All the usual birds

On November 27, 2023April 11, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

I made a trip down to Fort Desoto Park in August to look for a bird. Not just any bird but one I had not seen before. A Wilson’s phalarope had been reported there for several days. I made my usual stop on the bridge going into the park and snapped the above with my phone.

I headed out to North beach and figured that even if I didn’t find the new bird it would be a great morning out.

The new bird looked a lot like the above but no, these were plain ole willets. They are common here along the beaches.

A great egret flies by.

After looking around for the new bird I walked north on the beach and found the white morph reddish egret. He’s a regular here if you can find him along the beach. He was dancing around looking for fish so even though I have a ton of pictures of him I took more (because you know, you can never have too many pictures of the same bird).

A cargo ship goes by.

Some black skimmers came flying by and one went skimming along checking out his reflection.

A cute little piping plover was walking around. He had quite a bit of bling on his legs.

A tricolored heron posed for me.

Snowy egrets lined up on the fishing pier. They were waiting for a fisherman to pull up bait fish.

A shot of the Sunshine Skyway bridge taken right into the sun.

Before leaving I stopped at the East Beach turnaround and shot the above with my phone. And no, I didn’t find that Wilson’s phalarope. There were several others there also looking for it and no one could find it again. I was right though, it was still a great morning out.

Another look at the rookery

On July 29, 2023July 19, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The wood storks were coming over to the bank to get a drink of water. In late April the water was really low.

This wood stork was collecting a stick. Were they still nesting at this point or maybe he was replenishing the one he has.

The babies are always hungry.

A snowy egret showing off.

There were several cattle egrets in full breeding colors. They were just starting to nest.

The little blue herons were also starting to nest.

The fully grown baby cormorants were still being fed by the parents. This one was reaching deep down to get that regurgitated fish.

A boat tailed grackle showing his blue and purple feathers.

Out on the fishing pier

On June 1, 2023April 4, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

I spent a morning at the Safety Harbor fishing pier in late March. It was sunny when I first got there and I could just barely make out this kiteboarder cruising across upper Tampa bay. Tampa was just a shadow in the distance.

A sailboat anchored near the marina.

A cormorant guards the “no wake zone” sign.

Here’s the reason for the No wake and then Slow wake as you leave the marina. Manatees hang out here all year round.

It was low tide and the ibis were picking off tiny crabs.

A snowy egret feeding near the pier.

By the time I was about to leave the sky was dark and it looked like it was going to rain. I headed for my car not wanting to be out on the pier if lightning started but the sky said “Just kidding”. We are in a severe 25 year record drought right now. We are hoping the summer rains start soon.

A pacific in the gulf?

On March 9, 2023March 10, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

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.

On December 26, 2022December 24, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

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

On November 26, 2022November 16, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

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

On November 7, 2022October 18, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights4 Comments

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

On October 17, 2022October 14, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

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

On September 13, 2022September 4, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

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

On August 9, 2022August 2, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

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.