Looking for sparrows

Posted on April 3, 2023 by dinajohnston

I was out on my bike cruising my new favorite trail through the cow pastures in late February. I had to wait until the sun was up a little since it was a little chilly this morning.

This time the cows were on the far end of the first pasture.

This meadowlark didn’t move from the fence as I rode by so I stopped and got a quick shot of him.

This sandhill couple were right on the trail. By now they should be having babies so hopefully I can catch some little crane colts.

The eagle’s nest far across the pasture was busy with 2 babies almost fully grown. They are way ahead of the ones in my neighborhood.

There are holes along the fence that I usually don’t pay attention to but this one caught my eye. The gopher tortoise had come out of his hole and was sitting close to the trail. They are state-listed as Threatened in Florida so we have to keep our distance.

It was a busy sparrow day along the trail. I found three all feeding nearby. The first is a Savannah with that bit of yellow above the eye. The second is a Swamp (he was hiding in the bushes so it was hard to get him) with that dark brown streak over his head and orange tinted wings. The last two are grasshopper sparrows. There is a Florida subspecies which I thought this one was based on the white tips on the feathers and darker back feathers but after researching their habitat I don’t think it is. They are only found in the middle of the state and are very rare and endangered.

This one is the reason I was taking so many pictures of sparrows. It’s a vesper sparrow and my first one. It’s not rare for him to be here in central Florida but this was the first I’ve heard of one being in the Tampa bay area and he’s been hanging out at the cow pasture for a few weeks.

A phone shot of the cow pasture and one of the many ponds. These are the perfect Florida winter days, sunny and 70 degrees.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2023 by dinajohnston

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Valentine bird (sandhill crane).

Road trip to central Florida

Posted on October 3, 2022 by dinajohnston

Bok Tower Gardens was bursting with color this summer.

I struggled to get a decent shot of the hummingbird. The light was bad but I managed to get the above. It was hot and muggy so it makes it harder to wait to get the hummer in those fleeting seconds of feeding.

It’s hard to ignore the cute cottontail bunnies

The bell tower

After leaving the gardens, I headed to a nearby fish camp to see if I could find any birds. It was quiet the morning I was there but I’m sure on the weekends it’s busy.

I did find two sandhill cranes feeding along the drive in.

Looking out over the lake, it was such a beautiful calm scene. It’s these small hidden places that make Florida special.

Young birds are everywhere

Posted on June 21, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was heading home from Bot Tower Gardens in Lake Wales and stopped for a quick walk around a nearby lake. I’ve seen sandhill cranes here before and was hoping to find a family on my walk. Last year I found 2 families on this lake. Half way around I saw the parents feeding a older baby. They were pretty far out in the marsh so these are extremely cropped up. Both parents stayed close to the baby and were feeding him.

On my way back to my car I noticed a bunch of loggerhead shrikes sitting on a trash can. After a few minutes I realized they must be almost grown babies because they were still begging to be fed. I think that’s the parent in the back on the right.

I stood behind a tree and watched them for a few minutes. They were bouncing around on the ground and then flying to a nearby small tree. That tiny bit of yellow at the end of the beak identifies them as juveniles. Adults would be all black. They were still screaming to be fed when I was walking away but it looks like they are starting to feed themselves.

Also linking to Tuesdays With A Twist

Cruising by the cows

Posted on June 9, 2022 by dinajohnston

I bought a bike in early April, mostly to cruise around the neighborhood but since I can fold it and put it in the back I decided to take it out on a bike path. There’s a parking area about 15 minutes north of me that picks up the northeastern end of the Pinellas Trail. The path goes through cow pastures and a golf course and I didn’t think I would see too much else so I only had my phone with me the first ride. Above are taken with my phone. I was not surprised to see sandhill cranes along this path since I had heard there were a lot of them up here.

A week later I came back up here with my camera and longer lens in my backpack. Far across the cow pasture I could see a juvenile eagle sitting high up on a utility tower. I saw several eagles when I was riding the week before. Next fall I’ll have to look for a nest although it’s probably in a utility tower like the one by my house.

