Tag: lakeland

The ugly ducklings

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

After my walk at Circle B Bar Reserve in mid-March I stopped by Lake Morton near downtown Lakeland before heading home. I was hoping to see some baby swans and I got lucky. They were sitting close to the road when I parked and got out of my car. The babies plopped down for a few minutes and I was hoping they would head back towards the lake.

Nope, they decided the grass looked greener across the street so off they went. I stopped traffic as they walked over. Most people drive slow through here because critters are always crossing the street and hang out on the road but you never know.

They started eating the grass in the yard across the street from the lake.

I walked over to the lake and found a couple napping on a nest next to the lake.

Most of the winter ducks had left but there were a few coots and ring necked ducks hanging around.

I found another family swimming along the edge of the lake. This couple had 4 babies.

A quick video of the family swimming together. The 4th baby comes swimming up with Dad at the end.

They eventually came up on the grass and started feeding on it.

As I walked back to my car I could see a bald eagle sitting up on the cross on top of the church and snapped the above.

Saturday's Critters

Fun things at Lake Mirror

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants3 Comments

Color at Hollis Garden in Lakeland in early May.

I thought these lily pad were cool holding the water in their leaves. Lake Mirror in downtown Lakeland was full of them.

There’s a reason they are called “common” moorhens. They are everywhere and they have tons of babies starting in the spring.

I noticed this baby grackle screaming at his Mom for food. He was hopping around behind Mom but I think she was trying to get him to feed himself. He was old enough to be able to do that.

Across Lake Morton a new building was going up. The flags would have looked very magestic if they weren’t so worn out.

I don’t alway stop at Lake Mirror after a walk at Circle B Bar Reserve but this morning in early May I only did a short walk at Circle B and then went over to Lake Mirror. I was in the mood for some spring flowers that were in bloom at Hollis Gardens which sits right on the lake.

SkyWatch Friday

Meet Morton

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Since mid-October there’s been a wild turkey hanging out at Lake Morton near downtown Lakeland. At least everyone thinks she’s wild. There’s a few parks and preserves close by so she could have wandered far off her path and ended up here. The neighborhood did a naming poll and the name Morton stuck. She seemed pretty domesticated to me. I found her as I was walking around the lake and she came pretty close to me. People have probably been feeding her. All of the turkeys I’ve seen out in the woods are very skittish and run away pretty quickly. She better be hiding this week.

She was strutting around like she owned the lake. There are brick retaining walls in a few places around the lake and the white pelicans along with the ducks like to nap there. She walked up to the pelicans which are much bigger than her and chased them off the wall.

She then strutted over to another wall and chased the ducks away. The pelicans had moved on and were climbing up onto another wall and she went over and chased them again. She was causing a lot of chaos this morning. It will be interesting to see how long she’s there.

Winter white

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

It’s rare to see a white pelican in Florida outside of the winter months. Even in the winter you have to hunt for them in central Florida. There’s usually a few that hang out at Lake Morton in Lakeland. These guys were still here in mid-March. They usually leave to head north for the summer in late April. Some of the older ones had already developed that bump on their beaks which they only get during breeding season.

A young one was posing.

Once in a while, a few would take off flying, circle the lake and land back on the lake. I’m going to miss them when they leave but hopefully they’ll be back in fall.

SkyWatch Friday

White pelican ballet

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It’s rare to see a lone white pelican. This guy was actually in the group below.

It’s beautiful to watch the white pelicans gracefully float around the water and feed. They don’t dive in head first to catch the fish like brown pelicans. They work in a group to herd the fish into shallower water. Bobbing up and down they look like they are synchronized fishing. I found them in a small lake in central Florida. They only stay here in the winter.

One swam under a water fountain in the middle of the lake.

Several flew over my head.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World

So many babies, so little time – at Lake Mirror

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

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So many babies, so little time.  This seems to be a big baby duck year. I’m seeing big families everywhere.  Getting them all lined up for a family portrait wasn’t easy. The babies are very curious and were running around all over the place.  Eventually they tired out and settled down for a nap hiding under mom.

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They grow up so fast. One of the first duck families this year at the lake.  They are still sticking close together.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

Turtle day at the lake

On By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

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The turtles at Lake Morton are usually extremely skittish. If they see me across the lake the dive under water. For some reason they stayed out on the rocks in late December. Maybe they just liked the warm sun too much that morning. There were several on the rocks along the lake. They all have slightly different patterns on their face and neck. They didn’t seem to mind the ducks coming close or even me so I snapped a lot of pictures of them that morning.

Saturday's Critters