Cold and windy at Honeymoon Island

On February 10, 2020February 11, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

A lone ring billed gull braving the wind on the beach.

A few things on the beach including a large sea sponge in the first shot. The horseshoe crab and starfish were still alive and the tide was coming in fast so they would be gone soon.

A few people were out trying to surf but there really wasn’t any big waves. For a while I watched them sit on their boards. This guy tried once but didn’t stay up long. There just wasn’t enough wind in the gulf.

I came out to Honeymoon Island to walk on the nature trail in the woods but stopped by the beach before leaving. It was drizzling on and off so there were very few people there except for the ones bobbing up and down on their surfboards. Even on a cold windy day it was fun to be out on the beach.

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The Tampa art festival

On November 18, 2019October 31, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights4 Comments

Several years ago Brett and I went to an art festival in downtown Tampa and I just recently found these old pictures. In late February it’s usually beautiful, sunny and cool.

Looking across the bay at Davis Islands.

The University of Tampa minarets in the sun.

Most people are there looking at the art and I’m running around taking pictures of the birds. Mostly gulls.

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Fort Desoto in early January

On March 14, 2019February 15, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Little birds along the shore at Fort Desoto Park.

Weird sea slugs that were on the sand at low tide. The muck was full of these.

The tide would be coming in soon to wash this guy back into the water.

A very large raft of ducks far out in the water near the Sunshine Skyway bridge. I think these were mostly ring neck ducks.

Scenes from the beach.

In early January I was walking the trails and noticed an owl sitting in an old osprey nest.

Not a bad way to be stuck in traffic. On my way home I got stuck on the bridge for a few minutes while the bridge was up waiting for some tall boats to pass underneath.

Shorebirds and summer

On May 31, 2017May 10, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

The sandwich terns are flirting.

And taking baths.

A young ring billed gull is hanging out in the water.

A juvenile herring gull is eating a scary looking fish.

It’s been summer here for a while. The shorebirds are on the beaches (but so are the tourists). When is winter again?

Playing with his food

On January 12, 2015January 13, 2015 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography14 Comments

I spotted this ring billed gull trying to eat a fish on the beach at Fort Desoto. It took him a long time. He kept dropping it and picking it back up. He finally got it down and flew away. Ring billed gulls are winter residents. We rarely see them here in the summer.

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