Rescue trips in the first half of August

Posted on October 23, 2023 by dinajohnston

The Raptor Center of Tampa Bay put out a request for a volunteer to pick up an injured turtle that someone had brought in to a vet. Thinking it may have been hit by a car. This is my first sad trip. I got to the vet office and they told me it had just passed away. It was probably in bad shape when it was brought it. As I was fighting back the tears they said “We do have an injured duck. Can you take that to a rehabber?” My response was “Of course”

So this cutie made the trip to the Raptor Center all alone. It looked a little scratched up but otherwise in good shape.

This little wide eyed cutie made the trip from the Raptor Center to a rehabber near St. Pete. Paula at Crikey Wildlife Rescue specializes in rehabbing and releasing raccoons and squirrels. She has had the rabies vaccine and can work with older raccoons, although rabies is fairly rare in our area (only 1 case this year and zero last year in Pinellas county).

I had a carload of red shoulder hawks in the back of my SUV on this trip. Two had been brought in on the same day and both had been shot. The third one had an injured wing.

Nancy from the Raptor Center was able to get them x-ray’d to confirm that the 2 had been shot. Above is one of the x-rays. You can see the tiny bullet near the end of his wing. Who does that? Maybe the hawks were stealing chickens from a farmer or backyard? I would hate to think they were just randomly shot but it could happen.

All three were headed to a vet in Nokomis (south of Sarasota), about an hour away from the Raptor Center. The vet works with wildlife and was going to take the bullets out of the 2 and look at the other one with an injured wing. Since they would stay overnight I just dropped them off and someone nearby was bringing them back later.

The vet was 10 minutes from Nokomis beach so I stopped and got out for a few minutes to stretch my legs before heading home (it would be close to 2 hours to get back to my house). It would have been a perfect morning if it wasn’t so hot. I should have brought my swimsuit and gone for a dip.

Heading over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to get back home. Not much traffic this morning (which is rare).

This tiny young squirrel was brought into a vet one morning. I picked him up and headed straight to the rehabber Penny in south St. Pete.

In mid-August we had a bad storm move through the area and the next day there were quite a few baby squirrels that were brought in. Nests or babies falling from trees in the storm. I drove out to the Raptor Center in Brandon and picked up a large box of squirrels. All different ages and they were huddled together for warmth. They were all going to Penny in south St. Pete to grow up and eventually get released.

A crow with an injured wing also made the trip. He yelled the entire trip.

I had heard there was a rare Egyptian goose that had showed up in the area near where Penny lives. Since I was going to be down there I threw my camera in the car and after dropping off the squirrels and crow I headed to the nearby lake. He was very easy to find. I pulled over and snapped a couple of shots before heading home. This was the first time I have heard of them being in Pinellas county. They are populated all over south Florida, especially in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. I couldn’t find any definite information on whether they were released on purpose or escapees from a zoo. They have been sighted in Florida since the 80’s. They are invasive like the muscovy ducks and I’m sure the neighbors hope it doesn’t have a mate.

Road trip across the state

Posted on September 25, 2023 by dinajohnston

In late July I headed out to the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay in Brandon to transport some critters to a rehabber in St. Pete. Penny lives down in south St. Pete and helps with the over flow of critters. She rehabs and has a team that releases them. In the back of my car I had 4 baby mockingbirds, a baby woodpecker, a box of baby opossums and juvenile osprey.

A week later the call went out for a transport that would be double stops from Brandon to areas near Orlando. One of the critters was a swallow tail kite. He had an injured wing and the best place for him to get better was at the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka, not quite 2 hours east of Brandon. They have huge flight barns that he could fly around in to build back up his muscles. I never thought I would have a swallow tail kite in my car!

A baby kestrel was also going to the Avian Center.

But first I had to stop in Mt Dora, almost 2 hours northeast of Brandon ( and then 20 minutes to Apopka from there). A baby racoon and a box of 10 squirrels (all different ages) were going to the Wright Rescue Ranch. There were so many baby squirrels getting separated from their Mom’s that the rescue ranch is taking them in to help them grow up before they are released. We had a heating gel pad in the box to keep them warm on the trip. Many of the babies didn’t have fur yet and get cold quickly. I love the way they all cuddle together.

Since the trip would be a little long, Nancy fed the littlest one before I left. He was so cute holding it with his little feet.

I stopped halfway to swap out the heated gel pad for a hot one and they all woke up. The bigger ones started climbing around so I had to be quick and swap out the pad.

I got to the Avian Reconditioning Center much earlier than my last trip so I took a few minutes and got out and walked around. You can see some of the big flight barns in the back.

The center houses a handful of permanently injured birds and the volunteers were out sitting with them. One of the volunteers was holding a red tailed hawk. It looked like they were having a serious conversation.

There were 2 owls sitting out. The barred owl in front was missing an eye. The great horned owl in back had a wing injury and they both are great surrogate parents to lost babies that come to the center.

I walked around the back of the tree and saw the eagle sitting farther away.

