Flowers and bugs

On May 12, 2020May 12, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography, flowers and plants2 Comments

Color coming out in early April at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. Yes, the gardens were open during the big shut down. I went around 8am and there were very few people there. Most probably thought it was closed. It was nice to walk around in the quiet garden.

Watching these crazy parakeets getting sticks for their nests.

Not many birds in early April. The usual blue jays and wood duck couples. The wood ducks usually have babies here in the summer but they go into hiding and it’s hit or miss seeing them here.

Caterpillars were on the milkweed but those pesky milkweed bugs were taking over.

“Fowl” things at Lake Morton

On March 30, 2020March 30, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Beautiful wood ducks hiding under the cypress trees.

Baby black swans staying close to their parents.

White pelicans were preening and stretching.

A lone goose with a striking face and beak. There use to be a lot of geese around this lake but I only found 2 on a trip in late February.

Our World Tuesday Graphic

Cute, fuzzy and fun at Lake Morton

On April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

It’s that fun time of the year when there are baby ducks everywhere. This one Blondie in the family was so cute. It’s amazing they grow up to look like mom.

The three stooges standing on a pipe.

Beautiful swans at Lake Morton.

It felt like spring in late March.

A wood duck couple.

image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup Our World Tuesday Graphic

Here’s to hoping for baby ladybugs!

On January 14, 2019January 15, 2019 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

A few fun things at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo.

The beautiful silk floss tree that blooms in the fall. I always forget about it the rest of the year since it’s just full of green leaves. I forget about the pink flowers and am always surprised and amazed when I see this tree in late October. This was towards the end of the bloom and the ground was covered in the pink flowers.

Not many birds. A local red belled woodpecker and a wood duck couple.

The above was hanging on a tree in the woods at the gardens. Kind of creepy but also cool.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Babies and an eagle

On August 3, 2017August 3, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

Wood duck babies are so cute. I found this little family at a hidden pond at the Largo Botanical Gardens in May.

After walking around the gardens, I headed over to Largo Nature Preserve and found this baby limpkin following Mom under the boardwalk.

I was staring at this turtle that was sitting just underneath the below.

A bald eagle was sitting on a utility tower in the park. I don’t think anyone else walking by noticed the eagle just sitting up there.

I was taking pictures of the colors of the high plants across the creek and looked down and saw these guys staring up at me like “Feed us.”

All taken back in late April.

SkyWatch Friday

Lettuce Lake Park

On June 19, 2017June 20, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The usual suspects at the lake.

There wasn’t many little birds there but I did catch the above northern parula and carolina wren.

A few wood ducks floating around.

Teeny tiny critters along the boardwalk.

Just a few things from a recent walk at Lettuce Lake Park in north Tampa.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing

Duck, Duck, Ibis

On June 17, 2017May 16, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

People come to this lake to feed the ducks and swans but it’s mostly the ibis that get fed. They fly in by the hundreds and attack the person holding the food.

A few random ducks.

You can always find wood ducks at this lake.

There was a pair of coscoroba swans (smaller swan with the bright pink beak) but I think there is now only 1. I think the mute swan has become friends with the coscoroba. They were hanging out together and flirting.

It’s mating and nesting season for the mute swans at Lake Morton.

Another chapter of “So many babies, so little time”

On July 16, 2016July 16, 2016 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

Baby wood ducks are the cutest duck babies. They have a pretty pale face compared to the mallards which have a lot of pattern on their faces. There were several wood duck families at my favorite lake in Lakeland recently. One of the families with older babies were all napping under a tree. Later, the younger babies were running around chasing after each other and trying to keep up with mom.

Linking to Saturday’s Critters

Cutest of all duck babies.

On June 24, 2015June 14, 2015 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

Sometimes when you go out expecting nothing, you get a big something. I was at the botanical gardens in Largo thinking I would not see much but moorhens and doves. I was focusing on taking pictures of flowers. As I was walking towards the rose garden, I saw this line of baby ducks out of the corner of my eye. Thinking they were baby mallards, I almost didn’t stop. But, since all baby ducks are cute, I decided to stop for a minute and take a break. I’m glad I did. They were wood duck babies. They mostly look like mallard babies but way cuter. The parents were keeping them close. Those baby moorhens were looking at the little parade go by like “What are those little ducks?” I snapped a handful of pictures as they cruised by and headed on to the rose garden.