A pretty red tree and a big alligator

On August 30, 2025September 6, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

I made another trip to the bird rookery in north Tampa in early May. The royal poinciana tree near the little park area was blooming and the wood storks were hanging out in it while taking a break from feeding the little ones.

A wood stork flew right in front of me and got a drink of water.

The baby great egrets were screaming to be fed.

A young black crowned night heron was also screaming for Mom to feed him.

A young moorhen gets a snack from Mom.

There were a lot of glossy ibis but they stayed in the far back and it’s hard to see their babies until they are flying.

A female anhinga panting in the heat.

I’ve seen tiny alligators in the pond but this was the first big one I’ve seen here. He climbed right up on the bank and plopped down for a while.

He walked around the bank and into the street, then turned around and headed back down in the pond and under the water. I had my 600mm lens with me so these are pretty far away and cropped up.

Looking for a ghost

On February 26, 2025March 7, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

Right before Thanksgiving weekend I was back out at Roosevelt Wetlands (next to the county waste plant in Pinellas county). I was hoping to see the northern harriers that spend their winters at the reserve. I had heard they were back but didn’t see them the week before.

Dragonflies were still out and about since it hadn’t gotten cold yet.

The usual winter birds were there including tons of blue-gray gnatcatchers and eastern phoebes.

A great blue heron flies by and lands in the marsh in front of me.

A wood stork cruises by.

Some friends and I walked to the other end of the marsh. It was an hour later and we still hadn’t seen any harriers. We got about half way back and Lorraine decided to take the middle trail back to her car. I was standing around watching the little birds when I saw her waving her arms from across the trail.

The male harrier (also called the gray ghost) had just flown by.

After flying down the channel outside of the reserve he circled back and came right over my head. I was glad I hung back to watch the little birds and was glad I saw her waving at me.

The annual rookery trip

On June 15, 2024July 13, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography7 Comments

In early April I made my annual trip to north Tampa to visit the bird rookery in the middle of a small pond. The first thing I noticed was the above dirty wood stork. Maybe he had just taken a bath in a muddy spot.

I could barely see these baby wood storks deep in the bushes. This was the only wood stork nest with babies I could see on this morning. It feels late this year. By late March last year the rookery had tons of baby storks.

A lot of great egrets were still busy flirting and working on their nests. Most of them had their green breeding feathers around their eyes and those pretty wispy flirting feathers.

There was one nest with a teeny baby great egret. It looked to be a day or two old.

Another nest had a bigger baby great egret that was begging for food.

There were a lot of glossy ibis but they nest in the far back and we can’t see them from the street. We have to wait until the babies are big enough to fly around the rookery.

A female grackle sitting pretty on the bush.

Every year it feels like there are less and less birds nesting here. The rookery island looks the same size. Have they moved on somewhere else or are there truly less birds? I made another trip in early May but more on that later.

My first eagle passenger

On April 13, 2024April 9, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

An early morning transport had me driving an injured red shoulder hawk and a black vulture from the Raptor Center in Brandon to Penny, the rehabber, in south St. Pete. I didn’t get a picture of the vulture. He was in a box and was jumping around a lot so didn’t want to open the box. I think he was being released soon.

A few days later I got an emergency call to see if I could pick up an injured eagle that was being rescued. It was only 15 minutes from my house so I jumped in the car and met George from Birds In Helping Hands who had just grabbed the eagle. The eagle had been on the ground in someone’s backyard and they called it in.

George put the eagle in a crate and put it in the back of my car. My first eagle passenger put up a little fight at first so I thought he might be okay. The entire drive to the Raptor Center I was hoping it wasn’t rat poison which would have been bad. When I got to the Center and Nancy went to take him out of my car we realized he did not survive the trip. I was crushed, fighting back tears. His crop was torn wide open so he hadn’t eaten in a long time. Nancy thinks he must have eaten a fish with a big fishing hook in it and it tore through.

The rescues and transports continue. A huge white pelican was rescued in someone’s yard by Carol (on the right) and brought to the nearby Raptor Center. I met her there and then transported it to the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. Two hawks (in the boxes) made the trip as well and went to Penny on the way home.

There’s a constant stream of screech owls getting rescued. This was found on the ground not too far from my home and I got it from Barbara, the rescuer, and drove it out to the center.

February 1st brought another trip to a rehabber with a red shoulder hawk and a crow. Most of the birds are quiet in the car but that crow was cawwing all the way there.

Baby squirrel season had already started here. There were 3 in the box. The one mostly covered under the towel had no fur yet. There were 2 tiny bats that were found on the ground as well. Bats can carry rabies but it’s very rare for a person to get a rabies from a bat. I didn’t open the box. Penny opened it when I got to her home. She’s been vaccinated for rabies and rehabilitates bats.

A few days later I transported a great horned owl with a bang on his head and an injured beak and a turkey vulture that was sick.

