A 3 park morning

Posted on January 18, 2022 by dinajohnston

I was out early one morning right before Christmas. My first stop was the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular but thought I would do a quick lap around the gardens. The gardens were decorated for Christmas and you could see the lights all over the bushes and trees. I thought this owl statue was cool and would have loved to see it all lit up but I didn’t make it here for the night holiday lights this year.

The usual birds were in the main pond. A green heron at attention, a wood duck (the entire family was floating around the pond) and there were lots of moorhens.

After the botanical gardens, I stopped at nearby Largo Nature Preserve to see if there was anything new. A grebe spent some time preening close to the boardwalk and there have been some northern shovelers there for several weeks now but nothing new or different.

My last stop before heading home wasn’t really a park but the Dunedin marina. I was hoping to see dolphins or manatees hanging around the marina but I didn’t see any on this trip so after walking around for a while it was time to go home for lunch.

A hot morning in August

Posted on October 5, 2021 by dinajohnston

A quiet (swampy) place to reflect. Just ignore the Beware of Alligators sign on the right.

This one was watching me as he cruised in front of the dock.

I found a few wood ducks in front of the dock at Chesnut Park.

Young cardinals were all over the park. They were all pretty scruffy looking, not having gotten their adults feathers in all the way yet.

A limpkin trying to hide behind some weeks.

The little chickadees were so cute. There were a lot of them here in early August. I saw my first one here at this park more than 10 years ago and then didn’t see any for a long time. Now I’ve seen a few around on most of my visits in the past few years.

After leaving Chesnut Park and heading home, I stopped at a small park nearby on the bay to see if anything was around the fishing pier. I had fun watching this dog romp around in the low tide. He stuck his tongue in the water for a drink but he did not like that salty water.

The one that got away. After taking a bunch of pictures of the dog in the water, I look up and see the back of an eagle heading the other way. I’ll have to keep an eye out here during the winter to see if there’s a nest nearby.

Starting the year with a little cleaning.

Posted on December 31, 2019 by dinajohnston

This beautiful young mute swan was taking a bath at Lake Morton in late November.

The white ducks are cute but aggressive, looking for a handout.

Ibis flyby.

One of the black necked swans at the lake.

A wood duck and a ring billed duck couple.

The cypress trees were turning orange.

Baby swans on a hot spring morning.

Posted on July 17, 2019 by dinajohnston

A female wood duck up above and her 4 juvenile babies hanging out on a rock.

It’s always fun to see the baby swans.

Across the street from the lake, in front of the library in Lakeland, there were still 2 swans sitting on nests. At least they had a good shady spot away from the crowds and a nice view of the lake.

Two butterflies together on the street. Where they mating? I’ve never seen this before.

Getting up close with Florida critters.

Posted on October 9, 2017 by dinajohnston

Up close with a ruddy duck.

And black bellied whistling ducks. One was missing an eye

A pretty lady wood duck.

A very important sign. Even the night heron standing in front of it should not be fed.

“Hooo’s there?” said the burrowing owl.

Crawling critters behind glass.

Growing inside the aquarium, the beauty berry can be see in the many of the parks around Tampa. The birds and critters eat the berries.

On the wall in the aquarium, this would make cool wallpaper.

A few things from a recent trip to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. When it’s too hot to see the fishies from the beach, it’s time to head inside at the aquarium.

Lots of birds at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

Posted on February 15, 2016 by dinajohnston

Lots of robins in the trees.

White pelicans were floating around.

Wood duck on a log. He didn’t have a tag on so I’m thinking he’s a wild one that is just hanging out here for the food.

Spoonbill shaking off.

It’s rare to be this close to an osprey. Especially when they are taking a bath. This one was in the big aviary.

This wood stork was missing part of its wing.

Both eagles are missing a wing.

A rare white morph great blue heron was in the main pond. I didn’t see a tag on him. He’s got a beautiful face.

I made my annual winter trip up to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park in mid-January. It was one of the first cold morning we have had. There was lots of bird activity at the park from injured birds that live there to the wild ones that fly in to visit. I took a ton of pictures so more on those to come.

Cute and cool at the lake.

Posted on July 20, 2015 by dinajohnston

What is it about little ducklings that are so cute???

Even hybrid mallards are cute when they are sleeping.

The wood duck is just cool, posing for me.

Another cool duck, the shelduck is not native to Florida. The city of Lakeland bought them for the downtown lake.

Even grackles eat fish.

The usual things sleeping and floating around Lake Mirror.

Standing in one spot taking pictures

Posted on March 23, 2015 by dinajohnston

It’s always fun seeing a cormorant trying to gulp down a big fish.

Wood duck reflection.

I think this is a male american goldfinch in his winter feathers. He was high up in the trees and didn’t sit still for a minute. I rarely see these here.

Great blue heron hopping around in the trees.

There were a lot of great blue heron nests high up in the trees. It was hard to see up there but this nest had two babies that were almost grown.

Green heron hanging around.

Most of these birds were not tagged. They might just be hanging out with the permanently injured birds for the winter.

This is a white morph great blue heron. I’ve never seen one here before and this is 2nd time I’ve ever seen one. He wasn’t tagged so I’m not sure if he is just stopping by for a quick visit.

A great egret trying to catch some minnows and coming up with a beak full of leaves.

I made my annual trip to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park in early March. It’s a safe haven for permanently injured birds and other Florida animals. A lot of wild birds and ducks hang out there to get free food. Some come in to nest in the trees over the water. There’s always a lot to take pictures of at the park. Sometimes in nice not to have to run around in the woods looking for tiny birds high up in the trees. Sometimes it’s nice to just stand in one place and take lots of pictures.

Weird mix of birds at the Florida Botanical Gardens

Posted on December 3, 2012 by dinajohnston

Wood stork high up in the tree. He was all alone.

Red bellied woodpecker has a big nut. I think he was hiding it in the hole.

Pileated woodpecker on a utility pole. These birds have done a lot of damage to the poles there. You can see where they try to patch them up but the woodpeckers just move and create new holes.

A lone female wood duck. I found her in a small pond behind the old butterfly garden.

Red bellied woodpecker and easter phoebe were sitting in the same tree. I could hear the phoebe singing from across the lake.

Wild monk parakeet hanging on a pole. There’s a small flock that always seem to be around the gardens.

I finally made it over to the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo after trying the weekend before and getting deterred by a huge crowd coming for an event. This Saturday morning it was quiet. I could even hear that phoebe singing all morning. There wasn’t anything unusual there. But still, it was a nice morning out and I got a good 2 hour walk in.

Check out more pictures at Our World Tuesday

Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention for

Saying goodbye to grown up baby owls

Posted on March 26, 2012 by dinajohnston

I found one of the baby owls high up in the tree scratching an itch.

The older sibling was even higher up sleeping. I found him through an opening in the branches.

Wood duck floating down the river by the owl tree.

A hawk flies by.

Butterflies and flowers are now everywhere.

After my trip to Fort Desoto to see the new owl family, I decided to stop by Kapok Park on the way home to see the two baby owls there one last time. I had heard they were flying around from branch to branch and really hard to find now that they have left the nest. Soon they’ll leave the park for good. I got there hoping to find them one last time. I kept looking high up in the tree and finally found the first one when it moved to scratch. I decided to walk around the boardwalk for a while and walking back I saw the other owl high up through the branches sitting in the sun. They grow up so fast. Now that they are grown up I’ll probably have the park all to myself. Just me, the dog walkers and joggers. There’s still a lot of great stuff there even without the owls. Now that it’s light after work, I’ll head there for a walk before heading home often.

Check out more pictures at Our World Tuesday