Birds in the St. Pete parks

On May 17, 2025May 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Towards the end of February I headed down to St. Pete, near downtown. I first stopped at Crescent Lake Park for a quick walk. The first thing I saw was this cute little pied grebe. I realized this one had his breeding beak on. We usually only see them in their non-breeding drab colors. This one had an all white beak with a black stripe down it which means he was ready to flirt. I heard weeks later that there were grebe babies there and I didn’t make it back down there to look for them.

There were only a few white pelicans left. Most had already left to go north for the summer.

Most of the wintering ducks were gone but this pretty lesser scaup was still there.

My next stop was at the North Shore Park waterfront for a longer walk. When I got back to my car I heard screaming from the tree in front of it and looked up and saw black capped (or nanday) parakeets. I grabbed my camera and started snapping. Isn’t three a crowd?

They were busy eating and being silly.

Some were already pairing up.

Some where huddling together in the cold (it was a little chilly this morning).

Some of the different colors of pigeons. I don’t see white ones or the red ash ones often.

Just a man walking his dog along the seawall.

A sailboat near the little bay beach.

A cool foggy walk on the waterfront.

On April 14, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sightsLeave a comment

The mild winters in central Florida almost make up for enduring the heat for 9-10 months. It was cold (50 degrees) when Brett and I went out for long walk down on the St. Pete downtown waterfront in mid-January. We parked at the far end of North Shore Park and walked our way around to the St. Pete Pier. It was cloudy when we first got there.

The sun was trying to come out as we made our way around by the municipal marina.

A view of the historic airplane statue from the other side. It’s a replica of the first commercial air flight from St. Pete to Tampa.

Making our way to the end of the long pier. The small building houses a coffee shop, a restaurant and a bar at the top.

Shots from the end of the pier looking towards downtown. First left, then right.

We took a break and sat on the stairs at the split in the walkway.

As we got back around to the mainland I noticed the sea fog rolling in.

I could barely see the pier through the fog.

As we made our way around Vinoy Park and back to North Shore Park it was not as foggy. What a weird morning. Although it was cool it was still sticky. That stranded boat on the small beach was still there from the hurricanes. We stopped at one more park before heading to a big late breakfast but more on that park later.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

A busy morning walking in St. Pete.

On March 17, 2025March 7, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Near the end of December I headed down to St. Pete to look for white pelicans that spend the winter at Crescent Lake Park. I hadn’t heard that they were back yet so I didn’t take my big camera. I just brought my phone to take a walk around the lake.

Of course they were there (and my camera was not so these are all with my phone). Many of them were hanging out along the bank and were pretty close to the sidewalk.

There were also a lot of them swimming around the lake in small flocks.

A short video of them swimming to the bank. At first I thought there was going to be a territorial fight but they all got along. I did make it back here a few weeks later with my camera so more on the white pelicans later.

After my walk around the lake I headed over to nearby North Shore Park to visit some of my favorite trees along the beach (this is on the bay). The tall palm tree on the far right in the 1st picture lost it’s top in the hurricanes.

It was a super low tide which is normal for late December. The low tides in the winter are crazy here.

The tiny pier building looked so far away from here.

The rare great tailed grackle is still hanging around the park here. I first saw him in 2023 so he must like it here. People still come from all over to see him. He should be living on the western part of the country.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

A beautiful day at the beach?

On January 22, 2025February 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

In late October I was heading to downtown St. Pete to see my chiropractor and I could see the missing roof that had been blown off the baseball field during Hurricane Milton. They have since taken the rest of the roof off and are still deciding how to fix it. With the season coming up at the end of March, the Rays will be playing at the Yankees spring training field in Tampa for the upcoming year.

A crane had fallen on an office building a few blocks from my chiropractor. It’s going to take a long time to fix that.

After my appointment I drove over to nearby North Shore Park and went for a quick walk along the water. It was too beautiful to go home.

A few days later Brett and I went over to Clearwater Beach to have lunch. The Columbia restaurant on Sand Key beach had just opened back up and were in need of patrons since most everything was still closed and not many tourists around. We love the Columbia so we had to go grab some lunch.

The parking lots on Clearwater beach were closed and full of sand that had been moved off the roads. They were just starting to clean up the beaches.

The famous Palm Pavilion Grill and Bar (my Dad was a bartender here back in the 40’s when he was home for the summer from collage) got a lot of flooding and damage inside. They are still closed but are posting they are hoping to reopen by early February.

Closed parking lots full of sand all the way down the beach. Many of the lots are now open and many of the big chain hotels (more than 2 stories) are open. The few remaining small 2 story Mom and Pop motels are still closed. It will be interesting to see how many reopen and how many sell out after the hurricane damage.

The Columbia restaurant on the intercoastal only got minimal damage inside since they are built up. They did have damage to their outside seating area and that is still closed. Brett and I went back for lunch again 2 weeks ago and that sailboat is still wedge up on the seawall.

Heading home in the other direction, home debris lined the street. Early news reports had said that 20,000-30,000 homes were flooded in the Tampa Bay area (Hillsborough and Pinellas counties) from Helene. And then Milton hit and did further damage. People are either staying with friends, spending a fortune on an apartment or renting an RV, staying in their homes without walls/kitchen and many are living in cars. Not to mention people are still living in tents in the snow in North Carolina.

A 3 stop morning

On April 20, 2024April 17, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I was on my way to Crescent Lake Park but stopped at nearby North Shore Park first to get a glimpse of the sun coming up over the bay. It was a beautiful morning in late January but also chilly and there wasn’t any birds on the beach.

I saw the white pelicans right when I got to Crescent Lake Park. Only about half of them were still there and I was thinking they would be gone before I made it back down here again. Luckily a few of them were right at the edge and I was able to see them close up.

