And then there was one

Posted on June 10, 2023 by dinajohnston

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.

A busy morning at the nest

Posted on May 29, 2023 by dinajohnston

It was the end of March and the late baby eagles in my neighborhood were still not flying yet.

I heard Mom screaming and realized that another juvenile (from the nest at the other end of the neighborhood) was cruising over the nest and trying to land. Mom chased off the intruder and landed back on the nest tower. The nest far over on the other end of the neighborhood was several weeks ahead of this nest. Those babies were already flying and this one came looking for an extra meal.

After the intruder left Mom sat there and screamed for a while. I guess she was calling for her mate. The mate flew in and they both sat there for a few minutes. They were on the other end of the tower and it’s was tough to see both of them together.

All of a sudden they started mating. I’ve read that they stress mate even while they still have babies.

After the eagles calmed down I started looking around and saw this woodpecker with a snack on the fence.

A great crested flycatcher and a palm warbler landed in the trees I was sitting under.

I heard some screaming and realized some monk parakeets had flown into the bottle brush trees next to the fence. They were eating the seed off the brushes.

Across the field a squirrel was eating what looked like a big mushroom.

Flashes of pink and green

Posted on November 16, 2021 by dinajohnston

I barely made it to see the silk floss blooms this year. The silk floss trees at the Florida Botanical Gardens bloom in late September and I didn’t make it there until mid-October but there were still a lot of pink blooms on the tree in the parking lot. I was taking some close up shots of the beautiful pink flowers on the low hanging branches when I saw a flash of green go by.

I heard the loud squawking near the top of the tree and realized that several monk parakeets had landed in the tree.

They spent quite a while eating parts of the flower. They seemed to be eating the bottom part of it where the seed is but they were also playing around with the pink petals. It was so much fun to watch them eating for a while. It was a challenge to get a clear shot since there were so many branches in the way and the light was terrible.

Stepping back and taking this shot with my phone, you can see how big the tree is but this one is much smaller than the one behind the visitor’s centor. There were only blooms left on the bottom half of the tree.

At the baseball park

Posted on September 28, 2021 by dinajohnston

In early August I stopped by the baseball fields near my house to see if any parakeets were nesting. Getting out of the car I could see the nest high up in the light post. The clouds were moving in over the sun you could just make out a faint rainbow around it.

I could hear loud screaming coming from below the light post in the big pile of sticks. The parakeets build their nests at the bottom of the osprey nests and go in from underneath. The osprey have long left since they nest late winter. These monk parakeets were busying flying in and out but I didn’t see any young ones. There were several entrance holes to this one big nest.

A few of them flew over to the tree and hung out there for a while.

Some of the other light posts that didn’t have nests were full of pigeons taking a nap.

A tricolored heron posing on top of the ballfield fence, in the outfield.

There weren’t any games going on while I was there and the park was pretty quiet with a few people on the tennis courts. There were at least 8 empty osprey nests here but it’s hard to get good shots of the babies since the nests are so high up. Years ago I saw some loggerhead shrikes juveniles here but I didn’t see any here today. I’ll check back on another quiet day.

A new bird at Largo Nature Preserve

Posted on May 25, 2021 by dinajohnston

Mucsovy ducks are having babies at all of the local ponds including Largo Nature Preserve.

This blue winged teal couple was still floating around in late March.

The monk parakeets were flying back and forth getting sticks for their nests. Here they nest in a big utilty complex.

The dead trees near the parking lot were full of residents. The first one had a flicker nesting in it. Every once in a while she would poke her head out. The next tree had a hole that was full of bees. The next tree had several red bellied woodpeckers checking out the holes. They may nest later.

After several stops at this park looking for this ash throated flycatcher that had been seen by other birders for the last few weeks, I finally found it on the 3rd try. Luckily this was a “third time’s a charm” instead of “three strikes and you’re out.” It was hopping around in the trees right in the parking lot catching dragonflies. This was a new bird for me and while it’s not quite as pretty as the great crested flycatcher that we get pretty often around here, it was still a great find.

Walking on the boardwalk around the small lake, I found this nest. I’m thinking it’s a moorhen nest since there are a lot of them on this lake but I didn’t see any near this nest. Assuming it’s abandoned but hoping the parent just left for a quick bite.

Flying flashes of green

Posted on March 20, 2021 by dinajohnston

There are now so many wild parakeets in the St. Pete area that I can hear them screaming as they fly overhead at just about any park in the area. We have a small flock of monk parakeets living in Tampa near our neighborhood. I hear them screaming when I’m sitting at the red light before getting on the highway. On a recent Saturday I was at Crescent Lake Park walking around (hoping to see the otters there) when they came flying in right into the trees in front of me. They nest near the baseball field at the park so you can almost always see them here. It looked like they were chewing on sticks up in the tree. Many of them were eating the acorns on the ground as well. They spent quite a while feeding before all taking off.

I looked down at the lake and the baby ducks on the drain cover were looking at me like “why are you watching those crazy loud birds?”

Funny and pretty at the botanical gardens

Posted on March 9, 2021 by dinajohnston

I was walking around the Botanical Gardens in Largo in late December and a small flock of monk parakeets flew right into the trees over my head. They spend a few minutes feeding on the seeds and anything else they could find up there. It was funny to watch them hopping around and hanging upside down. A few minutes later they all started screaming and took off. All was quiet again.

Across the gardens I could see an osprey flying into his nest with a small fish.

The milkweed bushes were still full of caterpillars. The weather had been mild and warm up to this point.

You can always find butterflies all year long here in central Florida.

North Shore Park

Posted on October 26, 2020 by dinajohnston

Far out in the bay, it was rush hour traffic on a Saturday morning. Lots of boat activity on this beautiful morning.

I found another great blue heron/ great egret hybrid at the small beach near downtown St. Pete.

After a quick walk around North Shore park, I was heading back to my car and saw the above flying into the trees in the parking lot.

All of a sudden, the tree was full of nanday parakeets. Even at the end of summer, they were in pairs and flirting. Maybe they are like humans and flirt all year round instead of just nesting season. Although due to the warm weather most of the year here, nesting season could still be going on. This couple was very affectionate.

The next tree over had monk parakeets in them. This one kept chewing on a branch.

Then his mate flew in and they started preening each other.

There were so many parakeets here on this particular morning that the sound was deafening. The wild parakeets in the area have really taken over. They are very comical to watch and are not skittish at all.

Snail for lunch

Posted on September 8, 2020 by dinajohnston

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.

Wild parakeets

Posted on March 9, 2019 by dinajohnston

The wild monk parakeets in the Tampa bay area like to nest in utility poles, water towers and lights at ballparks. I’ve never seen or heard of them nesting in trees in the area. I was at Largo Nature Park recently which is right next to a big utility complex and the parakeets were buzzing around. They were busy chasing each other and screaming. I could hear them all over the park. It was fun to watch those flashes of green flying in and out of the utility wires especially since it would be a lot harder to see them in the trees.

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