The end of the flamingo frenzy

On February 3, 2024January 23, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

The wild flamingo frenzy continued through the end of October. Flamingos blown in from Hurricane Idalia (late August) were showing up all over Florida as well some northern states. The one spotted near Safety Harbor was one of the last ones to be seen in the Tampa Bay area. I was nearby and stopped on a cloudy icky morning just to see if “HarborRita” (the name the locals gave her) was still there. At first it was really far out in the bay feeding but slowly moved her way towards the mangroves.

Far across the bay, the view of the causeway heading into Tampa.

A few days later I stopped by on a Sunday late in the day and there she was again.

It was windy and the kiteboarders were out in front of the pier. The view across the bay is a little better when the sun is behind me.

I took a quick walk around the boardwalk and found some roseate spoonbills trying to nap. They were far into the mangroves, trying to stay out of the wind.

I walked back to see if the flamingo was feeding. The water was pretty choppy and she looked like she was just trying to stay upright.

She eventually tucked her head in for a nap and that was my cue to head home. This was the last time I saw her.

Above was a post from one of the rescue groups in the area in early November. This was our own HarborRita that was rescued. The tag on her leg matched the one HarborRita was wearing. She was not doing well and was found in some mangroves slightly north of where she had been hanging out. She had a break in her wing that did not set correctly and would not have been able to fly home. She is now living at Busch Gardens with other flamingos.

Looking for a pink bird

On November 9, 2023October 29, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

I had heard there was a pink bird near the Safety Harbor boardwalk so one late afternoon in September I hopped in the car and headed over. After a quick glance by the boardwalk and not seeing the bird I was looking for I started to check out what else was there. I found the above ibis with a young horseshoe crab in his beak. He didn’t swallow it whole but took it over to the exposed sand and started picking at the insides. I don’t think it was much of a meal.

The water was calm and I could see parts of downtown Tampa far across the bay.

There were a lot of birds out on the sandbar area. Mostly laughing gulls and pelicans but there were a few terns in the mix.

A belted kingfisher flew by.

This was not the pink bird I was looking for but the roseate spoonbill is still pretty. She was feeding with several ibis. The reflections were clear since the water was not moving.

Here is the pink bird I was looking for, an American flamingo. One of the wild ones that got blown up to the Tampa bay area during Hurricane Idalia. She was first seen here just past mid-September so she wasn’t one of the first ones to be seen in the area. She is banded and the only info we have been able to find is that she (or he) was banded in the Yucatan (eastern most part of Mexico). The locals that live in Safety Harbor have named her HarborRita (like a Margarita from the Harbor!). She’s been the most consistent one to see but she’s not there most of the day. She usually shows up early in the morning and is gone by 8:30am and then is sometimes there late in the day.

A few mornings later I stopped by to see if she was there. It was pretty cloudy and I thought that would help since the sun would not be behind her. She was not there this morning and you can barely see Tampa across the bay.

I did find some roseate spoonbills taking a bath.

I took a short walk around the marina and the sun was starting to come out. At this point the spoonbills were preening and starting to settle in for a nap.

Lots of birds on the trail

On August 31, 2023August 30, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

I had not been out to Roosevelt Wetlands since last summer. I forget what a cool small reserve this is. I had heard there were some new birds there so I went for a short walk in early May. The raised trail down the middle of the pond is full of Indian blanket flowers and they were in full bloom.

I immediately saw a bunny right on the trail.

The sun had been up for a while and I could see an osprey sitting on the platform nest ahead of me.

I could hear him yelling as I passed the platform and turned around to see the juvenile staring right at me.

This Momma moorhen was busy with 2 little ones.

There were several young little blue herons along the trail. They were just started to get their blue feathers in.

An adult little blue heron shaking it off.

A least tern flies by.

I also saw several spoonbills.

A kildeer was walking in front of me and then disappeared into the flowers.

I did find those new shorebirds that were here but more on those later.

Pink on a cloudy day

On November 5, 2022October 18, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It was a cloudy day in late September and I stopped by the Oldsmar pier to look for the eagles. I didn’t find any eagles but I did see something almost as good. Two spoonbills were feeding along the grass next to the pier. The white ibis are almost always feeding here but this was the first time I had seen spoonies at this pier.

They fed for a while, stopping a few times to keep an eye on me.

Someone walked up behind me and off they went.

