Dancing cranes on the bike trail

On April 22, 2026April 18, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I had another sighting of the elusive fox squirrel on the Pinellas County bike trail near Brooker Creek Preserve at the end of December. There were two but one stayed hidden high up in the tree.

I don’t see deer often on this trail so this was a treat to see her looking at me.

Three sandhill cranes walking along the trail.

A kildeer flies by.

This mockingbird had an overgrown beak. This was the first time I had seen this.

A pair of kestrels were in the cow pasture. One was on the utility wire and one took off from a dead snag right when I saw him.

On my way back to the car I saw the three sandhill cranes again. This time they were starting to dance around. They usually do this to flirt but there was three of them and they seemed to be agitated over something on the ground.

One kept picking up what looked like a hollow dead branch and danced around with it. Maybe it was two males trying to impress the female? They did this for quite a while then just stopped and started walking away. What a funny thing to watch.

Grazing near the trail. Is this a miniature horse or a pony?

Heading home I took a less traveled back road and slowed down when I saw a doe on the shoulder. She crossed right in front of me.

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.

Summer rescue transports

On November 2, 2024November 2, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Brothers from a different mother (and father). These three babies (bunny, squirrel and possum) all made the trip together to Penny the rehabber in south St. Pete. They were so cute all cuddled up together.

A sick crow also made the trip in late July.

At the end of July I headed out to the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay to pick up a carful of critters. This tiny baby squirrel was so cute with his feet sticking out.

A baby bird that had fallen out of the nest and couldn’t be renested also made the trip.

Two kestrels also made the trip and went to Barb, the rehabber at Moccasin Lake Park. They were going to be released.

Another carload of critters in early August. I first stopped at a rehabber nearby to pick a screech owl that was headed to the Raptor Center to be rehabilitated.

At the Raptor Center I picked up my first ever black skimmer. This juvenile had an injured wing that was wrapped up.

An osprey was making the trip to Penny, who is an osprey expert.

The tiniest bunny I think I’ve had it my car. Was it praying in it’s sleep?

It was mid-August and so many baby squirrels were being found. People find them in their yard when they either fall from the nest or the tree was cut down and now the nest is on the ground. The Raptor Center tries to work with people to help reunite the babies with their Mom but it doesn’t always work. All of these were going to Penny, also a squirrel expert.

A week later I had 3 great horned owls (only pictures of 2) and a barred owl in my car. They had all been to a vet nearby that works with wild birds and all were okay and heading back to the Raptor Center to eventually be released. I think they must have gotten rid of their breakfast all at the same time because they were pretty stinky in the car.

I picked up the screech owl at the Raptor Center and took it back to Barb. It was going to the vet the next morning for an injured eye.

Driving around in June and July

On September 28, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The first week in June I had a red shoulder hawk in my car. This beauty had been sick and was rescued and rehabilitated at Moccasin Lake Park and was going back to the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay to stay in the flight cage for a few days to build up his wing strength before being released.

Three days later a baby Cooper’s hawk and a sick red tail hawk also made their way to the Raptor Center. Look at those big talons on the red tail hawk!

The next week I had a full car load. I picked up a sick vulture that had been rescued north of where I live and then headed to the Raptor Center to pick up more critters.

A pair of baby doves, a sick blue jay and a young pileated woodpecker all got loaded in my car to make their way to Penny, the rehabber in south St. Pete.

A pouch of juvenile possums also came along.

A few days later a juvenile swallow tail kite was rescued close to my house so I picked it up and drove it over to the Raptor Center. The brown specks on his head and white specks on his wings will go away when he is fully grown. He was also not old enough to have his “swallow” split tail.

I got a call that there was a kestrel with an injured wing on the ground at the Tampa airport. The airport maintenance guys were able to catch it and called the Raptor Center. I was able to meet them at the cell phone parking lot and drive it to the center. Nancy thinks the wing will be able to heal.

At the end of June I was transporting a hawk, a barred owl and 4 screech owls that had been to a vet and was going back to the Raptor Center. They were having a fundraiser near my house so I met them there at the end of the event to hand off the injured birds. They had brought their ambassador kestrel and great horned owl and had a crowd of people who were curious about the birds.

