The usual suspects along the trail: pied grebe, sparrow, palm warbler, cardinal, snowy egret and a hawk that looks half asleep.
This very handsome common yellowthroat was posing nicely for me.
An osprey bringing home padding for the nest.
The usual things at Circle B Bar Reserve in early January.
Seen out in the marsh: black crowned night heron, pied grebe, American bittern, glossy ibis and an anhinga.
Saw the above Carolina wren hiding in a bush.
A great egret playing with his meal.
I saw this hawk on a branch right over the trail. I realized he was eating something. I think it was a praying mantis.
Lots of birds on the trails at Circle B Bar Reserve in early January.
The lake at Kapok Park are full of turtles. People feed them and they come close to the boardwalk. Look at those fingernails!
A cute grebe shying away.
The red-winged blackbirds come close the boardwalk as well. Both a male and a female were posing for me.
Moorhens were taking a bath.
A rare sighting at this park. I found a lone purple gallinule under the boardwalk. I have never seen one here or even heard of one near the area.
Great blue heron flyby.
The big old trees at the park. It looks like one got blown over during a big storm. It looks like such a big strong tree. It’s hard to believe wind would knock that over.
On the way home I stopped by downtown Safety Harbor and could just barely make out a juvenile eagle on the cell tower.
Another tower close by had two babies (you can see only one in the picture). One of the parents was feeding them and the other parent was on a utility tower across the street. I’ve been keeping an eye on these nests for a while, swinging by there on the way home from work. It’s great to see these eagles raising families in this busy neighborhood.
I stopped by Kapok Park on the way home from work recently and did a quick walk around the park. I was hoping to see signs of the great horned owls but they either didn’t nest there this year or already nested and left.
It doesn’t look like fall here until late January or early February. And then days later the spring buds start popping out.
Chowing on something.
Curious deer.
Pretty pied grebe.
A quiet morning at Chesnut Park in mid-February.
No, seriously. A downy woodpecker and a pied grebe show up at the lake at the Largo Nature Preserve. I was taking pictures of the grebe when I heard a banging noise behind me. The downy woodpecker was only a few feet away but ignored me completely. I guess he knew I wasn’t going to climb over the boardwalk railing, walk through alligator infested water and yank him down off the tree. He stayed there for a while and just kept banging on the tree.
Pied grebes are usually skittish. They swim away fast or duck under water (hence the name duck?). This one was close to the boardwalk and didn’t take off when I walked by. I stopped and stood for a few minutes watching him and he just kept feeding in front of me. Although, he turned his head when he swallowed the fish. He’s such a cute little duck.