Cruising through the neighborhood

Posted on March 16, 2023 by dinajohnston

Late one afternoon in mid-February I hopped on my bike and took a spin around the neighborhood. My first stop was the eagle’s nest to see if I could see the babies yet (No, not yet) and then was stopping at all of the ponds to see what else I could find. I came across a sandhill crane couple walking along the golf course near the road. I stopped for a few minutes and watched them as they headed for the back of the golf club.

Today was alligator day in the neighborhood. Four of the ponds I stopped at had alligators snoozing along the bank. Alligators are everywhere in central Florida, if there’s water there is an alligator in there, even if you can’t see him. They are pretty skittish and would jump in the water if I started heading down the grass (no, I would never do that though). If you live here you know to stay away from the edge and keep your pets away as well.

A black crowned night heron snoozing over one of the ponds.

It was a warm afternoon and this great blue heron was already panting from the heat.

I see this great blue heron almost everyday near the entrance to my subdivision. He’s got his pretty breeding colors on his face. I kept hoping to see a nest nearby and if there is one it’s hiding far down the creek.

Far across the utility field I could see some nanday parakeets.

The sun was going down on my way home.

Cruising past cow pastures

Posted on February 23, 2023 by dinajohnston

I’ve been out on my bike quite a bit now that the weather is warmer. It’s an easy way to get around with my foot still hurting. There’s not a lot of places to ride with a lot of nature instead of traffic but there’s a bike trail just north of me that goes through cow pastures. As soon as I got on the trail I heard the sandhill cranes. Flying across the pasture. They were pretty far away and I had only brought my shorter lens but it was cool to see them flying by.

A kildeer was far out in the pasture.

And of course lots of cows. And lots of babies! There were a lot of cream colored babies out there and a lot of them were nursing. Next year I need to get out here much sooner when they are tiny.

I saw this sandhill crane by himself standing near the fence.

Another eagle nest up in a utility tower. One of the parents was feeding a little one.

The other parent took off across the trail.

This morning started out sunny but dark clouds started to move in as I got half way down the trail so I didn’t stay too long. Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions on my foot issues. I have seen a podiatrist and gotten a painful shot. Keeping off my feet a few more weeks and hoping for the best (along with the stretches, exercises, icing, etc).

The welcoming committee

Posted on January 27, 2022 by dinajohnston

The welcoming committee at Chinsegut Wildlife Area. This is the 3rd time I’ve seen these sandhill cranes hanging around the nature center. One is a juvenile and didn’t quite have the red on his face this past summer. It’s great to see the family is still together. I’m assuming they nest somewhere on the lake here.

Later when I was leaving they were hanging around the parking area and I snapped this with my phone.

I’m sure these are some type of weed but they were really pretty along the trail.

It was foggy when I first got there but wore off as the sun got higher.

An early morning walk

Posted on October 25, 2021 by dinajohnston

I left the house in the dark in early October, heading north to Chinsegut Wildlife trail. It’s only an hour away but feels like a completely different place. I made some quick stops along the way, taking shots of the light coming up over the trees and through the fog.

Right before the trail I saw this old building. At first I thought it was a house but it might have been some type of small factory or type of barn. There were trees growing in the middle of the building. I had to stop and get a shot of it. As I was taking some pictures with my phone, some crows flew out of the building. I thought “Is it Halloween already?”

When I got to the conservation center to park the sun was just coming up. I hadn’t been out for a long walk in a while and it felt good to be out in the woods.

Due to a lot of recent rain, things were pretty swampy. I had on a lot of bug spray so I was able to linger a while and listen to the swamp sounds.

It looked a little like fall with a few red leaves but I would suspect that they are really from the trees being so flooded for a while.

I found a sandhill crane family near the parking area and junior was almost grown up. He didn’t quite have a full red head yet though. They walked around for a while, picking off some bird seed in the ground feeder and then eventually headed into the woods.

Last visit to the bird rookery this year.

Posted on August 28, 2021 by dinajohnston

After leaving Lettuce Lake Park in north Tampa, I stopped by the bird rookery before heading home for one last look before it got too hot. It was fun seeing all of the juvenile wood storks almost grown up. It’s amazing how fast baby birds grow up. A few months later and they are as big as Mom. The young ones still have that pretty pale pink beak and a little fuzz on their heads.

Many of this spring’s early babies were already flying over to the side of the pond across from the mangrove island.