At the beginning of July I was heading down to south St. Pete to take some critters to Penny, the rehabber and the above peacock also made the trip. The peacock had been found nearby with an injured leg and the Raptor Center was sending it to a peacock expert rehabber in nearby Clearwater. Peacocks roam freely all over the Tampa bay area and get a bad rap. People don’t like them because they are loud and messy so they tend to get “injured” around the area. I recently wrote about them in this post.

I had to laugh as I was heading down Penny’s street a peacock walked right in front of my car. I was going slow but it might not have been lucky if someone was speeding through this neighborhood.

This was my cargo that morning. Three baby possums.

A week later I transported 3 screech owls to the Raptor Center that had been rescued.

More baby critter rescues

On September 2, 2023August 20, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

At the end of June I made a transport for Raptor Center of Tampa Bay. Injured or lost baby birds were still coming in and needed to get to a rehabber in St. Pete. This one was a small load. A baby mockingbird, a sick kestrel and 2 loud baby crows made the trip. Those crows were cawing the entire ride to St. Pete.

The 4th of July was going to be a stay at home and relax kind of day but the call came out for a much needed transport. I left Brett watching sports on the couch and headed to Brandon. Those baby opossums were so cute! She was holding the smallest “runt” of the litter, checking to make sure it was warm enough to make the trip.

Nancy from Raptor Center posted this on the Facebook page with the stories of what happened to these babies.

A week later I was at Moccasin Lake Nature Park waiting to take a baby kestrel to Apopka. The Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka is a great place for lost baby raptors to grow up and get released. They had just received another young one so the one I was taking would get a “sibling” to grow up with. While I was waiting on the kestrel I walked around for a few minutes and checked out some of the permanently injured birds that live there. The eagle was found with a bad wing injury and is not able to be fully flighted. I was surprised to see the swallow tail kite there sitting on the perch at the front of the cage. There were 2 in the exhibit as well as a Mississippi kite (which is a rare bird around here).

The baby kestrel was ready to go and I stepped in the kitchen for a minute and got to see the meals going out to all of the injured birds. Doesn’t that look yummy (don’t look closely at the bowls if you are squeamish)? I looked away from the cart and noticed an adult kestrel sitting on the desk. I’m assuming he got his breakfast first.

This tiny baby kestrel was making the 2 hour trip to Apopka. This was my first trip to the Avian Reconditioning Center. It’s a huge place with big barn size flight cages on the property. I wish I had taken some pictures but it was so hot and they were busy so I dropped of the little one and left.

And then there was one

On June 10, 2023June 4, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? It was the end of March and I was sitting under a big tree at the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood when I thought I saw movement in the reeds under the nest. At first I thought I was crazy but then I saw her move again and realized a deer was watching me. She stood there frozen for about 30 seconds and then moved farther into the reeds.

The kestrel couple were still hanging around and stopped on the wire above me to enjoy a snack.

A few days later I was sitting on the other side of the nest since the babies seemed more visible from this angle. I only saw one baby sitting up but the other one could be sleeping.

Both parents were sitting high up on the other tower. A man walked over to me (I was sitting close to the pool and people stop and ask me about the eagles) and said there was a baby eagle down on the ground by the other condo building. I packed up my camera and chair and ran over.

There it was, sitting under a big tree. Several people were keeping an eye on it. They had tried called several agencies but couldn’t get anyone to respond. I called Raptor Center of Tampa Bay and Louise came out pretty quicky. Louise is our nearby resident raptor rescue expert.

She had her caught in no time and was checking her out to see what her injuries were. There were no injuries that she could see. Louise was thinking she was flapping her wings a little too hard and got some air and ended up landing down near the condos and couldn’t get back up to that nest in the tower. The eagle didn’t fight her at all but just watched Louise.

I helped hold the eagle while Louise put the hood on her (it keeps her calm and quiet) and put her into the crate. Off she went, to the raptor center to be checked out. Since the nest is in a Duke energy tower the eagle could not be placed back up there. Duke would have to cut the power to half of Oldsmar for a while to get her back up and they won’t do that. She spent a few weeks at the center until she was fully flighted and then released in central Florida.

