The graduating flying class of 2026

On November 4, 2026October 22, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Eagle nesting season was winding down near the end of March. I was out early trying to catch the babies flying. Some mornings there was a little bit of fog on the ground as the sun was coming up.

The bottlebrush trees were blooming and the birds were eating the seed pods including the above red bellied woodpecker and monk parakeets.

A red bellied woodpecker was grabbing seed out of the bird feeder hanging in one of the trees. You can really see his red belly here.

Wood thrashers were stopping by.

I caught one of the adults bringing a squirrel to the nest.

The youngest one was flapping hard and getting lift.

Mom was letting the boyfriend land on the nest but the young one still didn’t like it.

One morning I caught the oldest one flying to the tower next to the nest tower. I’m not sure if this was his first flight or maybe one of his firsts.

He was still a little unsteady with the landing.

A few days later I saw the youngest one taking off. He missed the landing up on the top of the tower and landed a little farther down. They were both flying back and forth from the one nearby tower to the nest tower when Mom brought food.

Both babies together on a nearby tower. They were flying around after Mom at this point and eventually they disappeared, flying off on their own. It was great seeing them do so well this year.

The adults are now back again. They showed back up in late August and have recently started adding to the nest. Here’s to another hopeful successful year.

A foggy start to my bike ride

On July 22, 2026August 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

At the end of March I woke up to a foggy morning and almost didn’t go out for an early bike ride. I went out anyway and when I got to the north end of the Pinellas Trail the sun was already coming out of the fog. As soon as I got on the trail I saw a nice fogbow on one side of the trail and the sun coming up over the trees on the other side.

The sun was peeking through the trees along the horse pasture.

The fog made the spiderwebs stand out.

The sun coming up over the barn.

I could see a turkey far out in the pasture. He was strutting around but the ladies were too far away.

Is the grass really greener on the other side? Or maybe it just tastes better?

I love hearing the sound of the meadowlarks.

The grackle’s colors really stood out in the sun.

On the other side of the cow pasture I could see the 2 juvenile bald eagles. One was really flapping his wings.

Farther down the trail I saw another bald eagle. This one looked to be about a year old with those white spots, probably born here last winter.

A kildeer was sitting on eggs in the dirt. These guys nest on the ground.

A weekend in south Florida

On July 6, 2026August 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Vacation4 Comments

In March Brett has some relatives from Canada visiting the Fort Lauderdale area so we headed to south Florida for a long weekend. We stayed in Dania Beach and while we weren’t actually on the beach we had a great view from our room. We could see the planes from the airport taking off and the cruise ships out in the port.

I caught a video of the now defunct Spirit airlines taking off.

I was up early one morning heading to breakfast and stopped at the window in the hallway to catch the sun coming up.

From the other end we could see the sunset and the guitar hotel lit up at nearby Hard Rock Hotel.

We had some time one morning before meeting everyone for lunch so we went for a walk around the hotel.

We saw a lot of myna birds. Even though they are pretty they are invasive to Florida. They are destructive, driving out native birds and damaging crops and fruit trees in the area. Their population in south Florida has exploded and we now have some in the Tampa Bay area.

A view of the sawgrass marshes as we headed home on Alligator Alley.

Almost home as we were about to cross the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Sunrise on the beach

On April 13, 2026May 7, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sightsLeave a comment

I was up early at the end of December, headed to Fort Desoto Park in south St. Pete. I’m usually lucky having no other cars behind me before going into the park and I can stop on the bridge and take a quick shot of the sun coming up behind the Skyway bridge.

The sun was already up past the bridge when I got into the park (it opens at 7am so you can’t get there in the dark except during a short window of time before the time changes). My first stop was the East Beach turnaround but since the sun was to the far right I drove over to the East Beach picnic area.

I could see lots of barges out in the water. Looks like maybe they were dredging there.

High up in the sky were 2 guys on motorized paragliders. They must have had a fabulous view coming over the bridge.

I made my way over to the bay fishing pier. The end of the pier was still closed off due to damage from the hurricanes back in late 2024 and the pelicans were enjoying the space.

The pier bumpers where the ferry comes in at was full of fishing line. There was even a fish caught on it.

I finally made it out to North beach and it was super low tide.

A sailboat was stranded on the beach.

I came to the park to look for some rare birds that I was able to see but more on them later.

A stroll down my street.

On February 25, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants5 Comments

In late October I was out for a walk in my neighborhood. The sun was just coming up over the trees. I had walked to the utility field hoping to see some critters hanging around.

Taken with my phone, I could see a bald eagle sitting high up on the tower.

Native bladderpod was going dormant for the winter but there was still a few green pods on the plant.

Rattlebox starts out with beautiful yellow flowers, then turns in bean pods that are highly toxic. Originally they were planted to help with erosion and they grow like crazy but were later found out that the beans were bad for critters to eat.