There were 3 snowy egret babies right in the front of the island. They were screaming for Mom who was close by.

High up in the tree a young cormorant was waiting for Mom to cough up the regurgitated fish.

On the way out of the neighborhood I saw a pair of sandhill cranes and stopped for a few minutes to get the above shots.

Taking the long way home

Posted on May 18, 2021 by dinajohnston

I was taking the scenic route home from Bok Tower Gardens and circled partially around a small lake in Lake Wales instead of taking the short cut to the main road. You never know what you may find along a lake. I found two sandhill crane families, both with one baby. I parked at the playground and just walked a few steps and caught the above family as they were cruising along the marshy area of the lake. The baby was getting big and was walking around on his own while still staying close to the parents. After a handful (okay, maybe 100 snaps) I jumped back in the car and continued on my way.

I think these are weeds but I love seeing them out in the open field.

And this little guy was hiding in some of the “weeds” on the other side of the lake. At first I just saw the parents and got out of the car anyway to walk around at the main parking area and then saw the baby pop out of the weeds. He was still pretty tiny.

He sat patiently as one of the parents was looking around for bugs. I caught him getting a bug from the parent. When the baby sat down he was much shorter that those daisy weeds and could easily hide in them. These are all extremely cropped so I don’t even think they noticed me.

Color on the trail

Posted on August 22, 2020 by dinajohnston

Spoonbills were everywhere on my last trip to Circle B Bar Reserve but they were each alone. Dotting the way down the trail. There’s something magical about these pink fluff balls and even seeing one occasionally is always a treat.

One went flying by me in the rain. Yes I got caught on the trail in the rain but more on that later.

The usual clowns on the trail.

Before I headed down Marsh Rabbit Run, I stopped to take a few pictures of the above sandhill cranes. They were just standing in the middle of the trail intersection preening themselves. One was picking at the dirt on the ground and spreading the dirt on his feathers. Assuming to keep the bugs off? I had heard they do this but had not seen it before.

I got down to the end of Marsh Rabbit Run and it started to pour so I hung out in the rain shelter for almost an hour. When the rain stopped I headed back to my car and these guys were still standing at the same intersection. Now they were all wet and looked like they had enjoyed the rain.

Out in a cow pasture

Posted on April 27, 2020 by dinajohnston

On my way back from my road trip to central Florida to look for the whooping cranes, I stopped along a quiet rode when I saw the above sandhill crane family far out in a cow pasture. The two babies were already big and could keep up with the parents. These are all extremely cropped pictures.

The cow was looking at me like I was crazy.

Central Florida is full of cow pastures and citrus groves.

Also linking to Sharon’s Souvenirs.

Last visit to my favorite place for a while!

Posted on April 14, 2020 by dinajohnston

In early March I hurt my back and ended up with a compression fracture. I had to take it easy for a while and after two weeks without long walks in a park I decided to take a road trip across central Florida to look for the whooping cranes. I figured it was easy to sit in a car and I’ve been saying I was going to go over there but just never took the time. This was also right before the big lock down. On the way home I decided to stop at Circle B Bar Reserve for a quick walk even if it was just a few minute in the parking lot. I felt pretty good (was wearing a back brace around my waist) so I walked a little ways down the main trail. It felt good to be out. I’m glad I made the effort because they closed the reserve down the next week for a while. I found the whooping cranes, more on those later. Above are sandhill cranes that were right up on the trail.

Lots of the usual birds there including the great blue heron yelling at an intruder.

It must have been soft shell turtle day because I saw three different ones on my short walk. They were up on the trail. They are usually skittish but one stopped for a pose.

I’m going to miss the tree twins.

A small part of the marsh at Circle B Bar Reserve on a beautiful day.

Wearing your heart on your head.

Posted on February 14, 2019 by dinajohnston

Sandhill cranes celebrate Valentine’s Day everyday, since they have a heart built right in the top of their head.

I saw this couple out in the marsh at Circle B Bar Reserve in late November. The light wasn’t great since it was early in the morning and the sun was coming up behind the cranes. I normally wouldn’t have taken pictures of them with this light but they started dancing and flirting out in the marsh and I just started clicking away. Assuming this is a mating ritual, I’m hoping to see the couple out in the marsh on a nest soon.

Farther down the trail later that morning I saw these cranes fly by. Not sure if they are the same ones since there are several crane couples at the marsh.