A few non-bird animals at Circle B Bar Reserve

Always lots of alligators around.

My first wild pig sighting. Thrilling, huh?

There's always tons of cute turtles along the trail.

Fish were coming through the pipes between the ponds and flopping around the rocks until they made it into the pond.

There's always something interesting to find at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland. Sometimes you forget to look around for other things besides birds. I never thought to notice the fish but I was standing right above the pipes that run the water through the different ponds and saw something shiny flopping around in the water. I'm surprised there weren't any birds around at the time. Seems like the fish would have been any easy meal. Maybe all the birds were full from breakfast there and were napping (it was getting close to lunch).  I've always heard about the wild pigs running around and hadn't seen any until my recent trip. A big mom was across the creek at the beginning of Alligator Alley so I couldn't see her too well. I saw one piglet hiding in the bushes but it never came out.

Feature: Fort De Soto Park - Part II

Never make assumptions.

The Long-billed Curlew above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

I'm compelled to include that advice as I think of the words of wisdom given by Felix in the vintage TV show, "The Odd Couple," and my assumption made during my trip to visit Fort De Soto Park.

I had checked into the Hampton Inn on Highway 19 in St. Petersburg which is conveniently located near the park.

The Long-billed Curlew above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

A predawn arrival at Fort De Soto on day two of my three day visit was my plan and therefore was not going to trust the clock on the nightstand to wake me with its alarm.

Since there might be a power failure, I called what I thought was the front desk to request a 5:00am wake up call, but got an automated system instead and made the request.

The Long-billed Curlew above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

The next morning led to no wake up call, but the alarm clock fortunately went off.

Unfortunately the clock was set 75 minutes behind real time which I hadn't noticed earlier having evidently not been adjusted for the change in daylight savings time.

The photographer above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

At this point I could see approaching daylight through the window while able to keep my cool.

Upon arrival at Fort De Soto Park on day two, I first stopped at the Primitive Camping Area.

The Long-billed Curlew with Laughing Gull above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

There were a couple of cars there already, so I was thinking for sure I was late for the birding action.

As I walked under the majestic oaks of the northeastern corner of Madelaine Key I was surprised to see kids lounging about.

The Long-billed Curlew above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

With the camping activity there, I was allowed to pass through as I noted my authorization to visit the camp at the administrative building the day before.

There were no birds seen or heard other than along Pinellas Bayway South and over Tampa Bay which had me hurry to my next destination.

The Long-billed Curlew with Black Skimmer above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

Reports of 2011 Spring migratory bird activity at Fort De Soto Park were investigated the week before my arrival at the park and it continued to look pretty grim for sightings as was especially evidenced by my previous day's visit.

Heading further into the park from the Primitive Camp I stopped at the Bay Pier which has ample parking for those that have an interest in taking the ferry to Egmont Key State Park which also has the distinction of being a National Wildlife Refuge.

The well traveled wildlife observer above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

The Bay Pier parking area is also close to the grove of Mulberry trees (a walk along the beach to the east) which ripen in April and have historically been a magnet for migrating birds.

It's noted in the park's website that nearly all of the regularly occurring migratory species have been seen at this location over the years.

The Long-billed Curlew above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

There was no such activity on this day near the renowned "must stop" location.

However, I coincidentally met Joy, from Temple Terrace, near the park ranger's residence whom was one of the ladies I had observed the day before photographing American Oystercatcher at North Beach.

The Long-billed Curlew with Black Skimmer above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

Joy told me that she had rented a house in the area for a month to observe the migrant passerine action at Fort De Soto Park which she's found the least productive in the last few years.

As we discussed the possibility that the birds had passed us by this 2011 season, another observer and photographer of the park's wildlife named Paul Cooper visiting from Merritt Island engaged us after his trip further down the beach.

The Willet above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

Paul's report was equally as disappointing while a trip to the lagoons at North Beach ensued to observe the shore and wading birds that are otherwise prolific at Fort De Soto Park.

On my way to the lagoons, I stopped very briefly at the beach southeast of the Open Field to observe Red-winged Blackbird, a solitary Great Egret, and a lot of mosquitoes that were not deterred by very breezy conditions.

The Long-billed Curlew above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

It was more than two hours after sunrise by the time I reached the lagoon adjacent to the food concession building.

A welcome visit it was as a Long-billed Curlew was posing for the wildlife photographers already on the scene.

The woodwork above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

There were Black Skimmers among the curlew resulting in my having to change my position a couple of times to allow the best view of the much less common species.

The feeding behavior of the curlew was of my greatest interest with additional shots taken of the species attempting to get an unusual shot of the bird.

The Red-breasted Merganser above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

It was about an hour into observation of the uncommonly seen bird when I got a message from the camera that its memory card was full.

This was not expected as I hadn't had this problem in years and spent the next fifteen minutes attempting to switch the camera over to the CF card.

The Red-breasted Merganser above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

I immediately considered calling Tim Rucci for advice as I have in the past for resolution to technical concerns.

As I knew he was feeling under the weather, I chose to use the cellphone to find a solution to my problem with futility before discovering that I didn't have the CF card in the camera.

The Prairie Warbler above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

Off to Best Buy I went acquiring another SD card as they didn't have the CF card I would have preferred.

I returned to Fort De Soto Park in the late afternoon and drove through the St. Christopher Key Campground with sightings of gulls, Common Ground Doves, blackbirds, Northern Cardinals, and an unidentified duck flyover.

