Little fuzzy quackers in the pond

On August 18, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

This spring has been a banner Cape May warbler year. I was at Possum Branch Preserve at the end of April which doesn’t get a lot of migrating birds but this morning there were several.

A black throated blue was also there, feeding in the mulberry tree.

Smaller flying critters along the path around the pond.

A purple gallinule was in the middle of the pond, standing on the spatterdock.

I think this bunny noticed me. He didn’t run though.

An osprey flies by with breakfast.

It was fun to see a big mallard family on the edge of the pond.

I plopped down on the grass for a while and watched them feed. Mom seemed proud of her babies.

Momma duck had better keep an eye out for this guy at the other end of the pond.

Ducks and parakeets

On February 1, 2025January 22, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I stopped by Crescent Lake Park near downtown St. Pete in early November looking for winter ducks. Lesser scaup and ringed neck ducks usually spend the winter in the lake but they weren’t there yet. All I got was the usual mallards. It was also too early for white pelicans that also winter here.

A turtle popped up across the lake.

It was good to see the old banyan tree was still standing after 2 hurricanes. It was missing a lot of branches from the top though. The big tree is fenced off to try and restore it and keep it safe from people climbing on it which damages the tree.

The much smaller banyan tree was snapped off.

I headed over to nearby Demen’s Landing Park for a quick walk before heading home. I could see the small private airport to the right and the St. Pete Pier to the left. That sailboat looks like it needs a new sail.

The newer pier is smaller than the old one that was torn down years ago. It only has a restaurant and a bar in it. The older one had several restaurants and stores and had a great top deck that you could walk around and see everything.

As I was walking back to my car I saw some nanday parakeets flying over. They landed in a tree near my car.

Some of them were busy gorging on seed and nuts from the tree.

This couple was busy flirting. It’s not really nesting season for them and it looks like she might have had a headache from that last picture.

Lots of Kermits at the gardens

On September 16, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Atlanta6 Comments

More pictures from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens from our trip in June.

We got there right when it opened on a weekday and there wasn’t too many other people there. Luckily as we walked through the front section a Mom with her babies walked right by. I was able to get a couple of shots before they headed into the bushes.

I saw several eastern towhees. They were not skittish at all. One landed on the sidewalk right in front of me.

The gardens have the most fabulous green frogs when you can find them. On my last trip here (November 2022) I couldn’t find any. This trip there were a lot of them in the big lotus and lily pond in front of the orchid building. I’m sure they keep the mosquitoes down.

There was also a turtle peeking out.

A dragonfly on a lotus bud.

The orchid/rainforest building is on the left with a few buildings in Midtown in the middle.

Walking down the elevated canopy walk.

A hot walk at the zoo

On September 7, 2024November 14, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn zoo animals5 Comments

The last time I was at Zoo Tampa for a walk was the end of May. It’s just been to hot and humid. I saw this cute mallard family in one of the exhibits.

I noticed a great blue heron sitting on a nest over the alligator exhibit and was thinking I wanted to get back to see if there were babies but that didn’t happen.

I couldn’t tell what was going on with the flamingos in the back. I think they were flirting. They create these mud spots to nest on and I think they were working on that.

The manatee hospital at the zoo had 2 patients. They were tube feeding them both medicine. I didn’t want to bother the zookeepers and ask them what was wrong with them. I’m assuming they were sick and stranded themselves and were rescued.

The manatee in the holding pool was sharing his lettuce with some mallards.

All lined up.

A shot of the otter taking a dip.

These primates were so funny to watch. How nice of him to pick the bugs off his friend.

Scaring off a goose

On June 1, 2024June 1, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I have seen an Egyptian goose in the Tampa area once. One showed up last summer in south St. Pete. They are an invasive species and are seen out in the wild in south Florida. I had heard there was another one at the Largo Nature Preserve and the first time I went I didn’t see it. On a recent trip I walked around the preserve on the golf course side where I heard he usually hung out and didn’t see him but when I got to the other side of the preserve he was there, walking along the bank.

After taking a few shots of the goose I realized there was a mallard Mom with babies swimming around in front of the goose.

Dad flew in and was staying close to the family. I thought “How cute” as they made their way down the side channel.

Then I saw the goose flying towards the side channel.

Look how cute the family is! Both parents were keeping the babies close.

I watched the goose go down to the water and get a drink right in front of the family. It was then I realized what was going on.

This mean invasive goose was going after a baby for a meal. He slipped into the water and snuck up on the family. Mom squawked at the goose.

The goose backed off at first but stayed close by and then kept testing the parents. Dad wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping the babies safe even though he was right there. Mom was fighting off the goose. At this point there were a handful of people on the trail watching. Two ladies started picking up sticks and rocks and throwing it at the goose. No one was going to get in that water though. The water is full of alligators (which also makes a meal out of baby duck).

The goose finally swam away to the other side and the family kept going down the channel. I couldn’t tell if anyone hit the goose with a stick or rock but he seemed to have given up for the time being. Someone said they started out with 13 babies and now they are down to 9. Was it the goose or other usual Florida animals (hawks, owls, eagles, otters, alligators) that got them?

The mallard family went away swimming fast and stayed together. Although the babies were probably oblivious to what was going on.

The goose flew over to my side of the channel and walked right up to me.

I took this with my phone. He seemed to be mad like it’s my fault he lost a meal. I put my camera down and waved my arms and yelled at him (like the crazy person I am). He took off and flew around the bend and headed back towards the golf course.

