Transporting in late August into September

On December 14, 2024January 21, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

It was a busy summer transporting injured birds around to the different rehabbers in the Tampa bay area. In late August this barred owl made the trip from the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay to Moccasin Lake Park Raptor Sanctuary along with a screech owl. Both had injured eyes and were going to see a vet nearby that specializes in injured eyes.

While I was at Moccasin Lake Park I stopped in to see some of the resident and rehabbing birds in the hospital. There were several kestrels there and a few had missing eyes.

This peregrine falcon also had an injured eye and was waiting to see a vet. I don’t see these guys often out in the wild.

A few days later the same barred owl along with another one made the trip back to the Raptor Center. Both will eventually be released. The injured eye should heal.

Also in my car that day was a great horned owl that had his injured wing reset by the vet. Once his wing heals he will be released.

In early September I had 3 red shoulder hawks in my car on their way from the Raptor Center to Penny, the rehabber in south St. Pete. They had all been injured and rehabbed and Penny was going to release them. I only got a shot of one since they were boxed up and I wasn’t about to open those boxes with healed hawks in them.

A box of baby squirrels also made the trip.

The next day I got a call asking to transport an injured crested caracara. I’ve only seen these guys a few times out in the wild and I was happy I could do this transport but sad that it was injured. He was found in central Florida. They rarely venture near the Tampa bay area and can be found along cow pastures in central Florida. They are a type of falcon although they act like vultures eating mostly roadkill but will also eat live small animals.

Leaving the Raptor Center with the caracara I had to stop and roll down my window and take a few shots with my phone of a sandhill crane family that was down the street.

The lost baby squirrels never end. This still hairless guy made the trip to Penny and he had a baby dove with him.

A young possum and an older baby squirrel also made the trip.

By mid-September I had another carload heading to a rehabber. A barred owl and a huge red tail hawk are pictured. I also had 2 red shoulder hawks.

And a tshirt full of baby squirrels that had just been dropped off at the Raptor Center while I was picking up the birds.

A few days later 3 boxes of baby squirrels made the trip to Penny, the squirrel expert, in south St, Pete. It was close to the end of baby squirrel season and hopefully these were the last lost ones.

Rescue transports in late April

On July 6, 2024June 29, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In mid-April I got a call to transport some little birds to Owl’s Nest Sanctuary from the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay. These little guys were headed to someone who specializes in smaller birds so the juvenile downy woodpecker and a baby grackle got the ride.

While I was there dropping of the birds I got to go inside and see some of the baby screech owls that were growing up here. These were all orphans that had fallen out of nests and couldn’t be renested. Sometimes the nest gets destroyed in storms, sometimes people find the baby owl and dropped it off at a vet and don’t leave where they found it so the nest can’t be relocated.

Chris was moving the new baby grackle to it’s new home.

There were a lot of volunteers busy in the kitchen chopping up food for the intakes to eat during the week. It’s takes a lot of volunteers to keep these rehab centers going.

A few days later I got a call that a baby vulture had been found and the nest couldn’t be relocated. This was the first time I’ve had a baby vulture in my car. He was so cute with that brown fuzz. Nancy took this of me dropping him off wearing my old crazy bird tshirt.

The next week an ibis was found caught between 2 fences with a torn wing. I drove him from the Raptor Center to the Seabird Seabird Sanctuary on the beach.

They have a lot of exhibits with permanently injured birds. I always like to take a few minutes and walk around and check them out before heading home. I was having a moment with this white pelican who was sitting close to the fence. Most of these birds are missing a wing or eye.

I wasn’t really in a hurry to get home. I mean, look at that view. They have a deck that looks over the beach.

This was the welcoming committee when I walked in. Lots of wild birds hang out here thinking they might be able to get a handout.

The first week in May brought a lot of baby birds. I drove these little ones from the Raptor Center to Mary in south St. Pete. She rehabs baby birds. The older bird in the top shot is a baby crow. The other one is a red bellied woodpecker, maybe 2 days old. I think it’s the tiniest bird I have transported.

The one with the big mouth is a baby mockingbird and the last is a baby dove.

Rescues transports in late March and early April

On June 13, 2024June 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants9 Comments

It was near the end of March and I was heading to Penny’s (the rehabber) house in south St. Pete to pick up some osprey. I got into a little traffic jam waiting for peacocks to cross the street before her house. These birds are everywhere now.

