No breeze in the middle of summer

On November 5, 2025October 31, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography11 Comments

The water was calm on my walk at the Safety Harbor waterfront in early July.

A night heron was sitting on the branch in front of the boardwalk.

This was the first time I’ve seen a kildeer here. There were two of them running around the grassy field. I could hear there distinct call across the field.

It was hot this morning and there wasn’t any breeze.

I left the waterfront and stopped at nearby Philippe Park to walk along the sea wall there.

Hiking up the Indian temple mound from the back stairs. It’s the largest remaining mound built by the Tocobaga Indians. You can read more on the history here.

The view from the top.

I tried not to disturb this couple making hanky panky as I walked back down.

I was getting back in my car and saw this pileated woodpecker fly into a hole in a tree in the parking area. I zoomed in with my phone and was able to catch him banging away. He didn’t seem shy at all.

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.

A morning on the beach

On October 8, 2025September 9, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

At the end of May I was walking out towards north beach at Fort Desoto Park. I looked back before stepping on the beach and saw that the sun was rising fast. I could see the silhouette of the osprey nest.

Zooming in it looked like one of the baby osprey was being fed.

I walked back towards the nest and could get a better shot of the two almost grown babies sitting with a parent. The baby on the left was pulling a fish apart.

A pretty willet in his breeding feathers was the first shorebird I saw.

Farther up the beach I ran into the 2 juvenile oystercatchers. These guys were growing up fast having hatched at the end of April. They were banded recently with YC6 & YC7.

They were both just walking the beach together.

Mom was close by.

Another oystercatcher showed up and Mom started screaming at it (it wasn’t Dad). Mom chased the interloper far down the beach.

The babies knew there was danger and they both hunched down into a sand holes and stayed there until Mom got back.

I think this was Dad that came back first because the babies ran to him.

Out at the far north beach tip I could see big boats out in the gulf.

Both parents were on the osprey nest when I got back to the parking lot. This was a great nest, sitting low and right in the parking lot.

Tiny rare babies growing up on the beach

On August 16, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

It was May 1st and I was back at Fort Desoto Park early. The sun was already up when I drove over the bridge into the park. I had a feeling the oystercatcher eggs might have hatched earlier this week so I wanted to get out on the beach early.

I had a short hike out to the oystercatcher nest but I got distracted by the spoonbills feeding in the tidal pool just off the parking lot. There were also several tricolored herons feeding.

I don’t see yellowlegs here often so I had to stop for a shot of it as well.

I made it out to the nesting area and the babies were already on the move. The area had been roped off so people wouldn’t trample through the nesting area and the parents were feeding the babies inside the roped area. There were three eggs but only two hatched. One hatched late Tuesday, one hatched Wednesday and I was there early Thursday morning.

They were so tiny and hard to spot across the roped off area. They stayed close to the parents as one parent would take off and then come back 5-10 minutes later with food. I was taking these with my 180-600mm zoom lens and they are cropped so they were really far away.

As we waited for the parents to bring in food to the babies we got distracted by the reddish egrets coming by including the white morph one.

Skimmers flying by.

Mom had a juicy piece of food in her beak, maybe a piece of clam.

After a while the babies got tired and plopped down for a long nap so I headed out. There were a handful of photographers there and several bird stewards watching the area so people don’t get too close. The bird stewards are all volunteers and keep watch over the nest and these rare babies while they grow up making sure they are safe from the tourist crowds.

There was an osprey nest in between the beach and the parking lot so I stopped for a few minutes and caught both babies looking at Mom.

A morning out on the beach

On August 4, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Another sunrise at Fort Desoto Park in late April.

As I was leaving the East Beach area after taking a few sunrise pictures I passed two osprey. Both had big fish for breakfast.

A great crested flycatcher was sitting up high watching the sun come up.

When I got out to North Beach I saw a reddish egret right away. He was busy fishing for his breakfast in a tidal pool.

I found another one farther up the beach but this one was right into the sun.

A young black bellied plover stands in front of the sleeping red knots.

Red knots are migrating birds and only stop over for a short time to refuel on their way back and forth between their breeding grounds in the northern most part of the continent to the far tip of South America. This trip I was able to catch many of them in their reddish orange breeding colors.

A red knot surrounded by 3 black bellied plovers, two were just starting to get their black bellies for the summer breeding season.

A cute little dunlin was poking around in the wet sand for a snack.

A young herring gull, strutting on the beach with those pink legs, was going to find out that the piece of seaweed was not a good snack.

A big boat passing by the pier.

A crown conch in the shallow edge of the water at low tide.

The dolphins were swimming around the fishing pier trying to steal fish from the fishermen.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

Sunrise and the dolphin show

On July 28, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Florida animals4 Comments

Another early morning at Fort Desoto Park. It was mid-April and I was going down to the park (about an hour south of me) regularly since it was spring migration time. Besides seeing different birds coming through, the sunrise was later and we could get in to see the sun come up from the beach (the park opens at 7am). The mosquitoes weren’t bad yet and those pesky summer tourists hadn’t arrived yet in big numbers.

Seafoam on the beach.

Turning around I noticed the moon was still up high as the sun came up.

Someone had left this shoe on a tree along the trail. It must have been in the water a long time with all of the barnacles on it.

This view never gets old.

Boat traffic headed in and out of the bay.