These geese are invasive and are not protected. There’s an urban legend that they originally escaped from the Miami zoo when Hurricane Andrew came through in 1992 and did a lot of damage to the zoo. There are a lot of them in south Florida and have taken over some parks. They are aggressive and poop a lot. I hope it doesn’t happen here.

A quick walk around Crescent Lake Park

On May 25, 2024May 17, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Tiny butterflies and a big one at Crescent Lake Park in late March.

A pied grebe in the middle of the lake. This one had his breeding stripe on his beak already but I didn’t think they nested here.

Green herons were everywhere.

Just a few of the many turtles around the lake.

Mama muscovy with a baby. I’m sure she started with many more than the one.

A pretty mallard sits in the vegetation.

European starlings don’t get any respect around here but they are pretty when the sun hits them just right.

The old banyan trees are looking a little rough The one on the left is turning brown. It might be from the lack of rain. Hopefully it will come back when the summer rains hit.

A two park morning

On May 13, 2024June 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I was out at Largo Nature Preserve on a foggy morning in early March. I didn’t expect to see anything new but you never know. I saw a mallard across the golf course that sits next to the preserve.

There were also 2 Canadian geese on the course. I haven’t seen any since last year.

The limpkins were looking for breakfast. After a quick walk I left and stopped at the Roosevelt Wetlands to see if there was anything there.

As soon as I got out of the car at the wetlands I saw 2 northern flickers on a utility pole. I looked around for a nest but they stayed on the pole or wire for a while. These may have been 2 females.

The blanket flower was coming back from the cold spell and starting to fill out along the trail.

A pair of northern shovelers were sitting on the bank.

The usual birds were there including a limpkin and great egret.

As I walk down the trail I could see tons of birds hovering over the nearby waste plant. I think the bigger one in the top was an eagle.

Towards the end of the trail I could a lot of turkey vultures. It didn’t look like they had something to eat so they may have just been resting.

A young juvenile eagle flew right over (I took this into the sun) and headed past the trees.

I saw something moving around on the side of the landfill. I realized it was a coyote. This was the first time I have seen a coyote in Florida. I know there are tons of them here and people have seen them in my neighborhood (mostly at night) but I have not seen one here. I have seen them in Utah and Colorado but this was my first Florida one. He was far away and ran along the ridge for a few minutes before disappearing.

A busy morning on my bike

On November 18, 2023November 12, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

It was mid-July and I still hadn’t seen the baby turkeys this summer. I had heard they were around from neighbors but I kept missing them. I went out for a bike ride one morning and there they were. Crossing the street and almost grown. I knew they would be in the woods in a second so I hopped off my bike and snapped the above.

As I passed them by I was able to get a quick shot before they went under the wooden fence and disappeared into the woods. They were still in that “cute” stage.

As I got around to the open utility field I saw a deer couple. The male looked young with those tiny antlers.

I saw another turkey family, all grown ups, far off on the other side of the field. They were heading behind someone’s house. When I got around to the other street they were feeding in front of a home, scratching around for bugs.

I stopped by the pond behind the golf center and found some baby mallards on the other side of the pond. I rarely see baby ducks here. In our old neighborhood in Tampa there were always a ton of babies almost all year round, both mallards and muscovy.

I also found some baby moorhens.

A great egret flies by as I was taking pictures of the moorhens.

Across the golf course I could see a doe running into the cover. I’m thinking she looked pregnant.

Flowers blooming around the neighborhood.

Dragonflies for breakfast

On November 4, 2023October 25, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I realized I had not posted the baby purple martins from May. I had been keeping an eye on the purple martin house at the Dunedin marina and when I stopped by in mid-May I saw lots of older babies being fed. Above is a male parent bringing a dragonfly to the baby.

Both male and female parents were bringing in food. The babies, almost as big as their parents, were sticking their heads out of the nest holes.

This time Mom brought a dragonfly.

Some of the juveniles were just starting to fly and were landing on another martin’s nest deck. It was constant chaos with parents chasing away someone else’s babies. By early June the nest building was deserted and all was quiet until next spring.

As I was standing in the small parking lot I looked down on the sea wall and could see some other critters watching me. Mallards and great blue herons are common along the rocks in front of the marina.

Looking across the water at Clearwater Beach, it was a picture perfect morning.

Waiting for eagles to wake up.

On May 5, 2022April 30, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

I spent many mornings standing under a bottle brush tree along a fence waiting for the eagles in my neighborhood to wake up. I would go for a long walk and then ride my bike over to the nest with my camera and wait for the parents to bring in food. I saw a lot of other birds there as well. A kestral was there on the wires every time I came to take pictures. In the beginning he was very skittish and would fly away when I walked up but after a month he started getting a little closer. One morning I caught him eating a cricket.

A phoebe hung out in the reeds along the utility area beyond the fence. He was there most of February and March.

One morning a hawk landed in a tree nearby. I thought he was going to catch something when he flew to the ground but he took off empty handed.

The moon was still up early one morning.

Early in April on a cloudy morning there were two swallow tail kites that flew far up overhead.

One morning a turkey cruised by.

The usual annoying birds were always there, mockinbirds and blue jays.

A mallard flew by.

I was out there right before sundown one day and got to watch the beautiful sunset. That’s a bat box on the stick. Sometimes I could hear them sqweaking in there.