Heading back to Tampa, it looked like I was going to be driving through a storm.

I made it to the Raptor Center with 2 osprey that were going to be released. They had come in injured and both were going home. I didn’t even open the boxes to get a pic. Someone else was picking them up from the Raptor Center and taking them to central Florida (near Lakeland) to be released.

A few days later I got the text that there was a baby duck that had been brought into the emergency vet office. I picked it up along with the screech owl below that had been brought in and drove them to the Raptor Center in Brandon.

Nancy was checking the owl’s crop to see how skinny it was. It was pretty malnourished but should be okay once she got it eating again.

April started off with me picking up a tiny baby blue jay at the emergency vet and taking it to the Raptor Center. What a mouth!

Later that week I took a barred owl with an injured eye and a screech owl with an injured nose from the Raptor Center to Moccasin Lake Nature Park where another rehabber works out of. Barbara was going to take the barred owl to a vet that works with wildlife the next day. They wanted to make sure his eye would be okay long term. The screech owl was going to rehab at the park where other injured screech owls were living.

Moccasin Lake Park has a raptor sanctuary where permanently injured birds reside. While I was there I was able to spend some time in the hospital room. This little screech owl had the cutest little hum.

This red shoulder hawk had an injured eye and feet. He had just come back from the vet. He was going to be getting well here at the hospital.

The park also has some great hiking trails and a turtle pond. It’s a little bit of nature in the middle of Clearwater and right off of a busy road.

Wild peacocks roam the park here as well and this guy was admiring himself in someone’s bumper.

Some of the permanently injured birds here include a kestral and a swallow tail kite.

The above eagle is missing any eye so he’s always looking to one side.

These two live here. One is blind in one eye and the other is missing a wing. You can hear them having a conversation with the volunteer.

I stopped by the nearby Safety Harbor fishing pier before heading home. It was a beautiful afternoon and not hot yet.

A few days later the barred owl with the injured eye made the trip back to the Raptor Center. The vet had cleared his eye and after a few more days of Nancy putting drops in it the owl will be released.

A morning walk at Fort Desoto Park

On May 20, 2024June 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

It was too early for Spring migration in mid-March but I wanted to take a walk out on the beach at Fort Desoto. I went straight out to the north beach area. I stopped half way and took the above. The first is looking back towards the parking lot and the second is looking north to the tip where I was headed.

There wasn’t a lot of shorebirds on the beach but I did see a few snowy plovers. These little shorebirds are state designated “Threatened”. This is the only place I’ve seen them and not very often although I’ve heard there are some on the beaches in Sarasota.

This little piping plover was across the lagoon and I didn’t notice his missing feet until I was editing the pictures and cropped this up.

Oystercatchers flying by.

After walking the beach I headed over to the east beach trail for a quick walk. No little birds but the nanday parakeets were acting their usual crazy selves. This couple kept getting interrupted but finally had a little alone time.

An osprey takes off and flies right by me.

I always stop at the long gulf pier before leaving and this time there were dolphins swimming close to the pier.

You can really see the scars on the above’s back and fin.

There were 2 female red breasted mergansers taking a bath right at the beginning of the pier. Not sure if it’s really a bath since they spend most of their time in water but they seemed to be cleaning up after a feeding.

Rescues in March

On May 18, 2024May 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In early March I picked up a bald eagle that had an injured wing from the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay in Brandon and drove it down to a vet in south Sarasota that was going to reset the wing and bandage it up. Luckily his wing was broken in a place that was easy to fix.

A wood stork also came on the trip and after dropping off the eagle I drove out to the beach in Sarasota and took him to Save Our Seabirds. He had an injured leg.

Before heading back to the Tampa area I stopped by the Audubon Celery Fields in south Sarasota. I don’t get down here often since it’s so far away but had my camera in the car and stopped for a quick walk. There is a huge purple martin nest house in the parking lot and it was full of martins.

It was the middle of the day and I didn’t expect to see much but they have bird feeders near the nature center and there were some brown headed cowbirds feeding on the ground under the feeders. I don’t see them often.

There were plenty of grackles as well. It was getting hot so I didn’t stay long.