I’m not sure what these are but they were in the same area.

A red shoulder hawk was sitting on a light post, looking around for a snack.

A crawly critter on the sidewalk.

There are several bird of paradise plants along my walk.

When I got back home I could see a tiny alligator out in the middle of the pond across the street.

Hibiscus blooming in my front yard.

My favorite walking spots in October

On February 23, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

The sun was trying to peak out when I went for a walk just after sunrise at the Safety Harbor Waterfront in Mid-October.

It had gotten even cloudier when I stopped by nearby Philippe Park to walk the stairs.

As I was heading for the stairs I caught a pair of little blue herons chasing each other. I’m not sure if they were fighting or flirting since they flew off together.

A night heron sits in the oyster bed.

A few days later I was walking at the Dunedin marina.

The water was low and clear along the seawall and I could see several horseshoe crabs along the rocks. I don’t remember seeing them here before.

I was walking through a neighborhood near the marina and noticed this cactus that was growing on a palm tree was blooming. I did some digging and found out it was dragon fruit. I’ve never eaten it but I see it at the grocery store. The plant was loaded with it. I hope the owner ate all of them.

A few days later and I was at the Dunedin causeway.

I was getting to the bottom of the bridge and noticed this great egret trying to eat a fish. There were several guys fishing along the seawall so I’m not sure if he stole it from them.

I noticed a laughing gull with a missing foot. I’ve seen him several times (at least I think it’s the same one).

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

The sun and pink birds on the causeway

On February 11, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography9 Comments

At the end of October I was at the Dunedin causeway for a walk under the clouds. The tide was really low and you could see the different colors of the seaweed and muck that is usually under water.

The sun was trying to peek out and it finally did as I made my way back to the car.

As I was getting in the car I saw some interesting birds in the exposed seaweed so I pulled out my camera and got some shots of the above red knots. I don’t see them often as they usually only pass through the area during migration.

Two roseate spoonbills were also feeding in the seaweed and I spent some time watching them.

I occasionally see spoonbills on the causeway but they don’t stick around long. These guys showed up at the end of my walk and they are usually gone by 8:30am.

A 20 second video of a spoonbill using his funny shaped beak to dig through the muck to find stuff to eat.

The sun through the pink grass

On February 2, 2026March 6, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

In early November I was at the Roosevelt Wetlands near Clearwater early enough to catch sunrise. The native muhly grass along the trail entrance was blooming pink.

The goldenrod was in full bloom as well.

The sun was slowly coming up over the landfill as I made my way down the trail towards the other side of the lake. Yes, this preserve sits next to the largest waste plant and landfill in Pinellas county. As long as the wind blows away from the lake it’s fine. It’s a hot spot for birds most of the year.

I made my way over to the trail that runs along side the lake. Local birders call this “warbler alley” but it was a quiet morning.

One of the northern harriers that spend the winters here was cruising the top of the landfill, looking for a meal.

I found a house wren hiding in the bushes.

A loggerhead shrike sits up high in the sun.

A pied grebe staring at me.

A phoebe was flying in and out of this tree.

A rare scissortail flycatcher was seen in the park and I missed it on this morning but the next day I heard it was hanging around the other side of the waste plant and I stopped by the next day to catch it sitting on a stick for a while.

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

The crazy sunrise people

On January 28, 2026January 28, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Tampa bay sights6 Comments

In late September I was at the Safety Harbor waterfront early enough for sunrise. My husband always thinks I’m the only one crazy enough to get up early to go see sunrise but when I got to the park there were a lot of other people. I managed to get a shot of a dolphin coming up on the far left in the above shot. I didn’t see him again after that shot.

Getting photo bombed by cute dogs. That one dog was more interested in what I was doing vs. watching the sunrise. He was ready to play.

Watching the sun come up as I walked along the waterfront. It was a warm morning and the water was calm.

I stopped at nearby Philippe Park to walk the stairs on the back of the Indian mound. The sun was still making it’s way up.

Halfway up and the view from the top of the mound.

Diving for breakfast

On January 26, 2026February 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

More sunrise shots from my visit to Fort Desoto Park in October.

Zooming in with my camera I could see some barges out in front of the bridge.

When I first got to the north beach I saw 2 white pelicans floating in the lagoon. There had been hundreds here a few days before but this was all I saw on this morning. Two more flew by right before the sun was up over the trees.

Shorebirds in the sunrise.

Brown pelicans were diving for bait fish far off the beach. It was funny to watch the laughing gulls trying to steal the fish from the pelican’s beak.

A Cooper’s hawk flies overhead, scaring and flushing the shorebirds.

After leaving the beach I stopped by the Arrowhead trail to peek out across the water and I could see the tons of white pelicans far off a spoil island. They were hiding there this morning instead of feeding in the lagoon off the beach.