He couldn’t see out of one eye and tilted his head to look at me. I stayed pretty far back and these are all cropped up shots with my phone. It was finally time to make the 2 and half hour trip back home but it was nice to spend some time with these guys.

A weekend with the Mouse

Posted on September 21, 2023 by dinajohnston

Brett and I drove over to Disney (not to a theme park though) in early June for a one night road trip for our 29th Anniversary. After checking into our hotel we headed over to Disney Springs to walk around a little bit and have an early dinner. I’ve only been here in the winter and it was so hot even at 5pm. After walking around for a half hour we decided to go ahead and eat early and then head back to the hotel.

Our hotel was nearby (not a Disney hotel) and we could see the fireworks from the theme parks in the distance. A nice little storm moved through at the same time and we got a great lightning show from our window.

A quick video of the fireworks (on the left) from the Magic Kingdom and the storm (on the right).

After a quick breakfast at the hotel we headed to the Disney golf course. Brett was going to play a round of golf and I was driving the golf cart (I’m not a golfer, maybe some day though but it’s fun being out and driving the course), This Mickey cart was out front at the clubhouse. It was so cute (the carts everyone uses looks like a regular cart).

There was a little bit of color along the course.

We saw a lot of raccoons along the course and they come right up to the carts. We had caught up with some guys playing ahead of us and they told us that people are feeding them. One guy said he came back to his cart from the hole and a raccoon was up in his cart digging through his snack bag. There are signs warning not to feed the wildlife but no one seems to listen anymore.

It was a beautiful morning out on the course and after a big lunch we headed back home. It was a perfect quick getaway.

Walking through the fog.

Posted on May 20, 2021 by dinajohnston

Some of the critters along the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in late March including that cute little mouse in the bottom pictures. The alligators were out everywhere and making their loud mating bellow. Even if you couldn’t see them you could hear them bellowing all over the marsh.

It was a quiet morning for flying critters.

The trails were covered in fog when I got to the preserve early in the morning. There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the trails and it was a nice quiet morning. I like being here in the fog for a change of season since it makes it seem like winter even if it was mild and muggy.

The bottom two pictures are panos with my phone.

A typical January walk

Posted on March 9, 2020 by dinajohnston

Heading out on the trails, something flushed a flock of ibis across the marsh.

A perfect morning in January, cold and clear.

Morning glories along the trail.

The usual birds.

Crazy face hiding in the bushes.

Right over the trail, this osprey was eating fish.

A typical morning walk at Circle B Bar Reserve.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup Our World Tuesday Graphic

Two parks in one morning.

Posted on May 4, 2017 by dinajohnston

I headed out to Chesnut Park first and saw the usual critters above before heading to Philippe Park nearby.

While waiting for the baby owl to wake up I walked up the small hill that sits on the water. The small hill is a Tocabaga Indian mound and is the largest remaining mound in the Tampa Bay region. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Landmarks. The view is beautiful at the top. While standing there a juvenile eagle flew right over my head.

SkyWatch Friday

Cute and creepy critters.

Posted on February 18, 2017 by dinajohnston

Some little critters.

Some medium size critters.

A big critter eating a slightly smaller critter.

A few smaller critters out in the marsh.

Fun critters in the fog at Circle B Bar Reserve.

Typical things on a Florida trail.

Posted on March 14, 2016 by dinajohnston

A typical Florida swamp scene (cattle egret looking at a great egret).

A limpkin posing in the moss.

A Carolina wren stops by.

A cormorant flapping his wings.

Another limpkin in the moss. Looks like he was grabbing moss for his nest.

This guy was just cruising down the trail, not caring that he was heading right for me. He kept getting closer and I finally got up and moved back (was sitting on the trail to take his picture). I don’t want this guy to get too close. They are cute but still creepy.

All from Circle B Bar Reserve in early February.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

Quiet Saturday morning at Fort Desoto

Posted on July 9, 2015 by dinajohnston

Pretty pelican floating by.

A cormorant sleeping on the top of the light post.

Dolphins were cruising by the pier.

This osprey did not want to share his meal. After a closer look, I didn’t want it anyway.

Climbing a tree.

Great egret getting a snack.

It was a windy morning. The storm clouds had not moved in yet so the kiteboarders were out taking advantage of the wind. The park is pretty limited on wildlife sightings for the summer. Other than the usual laughing gull and reddish egret, there’s not much around the beach except tourists. When is summer over????

Skywatch Friday

Another raccoon sighting

Posted on January 10, 2015 by dinajohnston

These guys have gotten way too tame. I was walking down the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve when I saw this raccoon head towards me. I thought for sure he would leave the trail when he saw me but he just kept on walking right down the middle of the trail. We both kept getting closer and he still didn’t hide. I sat down on the trail and was taking the above shots. These are all cropped. When he reached a certain point I stood up and moved over to the side. We walked right by. I was holding my monopod out in front in case he lunged for me. I wasn’t about to go off the trail into the alligator infested water. I don’t know whether people are feeding them or they just don’t mind us being there.

Dina's Wildlife Adventures

Tag Archives: raccoon