A few days later I took 2 squirrels to Penny in St. Pete. A baby squirrel and a very shy adult squirrel that had several bot fly bites on him. He would not come out from under the towel and I’m assuming he didn’t feel good. All I could see was his little nose. Penny was able to get the bot fly larva out of him and nurse him back to health.

A sick crow also made the trip.

The next week I drove 9 baby possums from the Raptor Center to Penny in St. Pete. The Mom had been hit by a car and these 9 babies were in her pouch. A good samaritan saw the dead possum, stopped and checked the pouch and brought the babies to the Center.

This young hawk was rescued not too far from my house. I met the rescuer and picked up the hawk and drove it out to the Center. Nancy took his hood off and was checking to see how skinny he was.

My first eagle passenger

On April 13, 2024April 9, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

An early morning transport had me driving an injured red shoulder hawk and a black vulture from the Raptor Center in Brandon to Penny, the rehabber, in south St. Pete. I didn’t get a picture of the vulture. He was in a box and was jumping around a lot so didn’t want to open the box. I think he was being released soon.

A few days later I got an emergency call to see if I could pick up an injured eagle that was being rescued. It was only 15 minutes from my house so I jumped in the car and met George from Birds In Helping Hands who had just grabbed the eagle. The eagle had been on the ground in someone’s backyard and they called it in.

George put the eagle in a crate and put it in the back of my car. My first eagle passenger put up a little fight at first so I thought he might be okay. The entire drive to the Raptor Center I was hoping it wasn’t rat poison which would have been bad. When I got to the Center and Nancy went to take him out of my car we realized he did not survive the trip. I was crushed, fighting back tears. His crop was torn wide open so he hadn’t eaten in a long time. Nancy thinks he must have eaten a fish with a big fishing hook in it and it tore through.

The rescues and transports continue. A huge white pelican was rescued in someone’s yard by Carol (on the right) and brought to the nearby Raptor Center. I met her there and then transported it to the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. Two hawks (in the boxes) made the trip as well and went to Penny on the way home.

There’s a constant stream of screech owls getting rescued. This was found on the ground not too far from my home and I got it from Barbara, the rescuer, and drove it out to the center.

February 1st brought another trip to a rehabber with a red shoulder hawk and a crow. Most of the birds are quiet in the car but that crow was cawwing all the way there.

Baby squirrel season had already started here. There were 3 in the box. The one mostly covered under the towel had no fur yet. There were 2 tiny bats that were found on the ground as well. Bats can carry rabies but it’s very rare for a person to get a rabies from a bat. I didn’t open the box. Penny opened it when I got to her home. She’s been vaccinated for rabies and rehabilitates bats.

A few days later I transported a great horned owl with a bang on his head and an injured beak and a turkey vulture that was sick.

Two days later another box of baby squirrels went to Penny. This box also had a tiny baby bunny in it (on the orange).

A wood stork with a broken wing also made the trip. He was heading to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park to live once he healed.

In the middle of February a sick sanderling was found in central Florida. Someone brought him into the Raptor Center and I drove him from there to the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary out on the beach. They are experts with rehabbing shorebirds so he was in good hands.

The sick/injured wildlife never ends here so I have more to share but I’ll save that for another post.

Ending the year and starting another with injured birds

On February 17, 2024February 16, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Look at that beautiful face! This poor barred owl had been shot but was making a quick recovery. In late October I picked him up at the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay in Brandon and drove him down to a rehabber in St. Pete. Soon he will be ready to fly free.

A vulture also made the trip. Penny was pulling him out of the back of my car and checking him over. He was found sick and should be released soon.

So many vultures were either sick or getting hit by cars. They feed in the roads eating roadkill so they are sometimes risking their lives for a meal. No one slows down anymore. I made several trips to pick up injured turkey vultures to take to rehabbers in early November.

The above river cooter had been hit by a car Thanksgiving week. A good samaritan picked her up and brought her to the Raptor Center. Overnight she laid an egg. The next morning I drove the cooter and her egg to the Swamp Girl Adventures near Orlando.

This poor red shoulder hawk had an injured eye. Someone found him in their yard and brought him into an emergency vet who called the Raptor Center. I picked him up right away and drove him to Penny in south St. Pete.