And then there was one. I was glad I was there when the other baby got rescued because otherwise I would be going crazy wondering what happened to it. Now the younger baby will get the full attention from the parents. Louise said that 2 years ago both babies fell off the nest so I hope this last one stays put.

The next morning the monk parakeets were back on bottle brush tree.

A soft shell turtle was at the pond across the street from the nest. It looked like she was laying eggs.

The flapping has started

On April 20, 2023April 20, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography10 Comments

It was late February and I was stopping by the neighborhood eagle’s nest every couple of days. One morning I caught the parent bringing in a fish for breakfast. Now they were just dropping off the food and letting the babies eat on their own.

At least one parent was still hanging close to the nest.

At one point an osprey flew close to the nest and the eagle was yelling at him to leave.

One of the babies was flapping his new wings and you could still see the pin feathers.

Finally, I could get a decent shot of both of the babies sitting up. The younger one seemed to sleep a lot and wasn’t flapping yet.

The kestrel couple landed on the wire nearby.

A few other birds that came by the nest was a phoebe and a brown thrasher.

I could see a red shoulder hawk far away on the other side of the field.

A great egret flies right over my head.

Hoping for babies

On March 6, 2023March 6, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

At the end of January I was still checking on the eagle nest in the neighborhood but still had not seen any sign of a baby with the exception of both adults on the nest most of the time. They are late compared to last year and all of the other nests around the area. I saw one of the parents bringing in food so I’m thinking the baby was still too small to see from here.

I had seen one kestrel a few days earlier but on another visit there were two sitting on the bat box. Looks like a couple. Last winter I only saw one and it was a female.

A few days later I caught him in the middle of eating a bug and then she flew in. He finished his bug and then they both took off.

A dove was watching from the tree behind me.

White ibis flying across the utility field before dark.

The sun was just starting to go down at the eagle’s nest.

Out and about

On February 16, 2023February 7, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I found a great blue heron nest in the neighborhood. It sits high up in the pine tree over a small pond. I’ll be keeping an eye for babies but I won’t see them until they are pretty big since the nest sits far back on the branch.

I’ve been stopping by the neighborhood eagle nest almost every day hoping to see a baby head pop up. This was in mid-January and at this point I wasn’t even sure there was a baby although an adult has been sitting here every time I go by. I hadn’t seen anything being fed at this point. It was still early though.

I noticed the kestrel is back. There was one hanging out around the eagle nest all last winter so I wonder if this is the same one.

It’s a few days later and I see an eagle sitting on the nest tower. I couldn’t see another one but the mate might have been laying down on the nest. A turkey vulture flew close by.

I drove by the big open field in front of the utility towers near the back of the neighborhood and I could just barely see movement on a tower far down the clearing. I got my camera out thinking it was probably an osprey on that nest. The top shot was cropped up a little and I can see there’s an eagle on the nest. When I extremely cropped it up I could see a baby big enough to be sitting up on the nest. (There were 2 babies on this nest). I can’t get any closer to this nest since it’s sitting on Duke Energy property.

I could see a red shoulder hawk sitting high up in the tower in front of the eagles.

After seeing the far away nest I turned around and saw white pelicans flying high overhead. I waited a little while hoping they would get closer since they were just circling around. They came a little closer and then took off over the trees.

A few days later I stopped by RE Olds Pier to see if any eagles were fishing along the pier but all I found was a great egret and a spotted sandpiper.

The tide was so low that you could see an old crab trap out in the water. I wonder how long this has been sitting there with all of those barnacles on it.

The vertical oyster garden ropes that are hanging off the pier were exposed and are starting to get covered with barnacles. There may be some small oysters forming on it as well. They placed them here to grow oysters since they help filter and clean the water.

Color and babies

On August 2, 2021March 11, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Random things at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo.

There wasn’t many birds when I was there in late May. You can always find brown thrashers there but the kestral was the first time I had seen one here.

After leaving the botanical gardens, I headed over for a quick stop at Largo Nature Preserve to see how the flickers were doing. I got there right as Mom was feeding the babies. I love that flash of red on the back of Mom’s head.