I stopped at the Safety Harbor fishing pier on the way home. It was cloudy when I first got there and I saw the above common loon far out in the bay. A little later when the sun came back out I was hoping to get a better shot of him but I couldn’t find him again.

Brown pelicans were diving for fish and the laughing gulls were right on them when they came up with a mouthful of fish hoping to steal some of the fish.

Later when I was editing the pictures I realized one of the pelicans had a big scrape on his head. I went back out there the next morning but didn’t see him. He might have hit it on the pier if he was diving too close. I heard that happens to them at the Sunshine Skyway fishing pier.

Zooming in on Tampa across the bay.

I saw these horned grebes from far away and waited forever for them to get closer. They seemed to be heading towards the pier as they went under to get the fish. The few times I had seen them before this winter at the pier they were like little pin dots far out in the middle of the bay so I was glad they were getting closer. I haven’t seen them again since this visit.

A cold winter morning in St. Pete.

On March 25, 2024April 30, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

European starlings get no respect here. They are treated like annoying pigeons. They are an invasive species here in the United States but they are pretty when the sun hits them just right. I found this one alone at Crescent Lake Park in St. Pete. I stopped for a quick walk and to see if the white pelicans were still there.

This wood stork was feeding right in front of me. I did find the white pelicans and took a ton of shots of them feeding but more on them later.

After a walk around the lake I drove 10 minutes over to the North Shore Park on the bay. As soon as I got out of my car I heard the monk parakeets feeding on the ground in the parking lot.

There were very few birds on the little beach in front of the park.

The tide was really low and this guy was having the best time chasing after a big stick.

A grackle was calling for his girlfriend.

It looks like it was a quiet morning from this point of view but behind me there were tons of people walking, jogging and biking on the wide sidewalk that runs along the park. It was a cold morning so there wasn’t anyone out on the beach.

My favorite 5 tall palm trees on the beach at the park. The sky was clearing up.

The parking lot has several orchid trees that were in full bloom. I was getting in my car when I heard a big flock of nanday parakeets fly into the one right next to my car. I got out and shot the above before they all took off again.

A 4 stop road trip morning

On June 15, 2023June 13, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

It was an early morning in April and I was looking for a new bird. A great-tailed grackle had been spotting in St. Pete somewhere in the North Shore Park area.

I found this guy but it was a boat-tailed grackle. The only real difference between the two are the color of the eyes. The boat-tailed has black eyes and the great-tailed has yellow eyes. Their call is also different.

There he was, right in the parking lot near the pool. Those bright yellow eyes gave him away. He was right in the area where people had been spotting him. I haven’t heard of one being in the Tampa Bay area before. They are found on the western part of the country so he was far off course.

Meanwhile, this Cooper’s hawk was there as well, looking at me like I was crazy.

I noticed the trees were blooming.

I’m not sure if squirrels can eat these big balls hanging from the palm tree but this one seem to be hiding in them.

I made a quick stop at nearby Crescent Lake Park to see if the white pelicans were still hanging around the lake. I only saw 2 of them on this visit. I don’t know if the other ones were somewhere else in the park or if they had already headed north for the summer.

Another quick stop on the way home and I found some black-necked stilts and yellowlegs. They were all hanging out along the ditches near the waste plant. It was still a little early for stilt babies.

My final stop of the morning (but really only a quick drive through) was of the peacock neighborhood. There’s a neighborhood in Clearwater that has tons of wild peacocks roaming the yards. I had recently heard there was an all white one there so I drove through looking for it. I found it but more on that later.

Three stops before my appointment.

On March 20, 2023March 9, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

I was heading down to St. Pete and stopped by Crescent Lake Park to see if there were any white pelicans still hanging around. They usually spend a few weeks here in the winter but it’s hit or miss whether they are here or floating in the nearby bay. When I first got out of the car I noticed a few scattered around the lake.

Then I noticed more hanging out in the shade under the big banyan tree. They were all busy preening so they must have just finished a morning swim.

I heard something over my head and looked up and saw this starling sitting in a hole. He might have been checking out the hole for future nesting spots.

This ring billed gull was swimming in the shade near the white pelicans. His red accents really popped in the shade.

After snapping the white pelicans I headed down toward North Shore Park and saw this big tree blooming so I had to pull over and take a shot. This was in mid-February and I had missed it’s full peak but it was still pretty.

All was quiet on the little beach on the bay.

One more stop just south of the St. Pete pier before heading to my chiropractor who’s office is nearby. It was a beautiful cool morning out and was worth leaving an hour early.

The sun through palm trees

On January 19, 2023January 18, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights7 Comments

After I caught the sun rising at the Safety Harbor fishing pier I headed down to North Shore Park in St. Pete. The sun was up about half way by this time but still made for some pretty shots. This little beach sits on the bay side of St. Pete and the sand isn’t very nice so there usually isn’t too many people on it in the morning.

The water looked very inviting with the sun beaming down on it but it was a little chilly this morning.

I think this is a Hong Kong orchid tree. The the park was full of them blooming in early December.

I was hoping to find something different in the way of birds out here, sometimes a surprise might pop up but it was quiet. Only the usuals. A ring billed gull scratching an itch and a pelican lands in front of me. The little beach was full of laughing gulls but not much else.

As I was standing on the beach watching the birds this tiny shark swam right up near the sand.

A beautiful morning out

On February 7, 2022March 17, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights3 Comments

I love coming down to North Shore Park to walk. It sits on the bay side of St. Pete and the water is usually pretty calm. There’s a long paved trail that’s always busy with joggers and walkers. Occasionally I find an interesting bird.

Far out across the bay you can barely make out two dolphins coming up for air as they cruise by the pelicans. Even from far away it’s cool to see the dolphins.