The week of Christmas this common loon was found on the ground in the middle of Florida, no where near water. Loons winter here in Florida but in water. I see them often in the gulf or bay on my walks. Loons don’t have the ability to take off from land so if they are on land they are stranded for some reason. He might have gotten blown off course by a bad storm that had recently hit Florida. I drove him from the Raptor Center to Seaside Seabird Sanctuary on Indian Shore beach. They are loon experts and will hopefully have him swimming in the gulf in no time.

I had some time before heading home so I did a quick walk around the seabird sanctuary and followed the above pelican out to the beach. The sanctuary gets a lot of wild birds hanging around looking for a free handout. It was a beautiful but cold windy morning so I got a very rare shot of an empty stretch of beach.

I made a quick trip back to Penny, the rehabber, on Christmas eve with another injured vulture.

The day after New Year I drove a great horned owl that was about to be released down to Penny’s as well as a tiny bat that was found on the ground in someone’s yard. He was named Pop Tart because he was brought in to the Raptor Center in a Pop Tart box. Bats can’t take off from the ground. They need to drop down a few feet to get lift before taking off so if a bat is on the ground it’s probably sick. They eat their weight in mosquitos every night so they are very beneficial to have around. Many people put up bat boxes in their neighborhoods to keep the insect population down. We have a box nearby and I love going out to get the mail right before dark and seeing they flying around.

Rescue trips in the first half of August

On October 23, 2023April 9, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The Raptor Center of Tampa Bay put out a request for a volunteer to pick up an injured turtle that someone had brought in to a vet. Thinking it may have been hit by a car. This is my first sad trip. I got to the vet office and they told me it had just passed away. It was probably in bad shape when it was brought it. As I was fighting back the tears they said “We do have an injured duck. Can you take that to a rehabber?” My response was “Of course”

So this cutie made the trip to the Raptor Center all alone. It looked a little scratched up but otherwise in good shape.

This little wide eyed cutie made the trip from the Raptor Center to a rehabber near St. Pete. Paula at Crikey Wildlife Rescue specializes in rehabbing and releasing raccoons and squirrels. She has had the rabies vaccine and can work with older raccoons, although rabies is fairly rare in our area (only 1 case this year and zero last year in Pinellas county).

I had a carload of red shoulder hawks in the back of my SUV on this trip. Two had been brought in on the same day and both had been shot. The third one had an injured wing.

Nancy from the Raptor Center was able to get them x-ray’d to confirm that the 2 had been shot. Above is one of the x-rays. You can see the tiny bullet near the end of his wing. Who does that? Maybe the hawks were stealing chickens from a farmer or backyard? I would hate to think they were just randomly shot but it could happen.

All three were headed to a vet in Nokomis (south of Sarasota), about an hour away from the Raptor Center. The vet works with wildlife and was going to take the bullets out of the 2 and look at the other one with an injured wing. Since they would stay overnight I just dropped them off and someone nearby was bringing them back later.

The vet was 10 minutes from Nokomis beach so I stopped and got out for a few minutes to stretch my legs before heading home (it would be close to 2 hours to get back to my house). It would have been a perfect morning if it wasn’t so hot. I should have brought my swimsuit and gone for a dip.

Heading over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to get back home. Not much traffic this morning (which is rare).

This tiny young squirrel was brought into a vet one morning. I picked him up and headed straight to the rehabber Penny in south St. Pete.

In mid-August we had a bad storm move through the area and the next day there were quite a few baby squirrels that were brought in. Nests or babies falling from trees in the storm. I drove out to the Raptor Center in Brandon and picked up a large box of squirrels. All different ages and they were huddled together for warmth. They were all going to Penny in south St. Pete to grow up and eventually get released.

A crow with an injured wing also made the trip. He yelled the entire trip.

I had heard there was a rare Egyptian goose that had showed up in the area near where Penny lives. Since I was going to be down there I threw my camera in the car and after dropping off the squirrels and crow I headed to the nearby lake. He was very easy to find. I pulled over and snapped a couple of shots before heading home. This was the first time I have heard of them being in Pinellas county. They are populated all over south Florida, especially in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. I couldn’t find any definite information on whether they were released on purpose or escapees from a zoo. They have been sighted in Florida since the 80’s. They are invasive like the muscovy ducks and I’m sure the neighbors hope it doesn’t have a mate.

