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.

Up close with some zoo animals.

On June 22, 2024June 23, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn zoo animals4 Comments

When my sisters were here in February we went to the zoo one morning. Instead of using a coupon to get in at a lower price, I paid full price for the “pay for the day and come back all year for free” ticket. This is a good place to get in an hour walk. I was traveling light on this morning with only my phone.

It was fun watching the gibbons fly across the ropes.

Hanging out with a yellow billed stork in the aviary.

An otter swims by.

A view of the manatees from up top on the outside observation deck.

A wild Mom mallard and her babies were eating some of the manatee’s lettuce.

I went underneath and saw them through the glass. It’s nice that the underwater viewing area is air conditioned so I stayed a little longer than I should have.

Up close with a puffer.

They had a dinosaur exhibit for a few weeks and since I was there early on a weekday morning I walked through the exhibit. I’m sure there was a line to get through it on the weekends. It made for a fun walk.

A January morning at Homosassa Springs

On April 4, 2022March 24, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

It was just starting to look like fall at the end of January. Some of the trees at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife park were really pretty in red and orange.

A few of the resident flamingoes. Is it me or is that 2nd one a little grumpy? I think he might have been rolling his eyes at me.

The resident whooping cranes were napping.

We don’t get caracaras in the Tampa Bay area so many people have never seen this bird before. I’ve only seen one in central Florida once on the way to Miami.

One of the otters was out playing and came close to the boardwalk.

I caught some ibis taking baths in the main pond. These guys are wild and hang out hoping for a stolen snack.

The water was so clear, you could see the fish swimming around.

Is if fall yet?!?

On January 11, 2022December 28, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

The usual birds can be found on the boardwalk at Largo Nature Preserve. They are acclimated to people being around and the limpkin didn’t even fly off as I walked by.

This snowy egret looks like he is walking on water. He’s actually half skipping and half flying along the surface looking for bugs or fish in the water.

I had forgotten that northern shovelers hang out here in the winter although I rarely see males here. This time there were several males with their dark green faces.

Other critters include a butterfly and an otter that came out of the water far down the canal.

I stopped by Kapok Park on the way home to see if the cypress trees had turned orange. The small lake there is surrounded by them and can be quite a sight when they turn colors but this year they were mostly brown and had lost a lot of leaves already. Maybe it was due to the lack of rain we’ve had this fall. There was a hint of orange so it did feel a tiny bit like fall, even if it was 85 degrees in late November.

An interesting morning at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

On March 16, 2021March 6, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

It’s always fun to see lots of robins in the trees. We only see them here briefly in the winter. The trees were full of them at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park in late December.

A few of the resident birds. The caracara in the bottom picture is a not a bird you see in this area. They are mostly in south central Florida so it’s interesting to see them here. This one had some type of injury. Possibly missing wing or vision.

The otters were being so cute this morning, although seeing those teeth makes you realize they can be pretty tough. They were feeding in the pond right up against the boardwalk. I love watching them eating while swimming on their backs. That’s a real talent.

I’m sure this happens more than we see out in the wild. The alligator was not fed this bird by the staff. I missed the early action but people saw him grabbing this bird. Based on the pink legs and white wings with a little black, thinking it’s a white ibis that got too close. The alligator was all the way across the pond in the first shot but was swimming fast away from the other alligators who were chasing him trying to steal his snack. He then heading into the far corner right in front of me. Sad but circle of life.

A beautiful morning out

On October 19, 2020September 28, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Bees and berries at Crescent Lake Park.

I found the otter again but this time he was very elusive. I got a quick peek and then he disappeared for good.

This gull should have been over at the beach. Somehow he managed to snag a small fish at the lake.

I was standing under some trees looking for the otter and heard some noise over my head. I looked up and found two juvenile anhingas looking down at me. They must be late babies. There was a tiny nest that they had outgrown but they were still too young to fly yet. Mom was sitting high up in the next tree.

After leaving Crescent Lake Park, I made the quick drive over to North Shore beach near downtown St. Pete. Someone had recently painted the small concrete pier.

Another beautiful day at the bay.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my sister Debbie!

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Our World Tuesday Graphic

Don’t chew with your mouth full!

On September 19, 2020September 19, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals3 Comments

As I was walking around Crescent Lake Park, this guy swam right in front of me and proceeded to chowing down on something he had caught under the water. Some type of crab or maybe a crawfish. He went down several times and was stuffing himself. He seemed to be showing off, chewing with his mouth wide open. He put on a show but never came up out of the water. I stepped back and hid behind a tree for a while hoping he would come on the grass but he eventually started swimming over to the other side of the lake.

He checked out this drink can and played with it a few minutes.

He popped up in the middle of the spadderdock plant and had another mouthful. This guy was having quite the feast. He checked me out for a few seconds before ducking back under the water.

Later, farther down the lake he was checking out a drain pipe. At this point I lost track of him so I finished my walk around the lake.

Just being outside

On June 1, 2020February 21, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

In late April, I went out for a walk at Crescent Lake Park. It would be hard to close this park down since it’s really just a small lake with a sidewalk around it in a neighborhood. Although the baseball field was empty and the fenced in dog park area was closed. There were several fitness classes going on in the open grass under the trees. The groups were small and everyone was spread out. Looks like people just moved the gym outdoors.

A female grackle in the reeds.

At first I thought this grackle was just standing on one leg but when he flew up into the tree I realized he was missing a leg.

I cannot seem to get a good shot of the otter there. This time he was coming right at me and I would be shooting right into the sun. He was chewing something in the middle of the lake and then disappeared across the other side of the lake. He’s always so quick and doesn’t stay still for a second. I’ve heard there are several here but I’ve only seen one.

Blooming things along the lake.

This was my “just being outside” shot of the day.

Quick walk at the zoo

On March 21, 2020February 28, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn zoo animals2 Comments

I rarely see these guys moving around.

The koala bears are so cute but the glare on window makes it impossible to get a decent picture of them.

The elephants were eating.

It’s rare to see the otters close to the glass but this one was right in front.

The rhino pausing at the pool.

More up close with the manatees. I always take a ton of pictures when I’m there.

I recently hurt my shoulder (tendonitis) and was hurting one weekend but I still wanted to get out for a walk so I went over to the zoo with only my phone. I had a fun morning running around without all of my camera stuff.

Seeing Florida animals up close and a hippo too.

On March 2, 2020March 3, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

Birds you can see up-close at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park include a pair of whooping cranes that are both missing wings. They winter in Florida and were injured at some point and brought here to live. I overheard someone say “They cut off one wing so these birds can’s fly away.” and that is not true. Most of these animals are here due to man made injuries (hit by a car, a parent was hit by a car and now they are orphans, fishing lines, some were shot with a bb gun or arrow). I follow several wildlife rescue groups on facebook and it’s horrifying the things that happens to these animals.

Big animals that live at the park. On a recent episode of “Secrets of the Zoo:Tampa”, a baby bear was brought in to the zoo to be checked out when his mom died getting hit by a car. The zoo was able to secure a home for the cub here.