Cute little ones in the woods

It was late May in the woods in the park near my house. Early in the morning I found a barred owl sleeping on a tree close to the boardwalk. You couldn’t miss her. I snapped a quick shot and kept going.

As I got a little farther a young one was sitting on a tree, also close to the boardwalk. The baby was busy preening but stopped for a second and stared at me.

I made my way to the end of the boardwalk and turned around. When I was coming back the parent owl was just waking up. Again, I snapped a quick shot and kept going since people were starting to crowd up on the boardwalk and get pictures with their phones.

Deep in the reeds along the lake a juvenile grackle was begging for Mom to feed her.

I found one of the frogs again.

As I was watching the frog a few birds went by including the tricolored heron in the first shots and the limpkin in the last shot. I was hoping they didn’t get the frog.

A juvenile limpkin was getting a snail snack from Mom.

Mom fed this young one several times. The baby looks like Mom but is much smaller. They eat a lot of apple snails that grow in abundance here.

An osprey flies by with a fish.

The summer rains hadn’t started and the swamp area was dried up. There is usually a pond here.

Saturday's Critters

A new owl family

I was thinking I had missed the baby owl season when I went for a walk at Chesnut Park in early April. There was a 2nd barred owl family and my timing was pretty good. Both babies were right on the boardwalk.

The oldest baby was so cute, looking around at everything with such curiosity.

Mom was nearby watching both babies.

The younger baby was just a little bit fuzzier than it’s older sibling and was sitting lower in another tree. I waited a short while to see if Mom would get some food and feed them but they all stayed in their spots so I headed down the boardwalk to see what else I could find.

A rabbit was chomping on the grass out in the field.

The lake looked good enough to jump in but I knew it was filled with alligators. Yes, people ski on this lake but they say the alligators stay close to the edges in the quiet spots. I wouldn’t risk it.

A few fly overs included a swallow tail kite and a great egret.

This limpkin had a yummy snack. He had pulled the meat out of an apple snail and was gulping it down in pieces.

Before leaving I stopped by the owl area again and the babies had moved farther back into the woods. I saw Mom sitting on a branch right up against the trail. Then I noticed a squirrel was on the same branch farther down and was  climbing up near the owl. They were so close I took the above with my phone.

A short video of the squirrel getting closer to the owl. I couldn’t decide if the squirrel was stupid, brave or crazy. He would run up to the owl and then run down again and did this several times. Finally the squirrel jumped off the branch and ran under the boardwalk. Mom owl just sat there. She must have already eaten.

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Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Snail for lunch

I pulled into the parking lot at Largo Nature Preserve and these guys were hanging out in the tree right over my car. If your choice in Florida is parking in the shade and risking bird poop on your car or parking in the sun, you park in the shade.

The tricolored heron was flitting around the boardwalk. I think he was trying to catch dragonflies.

I don’t see red ones often.

This guy was sleeping in the tree but woke up to scratch an itch.

I was excited to see the fuzzy baby limpkin.

Mom was feeding him apple snails.  Mom would pull the meat out of the snail with the end of her beak and give to the baby. By the time I found them it was almost noon and the sun was harsh. I didn’t stay long. It was time for me to head home for lunch as well.

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Snail for breakfast

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This limpkin can pretend like he’s eating escargot for breakfast but it’s really just plain ole apple snail.

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Baby bluebirds on the playground. This was the first time I’ve seen bluebirds here.

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A juvenile little blue heron out in the lake.

It was a quiet morning at Chesnut Park in late October. The highlight was watching the limpkin trying to get the snail out of his shell. He kept turning his back on me like he thought I was going to jump in the lake and steal it from him.

Saturday's Critters