Little fuzzy quackers in the pond

On August 18, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

This spring has been a banner Cape May warbler year. I was at Possum Branch Preserve at the end of April which doesn’t get a lot of migrating birds but this morning there were several.

A black throated blue was also there, feeding in the mulberry tree.

Smaller flying critters along the path around the pond.

A purple gallinule was in the middle of the pond, standing on the spatterdock.

I think this bunny noticed me. He didn’t run though.

An osprey flies by with breakfast.

It was fun to see a big mallard family on the edge of the pond.

I plopped down on the grass for a while and watched them feed. Mom seemed proud of her babies.

Momma duck had better keep an eye out for this guy at the other end of the pond.

A two park morning

On April 5, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

I found Pinky Nose again in early January. She was hanging out at the back boardwalk at Chesnut Park for weeks. She was not shy. I’m assuming people were feeding her.

The bald cypress trees at the end of the lake were still shedding their fall leaves. I pulled over and was on my way to get a shot of the sun coming through them when I saw the deer heading towards me so I backed off.

I was standing right off the trail and they walked right by me. They were so close so I took the above with my phone.

A quick video of them cruising by.

A pileated woodpecker was looking for bugs under the bark.

After my walk at Chesnut Park I stopped at nearby Possum Branch Preserve to look for cedar waxwings. I had heard there were a few there the day before. There was only one there on this morning. They are usually in flocks so it was weird to see just one. He had been feeding on the mulberries and was taking a break.

A palm warbler with a mulberry bite.

I spotted a Wilson’s snipe, a winter visitor, deep in the reeds. He popped his head out for a few seconds and I caught the above.

This big one was taking a nap on the bank. It looked like he was grinning at me.

It was sporting a necklace from the marsh. I was pretty far back and these were taken with my 400mm lens and cropped up. If I got any closer he would have taken a dive into the water. They are pretty shy here and usually jump in the water when someone is coming but I wouldn’t take any risks anyway.

A shot of him from across the pond. He had moved down closer to the water.

A two park morning

On June 8, 2024June 5, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I hadn’t been to Chesnut Park in north Pinellas county in at least 3 months (even though it’s 10 minutes from my house). I usually see a lot of the same things in my neighborhood so I haven’t been going as much as I used to. I haven’t seen any barred owls in my neighborhood and I heard there was a pair very visible on the boardwalk at the park so I headed over early one morning. I didn’t have to look hard to find it. There was a line of people trying to get pictures of it with their phones since it was sitting so close to the boardwalk. I snapped a few shots with my camera and left. The above are cropped up.

There are purple gallinules that hang around near the dock over the big lake but most of the time they are far away. On this morning there was one feeding on spatterdock right in front of the dock. He was putting on quite a show.

Wood ducks are usually here as well but I didn’t see any around the dock until I saw the above flying across the lake.

I made a stop at the bathroom and ran into some deer.

I made a quick stop at nearby Possum Branch Preserve before going home. It was really quiet here. I could smell the pink/purple weeds all around the preserve that had just started blooming. It has many names: sweetscent, camphorweed, sourbush or saltmarsh fleabane. We just call it the smelly pink weeds.

It was void of birds with the exception of a few usuals including the great blue heron and common grackle (which is really pretty when the sun hits his feathers).

There was a big one napping along the bank of the small pond. I gave him plenty of space so this is super cropped up. But, if you are not paying attention you could be surprised walking around that corner. I had seen him from the other side of the pond so I knew his was there.

Feasting on mulberries

On July 6, 2023July 3, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals6 Comments

I was standing on the trail at Possum Branch Preserve in April and I saw the above. I wasn’t surprised to see hundreds of cedar waxwings flying across the pond there. They’ve come for a visit at this preserve for several spring seasons. They usually stay for several weeks. The trick to see them up close is to catch them feeding at the big mulberry tree on the trail.

I brought a chair and waited for them to land on the tree. They are very skittish and sometimes only land for a few minutes before taking off across the preserve again. There were several of us sitting quietly on the other side of the trail as they landed in a tree near the mulberry tree.

After a few minutes they all headed over to the mulberry tree and started feasting on the berries. Most of the time they land on the back of the tree that backs up to the pond but sometimes a few might land on the front of the tree. Since this is a short walk from the parking area I spent some time this spring sitting in my chair near the tree.

Across the pond I could see the local residents.

Finally saw that duck

On February 6, 2023January 24, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

I headed over to the Dunedin causeway to look for the elusive black scoter. I had recently driven down to south St. Pete to look for him without any luck. Then a few days later I hear there is one right at the causeway nearby. The first thing I saw was this turkey vulture eating a fish that must have washed up on shore.

