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.

A sad manatee with a happy ending.

Injured manatee being attended by the vet at the zoo.

She's cleaning his flipper that was tangled in a crap trap.

Sad face.

The manatee gets a back rub.

On a recent trip to the Lowry Park zoo I happened to stop by the manatee exhibit just in time. They had raised the platform on one of the hospital tanks and was cleaning an injured manatee's flipper. Tangalee (there's so many injured manatees that I'm sure they get tired of coming up with names for them) had been at the zoo manatee hospital for a couple of weeks. She was found with a crab trap rope tangled around her flipper. It had cut into the flipper and done some damage but thankfully she didn't have to lose the flipper. She will be released in about 2 months. I see those crab trap buoys floating all over Tampa bay but I never thought that the manatees could get tangled in those. It happens quite often. If you stop by the zoo in the next few months, stop by the manatee hospital. You can see Tangalee's name on the board which shows you which tank he's in.

Animals at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park

Lulu, the hippo, lives there. I caught her in a big yawn.

Lots of alligators there. It's fun to hear the gasps of little kids who see these animals up close. Especially with those teeth. I think he's looking right at me.

There are two river otters but only the one was swimming around while we were there.

Lots of wild wood ducks live at the park. The male is the beautiful one in the front. The female is in the back with a bored look on her face.

There were several wild great blue herons working on nests high over the alligator enclosure.

These are the permanent residents at the park being fed.

Now that it has warmed up the wild manatees are heading out into other areas. There were very few hanging around inside the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park when we were there a couple of weekends ago. The park opens the gates to let the wild manatees into the warmer water of the river during the severe cold tempatures (severe by Florida standards). When hubby and I were there in mid January the river was full of them. Now there's just a few straglers. Most are heading out into other rivers, the intercoastal waterway and upper Tampa bay. There are lots of other animals at the park and a lot of wildlife that hangs around as well. 

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Under water at Homosassa Springs

It's all about the manatees at Homosassa Springs Park.

Upclose manatees swimming by.

My husband was impressed by all of the snook and how well you could see them.

Large groups of manatees huddled together for warmth.

You could see the tail damage on the above. Almost all of the manatees have boat marks on them.

Mom & baby hanging close together.

This manatee was in the hospital tank there.

It's amazing how clear the water is at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. My husband had never been there and I had gone with my family several times when I was growing up so I wanted to bring him there to see it. It was sunny several weekends ago but we had underestimated how much colder it would be an hour north of Tampa. The park had opened the spring gates to let the wild manatees in to the more shallow warmer water. The river was full of them. Walking over the main bridge across the river gives you a chance to see them swimming right underneath you. There's also an observation deck over the deeper part of the river. Tour boats anchor in front of the deck and people get in the water in wet suits and swim with the manatees.

Winter is the best time to visit the park. I stopped by there in late May and the deer flies were biting so bad that no amount of deet was stopping them. Besides the manatees, they also have other animals that have found homes here: otters, alligators, bears, red wolves and tons of birds. But more on the birds later.

Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier -Skywatch Friday

A couple of weeks ago I was on my way back from Sarasota and decided to stop by the south side Sunshine Skyway fishing pier. It's the old Sunshine Skyway bridge that was hit by a barge over 30 years ago and was permanently damaged. They built a new bridge (in the background) but left most of the old bridge up for a fishing pier. I got the discounted $3 picture taking rate instead of the $5 fishing rate. I parked at the entrance of the bridge and walked all the way to the end. It took me about an hour to the end (stopping to take tons of pictures on the way). It was a Monday so it was not very crowded and people seemed to be very relaxed, pointing out the dolphins and stingrays they had seen. One lady was telling me about all the sharks you see there but I didn't see any while I was there. I will definitely plan another trip here soon.

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Lots of great and snowy egrets hanging out on the fishing pier.

Great egret flying by.

These were the only 2 ruddy turnstones on the bridge.

Not as many pelican as I thought there would be. Maybe because on a Monday there aren't as many fishermen.

I caught this manatee going back under the water. It was weird seeing a manatee in the middle of the bay. He was a big one.

Manatees at Safety Harbor Fishing Pier.

The above pictures were taken a few weeks ago. It was cloudy and rainy when I left work so I decided to head to the grocery store instead of a park to take pictures. Since I had my camera in the car and the storms were moving away I decided to stop by the Safety Harbor fishing pier on the way. It was really windy and there wasn't a single person fishing, which means there were almost no birds there as well. There were a few stray laughing gulls. There was also lots of manatees. Because of the storms the water was not clear so I could only catch their noses coming up for air but it was fun to watch them for a few minutes before I headed off to the grocery store (a chore I hate).

Drive home from work

Great blue heron taking a break.


Roseate spoonbills getting ready for bed in the mangroves.

Pinellas County waste plant is near my office. Birds love the bugs that hang out at the waste plant. A nasty storm was moving in behind it.

I stopped by the Safety Harbor fishing pier. No birds around but there was a manatee swimming around. I could see the snout coming up every once in a while.

A bad storm was heading my way so I headed home after the fishing pier.

I had my camera with me one day last week so I decided to make a few quick stops on the way home from work. I drive by the Pinellas County waste plant and there are usually a few birds in the ditches digging for bugs. There was a large group of spoonbills sleeping in the mangroves that night. (I stopped by the next night and they were gone.) I took a slight detour and stopped at the Safety Harbor fishing pier. There are usually pelicans and gulls there but I didn't see a single bird (maybe they headed out of town since storms were coming). I wanted to stop along the Courtney Campbell causeway to look for shorebirds but when I got on the bridge there was a storm coming behind me so I headed for home.

Manatees at Homosassa Springs

A great place to see manatees up close is Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. The water is crystal clear. There are several manatees that live at the park. There's an observation deck that you can walk around over the water and see the manatees swimming by. The water there stays warm all year round so I'll have to go back in the winter. There's a boardwalk over the river that runs outside the park where the wild manatees congregate in the winter. I've heard you can see hundreds of them huddled together. Mullet fish were jumping non-stop. We only get an occasional jump in the channel behind our house. Here they were jumping constantly. I finally got a picture of one in mid-air.

Injured manatee - caution

Below is a picture of an injured manatee that is recuperating at the Manatee Hospital at Lowry Park zoo. There were 2 injured manatees floating in this pool. Both had deep cuts to their backs. The update board said both had broken ribs and injured lungs which keeps them from being able to stay under water which is why they were both floating on top. It also stated that with a long rest period and no infections they should both be okay and eventually be released back in the wild. This is from someone going to fast in their boat through a no wake or slow wake zone. I won't get on my soapbox about this here. The pictures below speak for themselves. They weren't the only injured ones there, just ones I could get upclose pictures of (and summer hasn't even started yet).

Safety Harbor manatees

I stopped by the Safety Harbor fishing pier Saturday morning. When it's low tide there are usually lots of big birds feeding there. There was a group of at least 6 manatees swimming around and under the fishing pier. The water was fairly clear so you could see them coming up for air. It was so much fun seeing them swimming around. I guess the water is not cold enough yet for them to leave the area. Soon they'll all be heading over to the TECO plant for some warm water. If you want to see hundreds of manatees together that's the place to go in the next couple of months.