A young juvenile eagle flew right over (I took this into the sun) and headed past the trees.

I saw something moving around on the side of the landfill. I realized it was a coyote. This was the first time I have seen a coyote in Florida. I know there are tons of them here and people have seen them in my neighborhood (mostly at night) but I have not seen one here. I have seen them in Utah and Colorado but this was my first Florida one. He was far away and ran along the ridge for a few minutes before disappearing.

Lots of birds on the trail

On August 31, 2023August 30, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

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

On August 29, 2022August 15, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

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

On July 5, 2022July 5, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

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

On May 11, 2021April 27, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

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.