The dark clouds had started to move in so it was hard to tell what was floating around out there. The two above were a pair of cormorants.

Was this it? No, I realized as I cropped it up on my camera. Just a common loon but still a cool find.

There she was. The black scoter that I could finally add to my list. She was pretty far out and these are extremely cropped up but she counts! Not a pretty duck by any means. I would have probably thought it was a female lesser scaup if I wasn’t paying attention. She’s a fairly rare duck but there were two sightings in two weeks. Unless, she’s the same one that was down south that ended up here.

The rocky beach on the north side of the causeway was littered with these fish. This was at the end of December when red tide was creeping north up the beaches. Luckily it didn’t hang around too long and is gone.

I stopped at nearby Possum Branch Preserve for a quick walk since I hadn’t been since May. It’s too hot and void of birds in the summer and I missed fall migration due to my shoulder surgery. I was meeting Brett for lunch so I didn’t stay long but it was good to get out there and walk the trails.

I saw this ibis with his lunch as I was leaving.

Beautiful flying things

On July 5, 2022July 5, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

I was at Possum Branch Preserve in late April and caught the cedar waxwings filling up on mullberries. This was the last time I saw them so I’m assuming they were fueling up for their trip north for the summer. They are beautiful even covered in berry juice.

I saw this pair of swallow tail kites soaring high over the preserve. I think it may be the first time I’ve seen two flying together.

I stopped at nearby Folly Farms next to quickly walk through the butterfly garden.

A two park morning

On June 16, 2022March 22, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I stopped at nearby Folly Farms to see if I could find some hummingbirds in the butterfly garden. I only found butterflies but there were lots of yellow ones which I don’t see often.

I caught this downy woodpecker with something in his beak. It looks like a cocoon. He pulled it out of a hole in the fence.

I stopped at Possum Branch Preserve on the way home. As I headed out on the trail I caught a limpkin flying by and an osprey overhead looking for fish.

The bunnies were still around long after Easter. This one was snacking in the mimosa groundcover which blankets the preserve in the spring.

This goes under “the one that got away”. This was the only shot I got of the boblonk. It was a female. I saw the pair several times from far away as they were flying off. I had seen them here several years ago but was bummed I couldn’t get a decent shot. Hopefully they will stop by next year.

The cedar waxwings were still there, hanging out on the far end of the preserve.

A quiet morning out.

On June 6, 2022May 24, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

It was a gorgeous morning to be out on the beach in early April.

Far out in the water I could see a willet with a snack.

Terns were cruising by.

Laughing gulls were pairing up.

The rare kittiwake was still on the pier, a week later than when we first found him.

I still kept seeing the same warblers on the trails, a hooded and a black and white. I kept telling myself it was still early for migration here.

After a quiet morning at Fort Desoto Park I headed home but not before stopping by Possum Branch Preserve for a quick walk. Two red shoulder hawks were sitting on the big dead snag outside of the preserve. I guess the hawks are pairing up as well.

A green heron trying to hide in the marsh.

It was pretty quiet at this park as well. I started taking pictures of butterflies since they are starting to be more plentiful. At least I got a good walk in before heading home for lunch.

The return of the waxwings.

On May 23, 2022March 21, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

I always love seeing cedar waxwings. They looks so magestic,. This is the 2nd spring I’ve seen them at Possum Branch Preserve. They are usually hidden deep in the trees but if you are really quiet you can hear them wheezing up there.

A few minutes later they all took off and moved over to tree on the other side of the pond. I noticed the yellow tips on the bottom of his feathers in this shot.

There’s always a lot of alligators and bunnies here.

One of the ponds here is fenced in. It’s used as a watershed but I’m not sure why this one is fenced and the others are not. I found a family of limpkins moving along the fence in early April. The parents had 4 babies. They stayed hidden in the brush along the fence but I could see them looking for a way into the fenced pond. One of the parents flew in and two of the babies were able to get through the fence holes. The other parent stayed on the outside with the other 2 but eventually they also made it through the fence. If they stay in the fenced area another day or two those babies won’t make it back through until they can fly out.

It was a warm sunny morning and this great blue heron was panting.

Possum Branch Preserve

On May 9, 2022April 27, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals2 Comments

Since Possum Branch Preserve is close to my house now I’ve been stopping by there for a quick walk pretty regularly before it gets to hot. Most of the time I only see the usual birds and the red winged blackbirds are the most common. Above is a female.

There was an American bittern that spent the winter here. Most of the time he was hidden in the reeds but I managed to catch him coming out to feed one morning.