Kapok Park on a cold day

Grackle eating a slice of bread that someone had dropped in the lake for the turtles. These birds almost look black but when you see them in the sunlight you can see their different shades of blue and gray.

Glossy ibis that has been hanging around the park for a while now. This was the first time I've seen it close to the boardwalk.

 

I was walking on the boardwalk when the above anhinga popped out of the water. She swam back and forth in front of me and seemed to be showing me her prize. She swam under the boardwalk to swallow it so I was not able to get a shot of that. I'm assuming she did. She swam back out with fish parts stuck on her beak.

Wet pied grebe had just popped out of the water.

 

I think the duck on the left was saying "Stop splashing me while she's trying to take a picture you ole coot."

By cold I mean a high of 72 degrees. A couple of weeks ago we had a cold blast in central Florida and I slept in that morning and headed out to the park later that afternoon. Someone had just dropped an entire loaf of bread in the lake and grackles were diving down for them. It turned out to be a nice day and I didn't even need my jacket.

Chesnut Park birds & an alligator too.

I think this is a red bellied woodpecker. Cobb, can you confirm?

Another grebe. I'm seeing these ducks everywhere now so they must be migrating in for the winter.

One of the resident bald eagles that live at the park. He was very far away and off the beaten path. I probably would not have seen this guy if it wasn't for a couple of audubon members who were at the boat ramp boardwalk and showed him to me through a scope. They were nice enough to tell me which path to take to get a better view. This was still highly cropped with my 500mm lens.

I heard an osprey calling but couldn't find him. Finally, I realized he was right over my head in a pine tree.

Coot and reflection in the reeds.

I only saw the above baby alligator. Usually I see several.

After a very successful trip to Chesnut Park back in late September, I had to get back there again. I was hoping to find the kingfisher I had seen diving for fish but I couldn't find him on this trip. I did, however, manage to find a bald eagle with the help of some great Pinellas county birders. I got to the park early, around 8:30, which is early for me. I headed straight for the boat ramp boardwalk and ran into some birders watching an eagle with a scope. We all chatted for a while and swapped favorite park stories. It was a great morning even if I didn't see any deer. Great deer sighting there is one of my goals. I think this may become one of my new favorite places to walk. At least for now.

Ahh, Spring, love is in the air...

Last Saturday while on the way to the store, I stopped by the Ohio River in downtown New Richmond, OH like I always do to see what birds I can see. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear a Wood Duck whistling. It didn't take long to spot it. This lonely male Wood Duck was calling and displaying to a couple of female Mallards. He would tuck his bill into his chest and whistle, then bring his head back up. They did not want any of that and quickly abandoned him.


He then swam up by the marina/floating restaurant and out from underneath the marina/floating restaurant an American Coot appeared. The Wood Duck swam towards it whistling, and the coot went back under the structure - didn't want any of that either.


Thinking back, I can only remember seeing 1 female Wood Duck at this location ever. Hope he's able to find a girlfriend Wood Duck!

Bird variety at Kapok Park

Mallard swimming around. I love the colors on these guys - orange feet, yellow beak, green head.
American coot taking a bath.

This osprey looked strange. He doesn't seem to have as much brown on his head. It makes him look like a ghost bird.

Great blue heron eating with turtle friend.


Busy getting a snack!

Mockingbird sitting pretty.

The last couple of visits to Kapok Park had not been too exciting. I went this past weekend and there were more signs of life at the park. There were at least 3 opsrey flying over the lake trying to get lunch. Lots of ducks there. Soon there will be lots of baby ducks swimming around. Two specific things I was looking for but did not find were otters and owls. I have only seen the otters from far away and was not able to get any good pictures. I had heard the owls were back at the park but did not see them this past weekend. I also saw a picture of a bobcat that people say lives there. I'm going to be on the lookout for him as well for my next trip.