The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

My sole owl sighting was an ornament on a building under construction at the campground's entrance.

I then traveled to the East Beach Turnaround to find a loafing Red-breasted Merganser that wasn't seen the day before.

The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

From there I headed to North Beach Grove which offered my first sighting of a Prairie Warbler.

It was otherwise very quite within the grove while only seeing egrets in the bay.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

With the sun approaching closer to the horizon, I again made my way to the north lagoon at North Beach visited the day before anticipating excellent low tide conditions.

A pair of photographers were immediately seen hunkered down observing a Reddish Egret in prime breeding color, so I was sure to make my way into the lagoon behind them so as not to cause any disturbance.

The wildlife photographer above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

I found my way into a tidal cut in the lagoon that allowed me a low viewing angle of the wildlife which I prefer.

A pair of American Oystercatcher made their way onto the scene minutes after I had commented to the fellow photographers that I had observed the species the day before.

The American Oystercatcher above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

I was told that the oystercatcher is a regular at this place although it's definitely not a guaranteed to be seen species through my observations at different venues adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida.

A juvenile White Ibis was very accommodating in offering its feeding behavior just before Paul Cooper arrived.

The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

Shortly thereafter we walked through the lagoon to the protected nesting site which appeared to me to have been improved ten fold from the day before.

Wilson's Plover was again seen with the help of another wildlife observer.

The wildlife observer above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

It was here that Marina Scarr introduced herself and her friend.

I knew of Marina's work presented at BirdPhotographers.net.

The White Ibis juvenile above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

As the sun set, Paul and I continued to photograph the shorebirds in the waning light of the day.

I had sent my Prairie Warbler image to Vince Lucas for confirmation of the species as I wanted an expert opinion to be sure of my conclusion of what I thought I'd seen.

The Wilson's Plover above was photographed at Fort De Soto Park in April 2011.

A near perfect day it was with anticipation of meeting up with Fort Myers birding expert Tom Obrock on day three.

Feature: Fort De Soto Park Part I
Feature: Fort De Soto Park Part III

Cactus and dolphins at Fort Desoto - Skywatch Friday

The cactus were blooming and the butterflies were eating.

The fields were full of blooming cactus.

Pretty flower.

Dolphin at the fishing pier.

The wild dolphin show at the pier.

Someone was stand-up boarding around the park.

Another beautiful day at the beach!

For more skyscape photography from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday

Spring at Boyd Hill Nature Park

Lily pads are blooming and bees are buzzing.

Cormorants resting near the trail.

Anhinga is trying to hide under the statue. (Downtown St. Pete in the background.)

Butterflies are everywhere.

Big tooth giving me a grin. This guy was laying right under the boardwalk.  Since the water was so high he had traveled far into the swamp.

Lots of spring nature happening at Boyd Hill Nature Park in St. Petersburg. Tons of people are coming out to see the grooved bill ani that is still there but there's so much more to see at the park. This was the only alligator I saw. I think since the water was so high most of them were hiding. The place was full of butterflies and dragonflies. There were osprey flying around. They probably have nests somewhere in the park. It's a nice walk when it gets hot because the front trail closest to the lake is almost all shaded and you get the breeze over the water. I'll be heading there a lot this summer.

Variety of birds at Circle B Bar Reserve

A scene from Circle B Bar reserve. Taken at the dock over the lake on Alligator Alley. There were a few great egrets hanging out in the trees.

Blue jays must think they are tough. This one kept trying to pick on a hawk.

The hawk got annoyed and left.

Opsrey defending it's nest from another osprey. The nest is sitting on top of a dead palm tree.

There are a handful of glossy ibis hanging around the marsh. From far away the glossy almost looks black but when the sun hits them you can see the burgandy and green iridescent color.

People say the birding season at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland is winding down. Especially since the best trail is closed until late fall due to alligator nesting season. But there are still so many different things to see out there. I'm going to try and head back there a few more times before it gets too hot. I still want to see the baby sandhill crane growing up and I just heard there's a red shouldered hawk's nest with babies. I've never seen baby hawks before.

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A Rare Bird at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

I had heard the grooved bill ani was at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve for a couple of weeks. But it was right when I had company visiting and then we went to Ft. Lauderdale and I couldn't seem to get down there for a while. I finally had a few days off during the week and decided to try and see if the bird was still there. I had never heard of this bird before. It certainly doesn't look very pretty. But boy does this bird have personality. I think that's why so many people have made it to the park to see it. I thought there wouldn't be too many people there on a Wednesday afternoon. I was wrong. I walked up and down the north part of the trail looking for the bird with several other photographers. We were looking up in the trees. Ha! That bird was laughing at us. Finally, a volunteer from the park came by with several birders and he shook a big bush close by us and out pops the bird on the ground. The ani eats bugs on the ground that are stirred up sort of like cattle egrets do with cows. We were all standing there watching this bird stare at us and all of a sudden he ran towards my feet. The more I backed up the closer he got. It was hard getting good shots since I had my 500mm lens with me. Finally, I walked pretty far down the trail to get pictures.

The ani is normally found in south Texas and central America. It's rare to see one in Florida. It must have really flown off the beaten path. Recently, Boyd Hill had a planned burn in the park and everyone was worried it would scare off the bird. The Boyd Hill team kept the fire away from the area and a week later the bird is still there. If you go to visit, you can pick up a hand written map that shows you where the bird hangs out, down to which pine tree to look around. Usually though, there's a crowd there.