A yellow crowned night heron was also walking around. I think he was looking for lost mangrove crabs.

A great morning for beautiful birds

On October 18, 2021March 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

I headed down to Fort Desoto at the end of August not expecting much. As I headed out to the north beach I was greeted by a few spoonbills. I rarely see them here and in fact it was probably last fall when they were in the same spot. I wonder if these are the same ones that have stopped by for a rest.

I found a few red knots hanging out with one of the resident reddish egrets.

A red knot still in breeding feathers.

The best part of the morning was seeing an uncommon avocet. It wasn’t really a surprise though. I had heard 2 were here but wasn’t counting on actually finding it so it was a bonus to walk up on it. I didn’t see the other one although it may have been hiding in the sanctuary close by. There were 3 that hung out here last fall and I was able to catch those on 2 visits.

A young skimmer fluffing up his feathers.

A dunk and a catch.

Looking over through the sea oats over to Egmont Key in the distance. If you look close in the right hand side, you can see an osprey sitting on a branch on the beach.

Early morning at Lettuce Lake Park

On August 12, 2021July 20, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

The lake was low in early June. The summer rains weren’t in full swing yet. The birds above were standing knee deep and they were pretty far out in the lake.

A few spoonbills were feeding close to the boardwalk.

Other birds along the boardwalk were storks and a tricolored heron, posing on a snag.

I saw this northern parula singing his heart out.

A very young titmouse.

Black bellied whistling ducks were cruising by the overlook tower and landing in the trees. They kept hopping from tree to tree, calling out to each other. I saw them when I first got to the park and was on the boardwalk. They were gone 20 minutes later so timing is everything.

My first robber fly sighting. What a cool bug. Although I probably would have freaked out at first if he flew on me. I saw him land on this branch and was wondering what it was.

Views from the boardwalk, not so early in the morning. Although I was there right when it opened at 8am and before there were lots of people on the boardwalk. It was so hot. I can’t image being out here after 11am in June.

Birds at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

On February 13, 2021January 21, 2021 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

It’s not often you can get this up close with an eagle. This one was missing part of his wing and was spending his time at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. I caught him taking a bath.

Pelicans were hanging out in their big open space. Some were starting to nest.

Other birds were just hanging out and preening when I was there in mid-November.

I caught these two wild night herons fighting over nesting space over the roof of an exhibit.

You can also get close to the spoonbills. And since the flamingos were right behind you, you wouldn’t have to look at them and think they were flamingos.

Rain or sun?

On October 29, 2020October 27, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights5 Comments

I wanted to get out of the house on a Sunday early evening so I headed over to the Courtney Campbell Causeway walking trail. When I got out of the car, there were 3 spoonbills feeding right along the trail. I was wishing I had my long lens but I was traveling light so shot the above with my phone.

Halfway across I could see a storm coming into the bay so I was walking pretty fast.

Almost back to my car and the storms moved over near my neighborhood.

I made it to sunset without getting rained on. The sun peaked out right before it went down. Over to the right, I could see it raining in my neighborhood.

Tiny pink dots

On October 6, 2020March 2, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I had heard there were spoonbills at Fort Desoto but I wasn’t expecting to find them. You can find one or two occasionally at the park but it’s rare to see a flock of them. As I walked out on north beach and headed out to Outback Key, I could see some tiny pink dots out on the spit.

I got about halfway to the spit area and took the above with my 400mm lens. Looks like they were sleeping so maybe they would still be there when I got out that far.

By the time I walked out there, stopping along the way to take pictures of shorebirds and chat with some photography friends, they were awake and moving around. People were starting to walk out ahead of me and jet skis were landing on the back side of the spit so the birds were awake. There were many pale young ones in the group and it was fun to watch them stretching and going to the water for a drink. All of the above were taken with my 400mm lens and cropped up so I was still pretty far out.

A while later they all flew off over to the other side of the park where no one could get to them to spend the afternoon.

Busy beach in August.

On September 28, 2020March 2, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

The royal terns were having a feeding frenzy at Fort Desoto in early August. The parents were busy trying to keep the juvenile ones fed.

I found another Harry the hybrid (great blue heron and great egret) at the north beach lagoon. I had heard there were two hybrids at the park but I had only seen one at the fishing pier. This one has more beige and grey than the one at the pier which is more white.