Two days later another box of baby squirrels went to Penny. This box also had a tiny baby bunny in it (on the orange).

A wood stork with a broken wing also made the trip. He was heading to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park to live once he healed.

In the middle of February a sick sanderling was found in central Florida. Someone brought him into the Raptor Center and I drove him from there to the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary out on the beach. They are experts with rehabbing shorebirds so he was in good hands.

The sick/injured wildlife never ends here so I have more to share but I’ll save that for another post.

A cold winter morning in St. Pete.

On March 25, 2024April 30, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography6 Comments

European starlings get no respect here. They are treated like annoying pigeons. They are an invasive species here in the United States but they are pretty when the sun hits them just right. I found this one alone at Crescent Lake Park in St. Pete. I stopped for a quick walk and to see if the white pelicans were still there.

This wood stork was feeding right in front of me. I did find the white pelicans and took a ton of shots of them feeding but more on them later.

After a walk around the lake I drove 10 minutes over to the North Shore Park on the bay. As soon as I got out of my car I heard the monk parakeets feeding on the ground in the parking lot.

There were very few birds on the little beach in front of the park.

The tide was really low and this guy was having the best time chasing after a big stick.

A grackle was calling for his girlfriend.

It looks like it was a quiet morning from this point of view but behind me there were tons of people walking, jogging and biking on the wide sidewalk that runs along the park. It was a cold morning so there wasn’t anyone out on the beach.

My favorite 5 tall palm trees on the beach at the park. The sky was clearing up.

The parking lot has several orchid trees that were in full bloom. I was getting in my car when I heard a big flock of nanday parakeets fly into the one right next to my car. I got out and shot the above before they all took off again.

Another look at the rookery

On July 29, 2023July 19, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

The wood storks were coming over to the bank to get a drink of water. In late April the water was really low.

This wood stork was collecting a stick. Were they still nesting at this point or maybe he was replenishing the one he has.

The babies are always hungry.

A snowy egret showing off.

There were several cattle egrets in full breeding colors. They were just starting to nest.

The little blue herons were also starting to nest.

The fully grown baby cormorants were still being fed by the parents. This one was reaching deep down to get that regurgitated fish.

A boat tailed grackle showing his blue and purple feathers.

More from the bird rookery in late March

On June 17, 2023June 7, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

There were several glossy ibis flying over the rookery in late March. I’m not sure if they were nesting yet since they nest in the far back hidden part of the rookery. The color of their feathers really popped against the sun as they flew by.

Tricolored herons were still flirting. They nest later than the great egrets and wood storks.

A great egret showing off.

Yes, that’s an almost grown cormorant with his entire face down his Dad’s throat. He was trying to get the fish that Dad was regurgitating for him. I think he still wanted more.

A wood stork showing off his underneath green feathers.

There were so many wood stork babies here.

That fish was way to big for the baby to swallow. The parent realized that pretty quickly and didn’t want it to go to waste so down the hatch it went.

The rookery was hopping in late March

On June 3, 2023May 26, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography2 Comments

I made a road trip back to the bird rookery in north Tampa in late March. The noise was so loud from all of the baby birds screaming to be feed. The little spoil island in the pond was full of babies. Although this great egret above looks like he’s still flirting.

There were baby egrets from just a few days old to several weeks old.

The tricolored herons were still sitting on eggs.

This Mom was shading her baby wood storks from the sun.

This was the youngest wood stork baby I could see and it had a tiny fish in his beak.

This Mom had no rest with all of these babies.

It looks like the older baby got the big fish this time. It took him a while to get it down.

Great egrets were still bringing sticks back to the nests.

The baby muscovy ducks I had seen here weeks ago were almost grown now.

It’s not baby season yet

On March 25, 2023March 18, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

It was late February and I was going to be near north Tampa so I threw my camera in the car and stopped by the rookery before heading home. The nice thing about this one is that I can park on the side of the road and step out and start taking pictures. I knew it was too early for any babies but wanted to see how the nesting was going. There were tons of woods storks on the rookery and on the side of the pond.

They were all busy flying in and out of the rookery. I love how they hover with their landing gear down.

Most were busy getting sticks for the nest. You can really see the purple feathers in the top one.

There were a lot of couples and both were working on the nest. Many were already sitting on eggs.

The cutest little muscovy duck family came swimming by, staying close to Mom.

Around the yard

On February 11, 2023February 11, 2023 By dinajohnstonIn bird photography5 Comments

Usual birds at the backyard feeder in early January. It’s rare to see another bird on the feeder when a woodpecker is on there. Most of the little birds scatter when a woodpecker flies towards it.

The bluebirds are now regular visitors and keep checking out the nest box.

Goldfinches show up about once a week.

A dove and a black and white warbler hiding in the bushes.

My husband asks why the hanging plant isn’t blooming. It’s because the squirrels keep eating the blooms. I’ll never buy another purslane plant again. They have stripped this one clean.