Random stuff at the zoo

Grasshoppers are popping up everywhere.

Dragonfly at the zoo.

Baby penguin trying to get out his playpen.

The new baby penguin is so cute. The keeper kept the baby close to her. It's still a little young to be out running around with the grown ups but soon it will be out officially on exhibit.

One of the resident manatees. You can see the boat marks across it's back.

Lots of flowers everywhere now.

Things I found at the zoo

Beautiful hibiscus at the zoo. My dad used to grow award winning hibiscus in his backyard here in Florida. Sadly, when we sold my parents house I didn't take any of the bushes with me. I was living in a condo in Atlanta at the time.

The african penguins are so cute. I always want to jump in the pool with them.

Cool caterpillar.

A roseate spoonbill couple are nesting over the alligator exhibit. I have to keep checking back to see if they have babies. I've never seen spoonbill babies before.

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.

Florida Botanical Gardens and a new park

One robin says to the other "Man, this Florida living is nice. I'm never going back up north."

Red bellied woodpecker says "No, this is not a berry in my mouth."

Mallard says to moorhen "Stop chasing me." Moorhen says to mallard "Then why are you running? You're much bigger than me."

Yellow rumped warbler says "I'm all alone."

The big yellow flower says "Spring is already in Florida."

The first turtle says "Last one out gets eaten by an alligator."

Spring flower says "No snow down here."

It was a couple of weekends ago that is was freezing (by Florida standards). It was the last cold weekend we had for the season. I got to the Florida Botanical Gardens around 9am and my car said it was 42 degrees outside. I thought "This is crazy. I should have stayed home in bed." But the sun was out and it warmed up pretty quick to about 60 degrees. There weren't a lot of flowers out but I did find a few that were blooming. A big flock of American robins flew by and a couple landed on a tree right in front of me.

Before I headed home, I decided to try out a new park close by the botanical gardens.  George C. McGough Nature Park in Largo is a small nature park. I had recently read that the resident owl who has lived at the center since being orphaned as a baby was missing. Someone broke into the center after closing and cut open his cage. The owl never learned to hunt for himself.  My thought is the people who did this thought they were doing the owl a favor but the owl will probably starve to death. Which is right? Set him free to starve or stay locked in a cage for life? The owl visited schools for learning programs and to teach kids about conversation and wildlife. At this point the owl has not been found.  The park sits on the intercoastal waterway and has a nice boardwalk that goes out over the water. The day I was there it was so windy. I didn't see any birds at all on the whole walk. Only some turtles and flowers. I'll have to give the park another try soon.

Below is an attempt to record a cardinal singing.

Go and check out more MyWorld images at the MyWorld Site!   http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

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Florida foliage at the Pier.

On our walk around the park at the Pier I noticed how pretty all of the flowers looked for August. I guess all of the rain has helped perk up the overheated foliage. The purple flower had a bee trying to get some pollen. He looked stuck but I'm sure he was able to get out. The bottom picture was some type of fruit hanging on a palm tree. I would assume it's not edible but the orange and green on the tree looked pretty.

New macro filters

I bought a new set of macro filters to add on my lens last week. I didn't want to spend the money for a macro lens right now and I heard this was a great way to get some close ups. I spent one afternoon this weekend taking some pictures with the new filters in my backyard. You just screw the filter on the end of the lens. It really did let me get closer to the object. It is harder to focus though. I had to manually focus on everything. You are suppose to use a tripod when you do macro photography. Of course, it didn't make it out of the closet.

The filters are great for flowers and lizards but I'm sure it will be hard to get any closer with birds. Except for the one below. I had to get a close up of my cockatiel, Buddy. Buddy is 17 years old and loves to pose for the camera. He will walk right up and peck at the camera. My other cockatiel is scared to death of the camera so I don't get her picture often.

Atlanta Part 1 - Spring flowers

Atlanta in the spring is amazing. It's like being in Oz. My hubby and I went last weekend to visit his family. It was still cold with highs being in low 50's but the spring blooms were out in full force. Tulips, daffodils, pansies, cherry blossoms and those stinky bradford pear trees were everywhere. My only regret is the dogwood trees and azalea bushes were not blooming yet. If you ever get a chance to visit Atlanta, go in early spring. Fall is nice too.

Photo lesson

Earlier this week I had a photo lesson with a local photographer named Jason Collin. We met at Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg in the morning. We worked on floral photography using different lighting and different set-ups. He made me use my tripod most of the time (which I hate using) so it was good for me to get the practice in. He also let me use his prime macro lens which is harder to use than you think. It's a trick to get it into perfect focus. Above are some of the pictures I took.

You can check out Jason's blog here - http://jasoncollinphotography.com/blog/.

Bug convention

It was sunny this morning so I made a trip to the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. Not many birds there today. I think they all flew north for the summer. Lots of cool insects though. There's a butterfly garden hidden away there that was full of butterflies. I saw a hummingbird there with the butterflies but was not able to get a picture. There were dragonflies, tadpoles, turtles and grasshoppers everywhere. I only saw one alligator, the rest must have been underwater.

I also ran into this woodpecker sitting high on a utlity pole. He was on the mulch path that runs around the retention ponds. Those utility poles are full of holes. He looks like he is left over from the 70's punk phase.