I love seeing the cattle egret hanging out with the cows. They are hoping the cows churn up some bugs as they chew the grass.

I found several meadowlarks along the fence.

I’m assuming the sandhill crane couple I found was the same one I saw the week before. They were in a cow pasture farther down the trail. This is a fun trail to ride and there’s not much traffic during the week so I’ll be coming here quite a bit.

Bugs for breakfast

Posted on May 21, 2022 by dinajohnston

It’s always fun to see sandhill crane babies. And, I always take a ton of pictures even though I already have a ton. This family was no exception. The two babies were so cute. I found them at Circle B Bar Reserve at the end of March.

They both stayed close to the parents who were finding bugs for them.

The babies would wander around being curious but then run back to Mom to get a bug. This went on for a while as they made their way down the trail.

Fighting over who gets the next bug.

I could have stood there all day watching them but it was time to head back to the car since I was getting hungry.

Flying across the trail

Posted on April 19, 2022 by dinajohnston

I walked out on the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in mid-March and saw this. Lots of wading birds out in a small pond that had developed from the recent rain.

So many birds feeding in this one spot. Great egrets, snowy egrets, cattle egrets, great blue herons, wood storks, spoonbills and one large sandhill crane.

All of a sudden the sandhill crane took off across the marsh.

Glossy ibis were flying across the trail.

Spoonbills were flying in and out of the pond all morning. At one point one flew so close I couldn’t fit him all in and he was carrying a stick. He must have been heading for a nest.

Typical sight along the trail. A great blue heron in a dead snag.

Far out in the lake, a great egret sits alone.

Out and about in late February

Posted on March 21, 2022 by dinajohnston

The big kapok tree in Safety Harbor was blooming in late February. Much earlier than last year. I was driving by and saw the moon going down behind it so I had to pull over and snap a few.

After leaving the kapok tree I decided to swing by the fishing pier for a quick walk. There were a few manatees coming up for air.

A female lesser scaup cruising by.

I saw this osprey fishing for breakfast far out in the bay. He pulled up a big one and as he was flying away he dropped it. I was hoping he would try for another fish but he just flew over my head and far out of sight. Maybe he was embarrassed.

One day I was coming home and saw two red faces pop up from a pond in my neighborhood. They were hanging out along the golf course. I have since seen them several times but not since late February. I’m thinking maybe they are nesting but I couldn’t find them anywhere.

There’s a fenced in section of woods at the end of my street and when I’m out walking I always look down this open spot, thinking I’ll never see anything in here but it’s a pretty spot. One morning I could just make out 2 deer in between the trees.

Stops along the beach.

Posted on March 19, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was meeting a friend for lunch on the beach in January and threw my camera in the car to make a few stops on the way home. Since I was close by, my first stop was at the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. It’s now run by a group of volunteers and they rescue and rehabilitate injured birds.

The sanctuary is shaded by overgrown mangrove trees and wild birds nest high up in them this time of year. Great egrets were working on fixing up their nests.

I could just barely make out baby great blue herons through all of the sticks and leaves. This nest had 2 babies and they were already growing up.

One of the first baby night herons of the season. They usually nest a little later but these guys were already almost as big as their parents.

A pretty pelican face.

This sandhill crane is one of the residents. You can see he’s missing his bottom beak. He’s well fed here.

Much farther north on the water, I stopped back by Weaver Park again. I always see parakeets here. They aren’t hard to miss, screaming so loud all of the time. Looks like they’ll be nesting soon.

The pier was pretty quiet. Mostly terns and gulls. I was hoping to catch the opsrey diving for fish but there wasn’t any here this afternoon.

The moon was still up

Posted on April 5, 2021 by dinajohnston

It was a beautiful morning in late January. The sun hadn’t come up over the trees yet and you could still see the moon across the marsh. It was so quiet and only a few other people farther up on the trail. The black bellied whistling ducks were flying back and forth across the trail, heading far off down the marsh. I took a few deep breaths and was so glad I had set my alarm to get here earlier than I usually do.