Road trip across the state

On September 25, 2023April 7, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

In late July I headed out to the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay in Brandon to transport some critters to a rehabber in St. Pete. Penny lives down in south St. Pete and helps with the over flow of critters. She rehabs and has a team that releases them. In the back of my car I had 4 baby mockingbirds, a baby woodpecker, a box of baby opossums and juvenile osprey.

A week later the call went out for a transport that would be double stops from Brandon to areas near Orlando. One of the critters was a swallow tail kite. He had an injured wing and the best place for him to get better was at the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka, not quite 2 hours east of Brandon. They have huge flight barns that he could fly around in to build back up his muscles. I never thought I would have a swallow tail kite in my car!

A baby kestrel was also going to the Avian Center.

But first I had to stop in Mt Dora, almost 2 hours northeast of Brandon ( and then 20 minutes to Apopka from there). A baby racoon and a box of 10 squirrels (all different ages) were going to the Wright Rescue Ranch. There were so many baby squirrels getting separated from their Mom’s that the rescue ranch is taking them in to help them grow up before they are released. We had a heating gel pad in the box to keep them warm on the trip. Many of the babies didn’t have fur yet and get cold quickly. I love the way they all cuddle together.

Since the trip would be a little long, Nancy fed the littlest one before I left. He was so cute holding it with his little feet.

I stopped halfway to swap out the heated gel pad for a hot one and they all woke up. The bigger ones started climbing around so I had to be quick and swap out the pad.

I got to the Avian Reconditioning Center much earlier than my last trip so I took a few minutes and got out and walked around. You can see some of the big flight barns in the back.

The center houses a handful of permanently injured birds and the volunteers were out sitting with them. One of the volunteers was holding a red tailed hawk. It looked like they were having a serious conversation.

There were 2 owls sitting out. The barred owl in front was missing an eye. The great horned owl in back had a wing injury and they both are great surrogate parents to lost babies that come to the center.

I walked around the back of the tree and saw the eagle sitting farther away.

He couldn’t see out of one eye and tilted his head to look at me. I stayed pretty far back and these are all cropped up shots with my phone. It was finally time to make the 2 and half hour trip back home but it was nice to spend some time with these guys.

Road trips in June.

On August 12, 2023April 7, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

It was early June and the call went out that Raptor Center of Tampa Bay needed help with some transports. I was ready for a road trip. The above juvenile great blue heron had been injured and needed to go to Seaside Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores Beach, just under an hour away. Nancy put him in the tote. I was a little nervous around that big beak. He settled down pretty quickly.

Since the great blue heron took up most of the trunk the almost grown barred owls went in the back seat. There were 3 altogether. Two were siblings and were in the crate while the younger one was in a carry box. These guys along with the bunny below went to the rehabber (Penny) that lives in south St. Pete. The owls are almost ready to be released and Penny will get them ready.

This little cutie sat in the front seat and only barely stirred a few times on the trip.

A few days later a young osprey had fallen out of the nest and could not be re-nested so I drove him down to Penny to raise until he can be released. Nancy told me that all of these osprey growing up on platforms is not a good thing. It’s better for osprey to nest in big trees and then the babies can hop around from branch to branch before flying (just like eagles). Most osprey in Pinellas county now nest on utility towers or platforms placed by utility companies to keep them off the towers. Just like most other counties the over population means so many trees are being cut down for homes and buildings. On platforms the babies start flapping and fall right to the ground. The parents won’t feed the babies once they are on the ground and many of them have some type of injury. The baby was calm in Nancy’s arm even though she managed a few yells before going in the transport box.

Another few days went by and there were more juvenile osprey on the ground. I picked up two of them at Nancy’s (of Raptor Center of Tampa Bay) in Brandon and headed down to Save Our Seabirds in Sarasota. All of the rehabbers are full of birds and they could only take one osprey.

I have been here to visit the sanctuary as a tourist several times but it was the first time to come through the emergency back door. I was able to see the clinic for a few minutes but they were crazy busy so I left to make my next drop off.

It was a beautiful day to be out on the bridges. First coming back on the Ringling Bridge in Sarasota and then across the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

I dropped the final osprey off at Penny’s. She took her out of the crate and she didn’t seem afraid of her at all. If all goes well she’ll be released soon.