After a walk on the trails and the beach I stopped at the gulf fishing pier before leaving. The dolphins were busy trying to steal fish from the fishermen and were coming close to the pier.

This one came right up under the pier and I could see his fresh scars. I’m not sure what could have made those. He might have scraped his head along the pier pilings trying to get bait fish.

A quick video taken with my phone as he glided under the pier.

Sunrise with some fun birds and a boat race

On July 14, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography1 Comment

Another early morning at Fort Desoto Park in mid-April. I had heard there were some fun migrating birds seen in the park the day before so I got there when the park opened.

After stopping at a few areas known for migrating birds I finally made it out to the area where the birds were being seen. One side of the beach was full of people here for a paddle boat race. Luckily the birds I was looking for would not be on the beach and would be hidden in the bushes nearby.

For once I got lucky and saw the birds I was looking for pretty quickly. There were only a few birders looking around the mangrove bushes and the golden wing warbler was right in front. This is only the 2nd time I’ve heard of one being in the area. I saw it briefly in 2023 and got blurry shots of it.

The worm eating warbler was also there and I got one quick shot of it before it went deep in the bushes. I saw one here last year and had one in my backyard a few years earlier. Both birds were not common migrating birds that we get in the area.

After seeing the worm eating warbler I took a walk farther down the beach and when I got back an hour later a crowd had formed. Everyone was looking for the golden winged warbler. It had gone much deeper in the bushes and I was glad I was able to get some shots when I first got there. It was the weekend and this park gets crowded on the trails during migration. It’s okay because it’s more eyes to see what’s out there.

I could see barn swallows sitting high up on a dead tree farther behind the mangrove bushes. It’s rare to see them sitting.

An osprey flies by with a big stick for his nearby nest.

A little parakeet morning hanky-panky going on.

There wasn’t a large variety of birds this morning. Other than the 2 notable rare birds I first saw I also got shots of a summer tanager and a prairie warbler.

By now the paddle boats were out on the water and were moving fast. I couldn’t tell if it was an official race or a practice for one. It looked like a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

The water was calm when I stopped by the east beach turnaround before leaving looking for more birds (which I didn’t find). What a beautiful morning out.

Linking to A Stroll Thru Life.

An early morning on the beach

On July 9, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, Tampa bay sights3 Comments

In early April I was out early enough to see the lights still shining on the Sunshine Skyway bridge. I was on my way to Fort Desoto Park. The park opens at 7am and this time of year the sun comes up later so if you get to the park right when it opens you can catch sunrise.

I was out on east beach at 7:05 and zoomed in to see pelicans diving for fish right in front of the bridge.

The gulls were also swarming around.

After some shots at east beach I quickly headed over to the bay pier to get a few more shots before the sun was up too high.

The above osprey was having breakfast.

I’m not sure what this nanday parakeet was eating, or maybe just chewing on the branch.

Over on north beach I could see the oystercatcher sitting on eggs. This area had been roped off and guarded with bird stewards the entire time this couple were sitting on eggs. They are state-designated threatened due to loss of habitat. Their eggs blend into the sand and it would be easy for someone to trample over them if the parent left the nest (due to crows, gulls or other birds bothering them).

Looking out at the gulf.

Watching a grackle harassing the much bigger great blue heron on the pier.

Watching the National bird grow up

On July 2, 2025August 5, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Sunrise at the eagle’s nest in my neighborhood. I was trying to get there early every few days since the baby was the most active in the mornings.

The lone baby was sitting in the nest waiting for a parent to bring food. Mom was sitting up in the same tower and she was probably wondering where Dad was with the squirrel or fish.

A few days later I was able to see him flapping his wings in place, building up his strength for that first big flight.

A few days later he was getting some air and made it over to the edge of the railing. It makes me nervous to see them first flying up to the edge. It would be easy for him to flap too hard and end up on the ground and not be able to get back up on the tower. That happened 2 years ago with one of the babies. Luckily some early morning dog walkers saw it and let me know it was on the ground. You can read more about the rescue in that post here.

This was taken with my phone and you can see how high up the towers are. The nest is in the right tower (on the top left side). That baby looks like a pin dot without binoculars or a long camera lens. I was using my 400mm lens for the up-close shots.

An early morning bike ride

On June 30, 2025July 10, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography8 Comments

I was out on my bike in early April watching the sun come up on the Pinellas County bike trail. It was a little too early to see any migrating birds but I might see something else fun.

I had just started out and up ahead I saw an alligator crossing the trail. This is the first time I’ve seen one on the trail here but since there are ponds on both sides I wasn’t too surprised to see him crossing. I was afraid I wouldn’t have time to take my camera out of the backpack so I took the above with my phone.

A quick video of him strutting across. After this I pedaled over to where he went in on the other side.

I was able to catch him down in the ditch as he crawled under a hole in the fence and went into the pond.

Farther down the sun was coming up over the horse pasture.

Evening primrose was blooming along the fence.

The sun far up across the field. The lake in the back is Lake Dan.

The pattern on this juvenile bald eagle is striking. I saw him across the cow pasture and at first I thought it was a red-tailed hawk but when he turned around I could see his eagle beak. I was hoping he would fly off but after 15 minutes he looked like he wasn’t going to move so I continued on the trail.

A red headed woodpecker was in the same big dead tree.

This not-quite adult eagle was sitting high up in the tower right on the trail. Based on the coloring in his head he must be around 3 years old. See chart below for age identification.