The week before Christmas I attended yoga at Zoo Tampa. It was on an early Saturday morning. The weather was perfect. They had a few animals show up before we started. There was a goat but he took off before I could get a picture. Santa also showed up for a visit.
My new yoga buddy.
The view from my yoga mat.
After yoga I walked around the zoo for a while.
The nanday parakeets are always goofing around.
A male and a female ruby throated hummingbird.
A great egret going by with a snack.
Little critters in the park.
A manatee cruising by the fishing dock.
Big boats going by.
From the fishing pier at Fort Desoto Park.
Not everyone gets to see a barred owl up close. At the zoo you can although I zoomed in on his face to get closer. Mr. Sleepy is permanently injured and lives at the zoo.
Above are some of the parrots that get to fly around the zoo in the mornings.
Pretty lorikeet in the aviary.
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” goes the old saying. She was feeding him something. Still, I’d be a little nervous doing that.
Another Mr. Sleepy, it’s rare to see a koala bear moving around during the day. I caught this one stretching.
Creepy critters behind glass.
Injured manatees recuperating at the hospital at the zoo.
Fun at the zoo in late July.
Crazy parrots along the utility poles near the parking lot.
Pretty faces of the pied grebes. That last one thought I couldn’t see him behind the reeds.
Flashes of white flying by.
A very young anhinga that must have been born at the preserve. She must have been a late summer baby. She still had her pin feathers. She was right along the boardwalk.
A few things at Largo Nature Preserve. It was quiet at the small park in late October.
Linking to Saturday’s Critters
A few of the crazy parrots that have taken over the park.
Red bellied woodpeckers getting early morning snacks.
An osprey eating while directing traffic on the path.
Laughing gulls having “fun” on the beach
Pelicans diving for fish.
Things on my morning walk at Fort Desoto.
Lots of black bellied plovers on the beach.
Tiny Wilson’s plover.
Gimpy, one of the resident oystercatchers was watching me as looked for food.
A pretty red breasted merganser coming up for air.
I think this is a white eyed vireo but I can’t tell for sure from this shot.
The only Cape May warbler I saw this spring.
Mom is all alone now that her kids have gone off to “college”. She’s getting some much-needed rest after raising two hungry owlets.
Crazy wild parrots flying around near the beach.
Some left over shots from a trip to Fort Desoto beach in mid-May.
A blast of color coming from the pretty parrots at Gatorland. They are out in the open but you can’t get too close. I wouldn’t want one of those big beaks to take off my finger anyway. They are very animated and have tons of personality. These were all taken with my 70-200mm F2.8 lens and cropped.
Nesting is in full swing for the osprey in the area. I don’t think they have eggs yet since they both left the nest at the same time for a while.
It looks like they were working on getting it comfy.
One of them kept bringing in more insulation.
Night herons always sleep along the boardwalk at this park.
Funny face. An anhinga staring at me.
Northern shovelers were close to the bank.
Flapping.
Another funny face.
The usual palm warbler. The trail was full of them.
A few robins were hanging around.
Is that parrot waving at me?
A Saturday morning walk at Largo Nature Preserve.
I found the American wigeon that had been spotted at Largo Nature Preserve. A first for me on this fairly common duck. All in front of the picture, they were hanging out with some coots and moorhens. Of course, they were on the river where I had to take the picture right into the sun. I couldn’t go around since there are houses along the other side of the river.
Northern shoveler with an itch.
Northern shoveler with a mallard in front. They look alike except when you see them together. That big old beak gives the shoveler away.
They were all busy feeding.
A great blue heron panting on the boardwalk. It was warm on the first weekend in January. No jacket needed.
He kept flying back and forth as people were walking along the boardwalk.
“Baby blue” A young little blue heron all alone. He started looking up and freaking out. I realized it was because the below had just flown by.
As I was taking a picture of the baby blue, I saw something fly overhead. When I looked up this eagle was already past me and off into the wild blue yonder.
A very typical scene. A cormorant silhouette into the sun while drying off.
This was taken with my 300mm lens. He was in his usual spot along the boardwalk.
Same guy but taken with my iphone. Someone said he was 11 feet long. What do you think? I think he was exaggerating over the length.
Green parrots kept flying back and forth across the park. I never could see them landing. I think they live and nest at the electric plant near the park.
A beautiful morning on the first weekend of 2015.
“Gimmi a kiss.”
“To the left a little.”
“That hits the spot.”
Gatorland bunny has the run of the place. But he better watch out and not go into any of the alligator exhibits.
Pretty in pink.
“Wassup?”
Sexy emu
Bees were buzzing.
The swamp walk was full of ferns.
New growth.
Getting crispy.
There are lots of other things at Gatorland besides alligators and wild baby birds. They have parrots out in the open hanging out together and playing. Rabbits and wild ducks can go where ever they want. The swamp walk is a boardwalk that goes through a swamp filled with ferns. Red bellied woodpeckers were flying high up in the trees. I get there early to take pictures of the baby birds in the mangroves along the alligator lake but before I leave I take a walk around the rest of the park to see what else I can find.
Check out more pictures at Our World Tuesday 
Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention for 