Tag: little blue herons

My favorite walking spots in October

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

The sun was trying to peak out when I went for a walk just after sunrise at the Safety Harbor Waterfront in Mid-October.

It had gotten even cloudier when I stopped by nearby Philippe Park to walk the stairs.

As I was heading for the stairs I caught a pair of little blue herons chasing each other. I’m not sure if they were fighting or flirting since they flew off together.

A night heron sits in the oyster bed.

A few days later I was walking at the Dunedin marina.

The water was low and clear along the seawall and I could see several horseshoe crabs along the rocks. I don’t remember seeing them here before.

I was walking through a neighborhood near the marina and noticed this cactus that was growing on a palm tree was blooming. I did some digging and found out it was dragon fruit. I’ve never eaten it but I see it at the grocery store. The plant was loaded with it. I hope the owner ate all of them.

A few days later and I was at the Dunedin causeway.

I was getting to the bottom of the bridge and noticed this great egret trying to eat a fish. There were several guys fishing along the seawall so I’m not sure if he stole it from them.

I noticed a laughing gull with a missing foot. I’ve seen him several times (at least I think it’s the same one).

an image of a red sports car with a lady caricature going at Vroom Vroom high speed, Senior Salon Pit Stop Vroom Vroom LinkupOpen every Tuesday! Get those posts seen and make others happy! Come join the #happynowlinkup #bloggersMy Random Musings

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Looking for an owl

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I stopped by the park not to far from my house on the way home from Chesnut Park. I hadn’t been in a while but was wondering if the owls were nesting again this year. It was too early for babies but I did see an adult sleeping in the tree. This was a good sign.

I would nest here too if I was a bird. The old trees are beautiful.

Nearby in the utility tower are the brown boobies. It’s always been rare to see them here but in the last year, a handful of them have been living in the area. Most days they can be seen on the tower. These were taken with my 300mm lens and extender and I cropped these up so they are pretty far out. You can tell the boobies by the white stomachs vs. the many cormorants or anhingas on the tower.

Lots of birds in along the shoreline at the park.

SkyWatch Friday

House Hunters for birds

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

DSC_3196

DSC_3197

DSC_3198

DSC_3200

DSC_3208

DSC_3212

It’s the annual wild baby bird season at Lowry Park zoo. Herons and egrets build their nests over the alligator exhibit during the spring. On my visit in late March, only the great egrets already had their babies high up in the trees. The last picture is the only shot I got and the babies were almost fully grown. The rest of the pictures are of a little blue heron couple building their nest together. She was guarding the spot and he was bringing her sticks. They build such tiny little nests. I’m going to try to get over there again in early May to see if any baby blue herons are running around.