A pacific in the gulf?

Posted on March 9, 2023 by dinajohnston

I had high hopes as I drove into Fort Desoto Park in early February. I was looking for the rare Pacific Loon that had been seen there the day before. It was seen right off the fishing pier so I figured it’s a short walk on the pier and I wouldn’t have to hike in the woods looking for it. Although I also knew it could be a wild goose chase and was I loony for driving down here to look for it?

When I first got to the pier there were a lot of people that had already spotted it (several had scopes). Way out in the bay. There were 3 little dots floating around. Two were common loons and the third was the Pacific. I shot the above quickly thinking that might be the only one I got if they took off.

After a while he floated closer to the pier. We get common loons here in the winter so most people, including me, would not have given it a 2nd look since they both almost look the same in their non-breeding feathers. The Pacific has a faint chin strap on his neck that makes him different than the loon as well as a thinner bill. I have to say the local expert birders really know their details.

This is a map of where you can find Pacific loons so the big question is “What is he doing in Florida?”.

He quickly made his way closer to the pier so I was able to get a better look at him. In the first shot you can just barely see the chin strap. This was a first for me as well as most of the people that had driven from all over Florida to see it.

A few of the usual birds include a snowy egret and a great blue heron. I took the shot of the great blue heron with my phone. I was standing next to a guy fishing for bait fish and that heron was not giving up his spot to catch any fall out.

A tiny black bellied plover on the jetty.

Looking out on the bay at the tower, the cormorants and pelicans were having a nice quiet morning.

Some big “boats” passing by the pier.

In the parking lot I found a pair of osprey working on their nest. This one was decorated with some nice greenery.

I stopped at the East Beach turnaround before leaving.

I’d rather be sailing.

Posted on December 26, 2022 by dinajohnston

I caught the Dunedin Ladies sailing club going out for a morning sail in early November. It was a little bit cool but the sun was out so it was a perfect day to be out on the water. It looked like they were having fun so I’m thinking maybe I’ll take some sailing lessons this summer.

The fire department was going out but they must have just been doing check ups or drills. They didn’t seem to be in a hurry.

This little snowy egret was checking out some bait fish that had spilled on the dock.

He jumped down and got several fish before the fisherman realized what he was doing. He had a nice little sushi breakfast.

I hope everyone had a nice day yesterday. Soon it will be back to the old grind.

All of the birds were eating breakfast

Posted on November 26, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was out for a walk at the end of September and the tide was super low. I could see the gulls eating some type of puffer fish that was stranded in the grass beds. Although I never did actually see the gulls eating them, they just kept picking them up and playing with them. Maybe they were waiting for them to deflate.

An osprey cruises by with a tiny fish in his feet.

The little blue heron was busy eating.

There were several snowy egrets looking for food.They look so pretty against the blue water.

This boat must have lost anchor during Hurrincane Ian. It’s still there, stranded near the Dunedin causeway. It’s in pretty bad shape at this point.

A sunny hot walk in Dunedin

Posted on November 7, 2022 by dinajohnston

I took an early morning walk around the Dunedin marina in mid-September. The heat was stifling but the water was clear and blue. Someone fishing close by must have thrown out their leftovers and it washed up on the tiny beach at the marina.

This small boat club house was built in 1931. It’s amazing that it is still standing here on this small spit of land outside of the marina.

I took a quick walk up Main Street. The small downtown area is big on character. 8am is the best time to walk around and enjoy the quiet, before the parking spots and sidewalks are full (and it gets above 90 degrees).

Sunrise and beach birds

Posted on October 17, 2022 by dinajohnston

I found the whimbril on another trip to Fort Desoto Park in late August. He was right when you walk out on the beach so he wasn’t hard to find.

An oystercatcher was taking a bath.
A snowy egret with a fish for breakfast.

A ring bill gull was posing for me.

I found another whimbrel far up on Outback Key.

The sun was just coming up over the trees when I headed out for a long walk on the beach.

I’ve slowed down a little on my blog posts for a while. I had shoulder surgery on the 6th and can’t pick up anything heavier than a pound for 6-7 weeks so I won’t be out with my camera for a while. I’ll probably be caught up with previous outings by the end of October. I still plan to get in my walks with my phone starting later this week though. I do have my camera set up on a tripod in front of the back window hoping to catch some migrating birds coming through our backyard so I don’t miss out on fall migration completely this fall.

On the beach in late July

Posted on September 13, 2022 by dinajohnston

Out on the beach at Fort Desoto in July, I found a few birds including a laughing gull, a semi palmated plover and a sanderling.

The marbled godwits were busy feeding.

A reddish egret flies in from across the lagoon.

Out on the fishing pier, the birds were lined up waiting for someone to drop their bait fish.

This great egret was looking a little rough. I’m thinking he’s molting.

A cormorant busy preening on the light post.

A ship heading out for a long voyage.

More crazy birds at the rookery

Posted on August 9, 2022 by dinajohnston

A juvenile night heron sits alone at the front of the rookery. He’s been there on my last 2 visits. They nest deep in the bushes so I can’t see them as little babies.

A snowy egret still flirting.

The cormorants and anhingas nest high up inthe cypress trees so it’s a little harder to see those young babies. As they get older the bigger babies end up down on the rookery and Mom feeds them there. The top one is a cormorant. They have orange curved beaks and hook their fish. The middle shot are both anhingas (male on the left in all black and the female on the right has a brown chest and neck). They have pointed beaks and stab their fish. The juveniles with the great egret in the bottom shot are both anhingas.

A female grackle getting some bugs. They also nest deep in the bushes.

A wood stork getting a drink in the pond.

I saw a tricolored heron fly over to the top of a tree away from the rookery. She’s got food in her beak and she’s trying to get her young one to fly over to be fed. She was yelling at the baby to fly across the pond to her to get food instead of her bringing it to the baby.

The baby eventually flew over and got his meal.

All of the tricolored heron babies that I saw were almost fully grown. They all had their adult colors in their feathers but they still had those baby spikes on the top of their heads and were still squawking for food.

Riding by the cows

Posted on July 26, 2022 by dinajohnston

Scenes from my bike ride in late May. Pedaling past cow pastures.

I had my camera in my backpack and had to stop for a shot of the cattle egret with the cow. This is where they get their name. Egrets hanging out with the cattle, trying to eat the bugs that the cows stir up as they eat the grass.

I found the meadowlarks again.

~~I found several juvenile tree swallows sitting on the fence. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen them actually sitting down. They spend most of their time cruising around catching bugs.~~ EDIT: Thanks to Lea’s Menagerie for a correct ID. The above is an eastern kingbird. I’m still learning a lot of the migrating birds. This was late May so it makes sense he could still be hanging around. I think that Florida sun is starting to get to me.

A pond along the cow pasture fence was a busy watering hole.

There are several gopher tortoise holes along the fences but this was the first time I have seen one out of his hole. They are listed as Threatened in Florida and both the tortoise and their burrows are protected by law.

A quiet morning out.

Posted on June 6, 2022 by dinajohnston

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.

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.