Watching the birds catch bait fish

On April 11, 2026April 14, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

On Christmas eve I made my usual trip down to south St. Pete to the Bay Pines National Cemetery to visit my parents. I didn’t stay long and it was such a beautiful day that I decided to swing by the beach on the way home to stop at one of my Dad’s favorite places, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary.

This rescue, rehabilitate and release sanctuary sits right on Indian Shores Beach. They also house many permanently injured birds. It looks like it was feeding time.

A couple of quick videos of them feeding. It was funny to watch the white pelican stick his whole head in to get the fish. Then the snowy egrets said “Hey, I can do that too!”.

They were catching live bait fish in the tubs.

Pretty faces. Most of the pelicans are missing a wing or eye.

A wild night heron hangs out hoping for a free snack.

A shot of the view from the deck on the way to the beach.

Early December walks

On April 6, 2026March 18, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Love locks on the Safety Harbor waterfront boardwalk. This trend that started in Paris has made it’s way here. The problem here is that too many locks weigh the wires down and cause them to bend and pull out of the wood so unfortunately they get cut off and thrown out periodically.

I stopped by Kapok Park in mid-December and almost missed the fall colors on the bald cypress trees. The small lake is surrounded by them and it’s pretty when the leaves change.

One of my favorite trees at this park is a large oak tree that was pulled up during a bad storm many years ago. The tree still thrives and has adapted it’s shape to grow along the ground.

I was out at the Dunedin marina on a foggy morning. Kingfishers are common here in the winter and this was my first sighting this season of one. He was hovering for a long time looking for fish to catch.

Another foggy morning I walked on the causeway. Above is the view from the top of the bridge.

An osprey was watching me.

On a sunny morning on the causeway I saw a fisherman trying to keep the birds away from his bait fish that he had just pulled up. I noticed the snowy egret (in the bottom shot) was missing a foot. He could still fly so he was getting around well.

Willets and dowitchers were feeding along the shoreline.

A herring gull with a tasty snack.

Lots of birds at the park

On January 31, 2026February 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

More shots from my trip to Fort Desoto Park in October. I was able to catch a rare snowy plover running across the sand. The snowy plover is considered state-designated threatened in Florida and globally critically imperiled. The park has a handful that nests here in the spring and the area is roped off all year long. Occasionally you see one running across the beach like I did this morning.

A sanderling digging for bugs in the sand.

This laughing gull turned his back on me thinking I was going to try and steal his little bait fish. I tried to tell him I didn’t like sushi but he didn’t believe me.

A piping plover missing both of his feet. He seems to be doing well in spite of this. The rangers know about this bird and as long as he can fly off they weren’t going to try and catch him.

The beach was dotted with small jellyfish.

I walked out to the end of the fishing pier hoping to see some dolphins.

A fisherman had pulled up a net full of bait fish and two snowy egrets were fighting over something. There was plenty of fish on the pier so I’m not sure what was going on. I was able to walk around the mess to get a better view of what was going on.

Word got out that bait fish were flopping on the pier and the snowy egrets came rushing in to grab a free snack. It was chaos for a few minutes while the fisherman tried to pick up all of the fish.

A crevalle jack fish was caught and laying on the pier. He looked small but so pretty. I’m thinking this one is too small to eat so maybe the person was going to use it for bait fish.

Dolphins and a manatee in the calm water

On December 1, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights1 Comment

It was a calm morning on the water in late July. Not a hint of wind as I walked at the Safety Harbor waterfront.

Far out in the bay I could see dolphins cruising by.

I stopped at the Oldsmar pier before heading home and noticed that they had opened the pier almost to the end. It was still closed about a third of the way from the end and I could see the damage from last fall’s hurricanes. The end was missing and a great blue heron was enjoying the railing all to himself. It’s taking a long time to fix damaged piers and docks and some are just now getting fixed.

A few days later I was walking on the Dunedin causeway and watching the summer clouds roll in. I was hoping for some rain but that wouldn’t happen until the end of the day.

An osprey sits on top of the drawbridge arm. He has a great view up there.

The next morning I had a quick walk at the Dunedin marina. I could see a snout of a manatee coming up for air (in the 2nd shot). I waited a while hoping he would come closer but he was heading out into the open water.

A snowy egret showing off his yellow legs.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

An almost perfect morning out

On October 22, 2025October 22, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

It was an almost perfect morning at the end of May at Fort Desoto Park. It was too warm to be perfect and there wasn’t a breeze on the beach.

A snowy egret was fishing for breakfast.

Red knots are threatened in Florida due to loss of habitat. The beach in Fort Desoto is critical to their survival as they stop over here to feed during migration. There was a small flock still feeding that hadn’t left yet for the tip of South America for the summer.

The sky and tidal pool were filled with royal and sandwich terns.

I caught a few of them taking a late morning bath.

A tiny Wilson’s plover stops to pose for me.

One of the resident white morph reddish egrets was dancing for his fish.

The dolphin show at Fort Desoto Park

On September 29, 2025October 15, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals4 Comments

Rush hour traffic heading in and out of Tampa Bay. I was out on the beach at Fort Desoto Park at the end of May and the boats come pretty close as they go by.

After looking for birds I always stop by the pier looking for anything interesting to see. Sometimes I see rare ducks floating around or different birds flying by and if not then there’s always dolphins to watch.

A snowy egret was eating someone’s bait fish.

It’s not often I don’t see a dolphin or two swimming around the pier although sometimes they are too far out to get a decent shot. This morning there were several swimming close to the pier.

Two kept swimming under the pier and it looked like a Mom and her almost grown baby that was sticking close to her.

I took so many videos with my phone. These are my 3 favorite ones. They were so close and kept swimming through the bait fish that swims under the dock. It was such an amazing thing to see them this close and out in the wild. It never gets old.

More boats from the pier. They pass through between the park and the small island of Egmont Key.

A sunken boat and the heron ballet

On June 18, 2025July 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I was on the Dunedin causeway for a walk in mid-March. The sun was shining and the weather was perfect for early spring. I walked both bridges this morning. I first walked the one farthest away from land and then stopped and walked the one closer to land on the way off the causeway. I usually only walk the back half of the causeway because there is less foot traffic but this morning was quiet and not a lot of people out walking.

I had not walked on the south side of this bridge in a long time, obviously since the 2 hurricanes because I noticed a sailboat sunk right up against the bumper almost under the bridge. Only the top of the mast was sticking out and it looked like it was wedged into the bumper. I could tell it had been there for a while.

A week later I was on the same bridge and the boat had just been pulled up, almost 6 months after it sank. It takes a long time for them to get all of the sunken or stranded boats out of the water. It looks like it would be headed for the junk yard.

The view from the first bridge. I can see Clearwater beach far away.

All ready to hit the water.

I noticed the great blue heron and snowy egret fishing together. The great blue heron was having more success.

All of a sudden the great blue heron started strutting around.

Then I realized there was another one walking up and they started strutting together. I’m not sure if they were flirting or staking their claim to that spot to feed. It looked like they were performing a ballet.

I stood there for about 10 minutes taking several videos of them. I kept hoping they would start mating. Eventually one of them flew off so I guess that one lost the spot (or mate? ).

Limpkins were kung fu fighting.

On May 31, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I was out at Largo Nature Preserve in mid-March just as the sun was up over the trees. It was a little chilly and you could see the reflection of the trees and sun over the mist on the small lake.

Yellow crowned night herons are common along the boardwalk and they nest in the trees on the lake. This one kept getting spooked by people walking by.

A green heron with beautiful pink legs was calling out to it’s mate.

After my lap on the boardwalk I walked out on the paved trail. As I came around the corner I saw 2 limpkins on the ground. At first I thought they were hurt or were they mating? They seemed to be fighting. Maybe it was a territorial dispute. They kept poking each other in the chest with their feet. It went on for a few minutes and then someone was walking towards them from the other side and they broke up.

They fought a few more times as they broke up and walked over to the water. Then one flew off down the canal. I guess the remaining one was the winner. They both looked uninjured.

A mirror image of a snowy egret getting a snack.

A soft shell turtle coming up for air.

Was it fall or spring in central Florida? The maple tree was turning red in March.

Dolphins in the fog

On May 7, 2025June 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Florida animals7 Comments

I love foggy walks in the winter on the Dunedin causeway. In early February I thought the sun was going to break through when I started my walk.

The sun went back into hiding as I walked over to the south side of the causeway.

I was taking pictures of the dowitchers as they fed on the shoreline and I saw the dolphins coming up for air a little farther out.

Even through the fog I could see them. There wasn’t a ripple in the water.

I stood there for a while taking videos, hoping they would come even closer but they stayed pretty far out. It was low tide so they probably couldn’t get much closer to the shoreline.

The egrets were creeping along the shallow edge looking for food.

One last look at the dolphins before finishing my walk. They were heading towards the pass and out into the gulf at this point.

Walking over the bridge in the fog.

A ring billed gull taking a break.

Time to go home.

Our first walk at Robinson Preserve

On April 30, 2025May 11, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

In early February Brett and I headed an hour south of us to the Bradenton/Palmetto area to take a walk at Robinson Preserve and have lunch afterwards in the nearby Cortez fishing area. It was cold so we got to the park a little later, around 9am. It was sunny when we first started walking the trail and got to the tall observation tower.

On the top floor we could see all around the area. It’s a large preserve that sits on the bay and the back area facing Sarasota was pretty dried up. In the summer most of the area in the bottom shot would be under water and swampy.

Fiddler crabs covered the little beach area at the bottom of the tower. It was funny to watch them running around chasing each other. They are usually shy and run to their holes when people are around but these did not scatter when I walked up. They are really pretty when the sun hits them, showing off the pink and purple.

We followed the trail around the small lagoon and by the time we got on the other side the sea fog had started to come in.

We made our way out to the beach and the fog kept getting thicker. The Sunshine Skyway bridge was out there somewhere.

The birds were pretty scarce and we only saw a few ibis and snowy egrets feeding out in the fog. We had a long walk back to our car and were starving so it was off to lunch.