Monday, September 19, 2011

St. Petersburg Pier


Great blue heron sitting on the sea wall.


Flowers around the pier.


Scruffy looking grackle with a green grasshopper.


Great blue with his army of white ibis.


Sailing lessons in the bay.

It's always fun to watch the kids taking sailing lessons in the bay near the pier. They follow the leader in the small boat and practice zig zagging around the area. The wind was blowing pretty hard this morning. But, it was warm air so it still felt hot. My highlight of the morning was watching the grackle trying to eat the grasshopper. I didn't see him catch it. I walked up on him with it in his mouth. It took him a while to get it in his beak correctly to swallow it down. Or, maybe he was just trying to decide whether he really wanted to eat that wiggly bug. Maybe I should have offered him some ketchup to help it go down. The best thing about the pier is all of the pelicans that hang around. More on those later.

Check out more birds at CLICK THIS PICTURE!


 


13 comments:

  1. love the heron w/ his ibis entourage! so cute!

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  2. Great close ups, Dina. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  3. I love the grackle with the grasshopper. Is the grackle perhaps a female? Because I don't see the iridescent coloring of the male.
    And the heron does seem to be in charge of the group of ibis! What fun photos to capture.
    Also nice to see the young sailors learning their skills. I haven't watched a sailing school in action for years, and it brings back many memories.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  4. I so so love your bird shots, the heron is a real character and the grackle with his dainty morsel, a treat to behold. Yep, ketchup might have been OK, but chilli sauce would really have given it a kick!

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  5. Hi there - nice character shot of the heron - he looks a bit roughed up about the shoulders.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  6. Beautiful images of your lovely wildlife... looks like a beautiful place for kinds of recreation.

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  7. Great photos and it sounds like an interesting place to visit.

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  8. Cool birds and great photo, Dina! The white ibis are my favorites.

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  9. Great variety of birds Dina! The "scuffy" Grackle with the insect is my favorite.

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  10. Your pictures are always wonderful and make me miss Florida. (We'll be back in December.)

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  11. Grackle with a grasshopper?! Awesome! I love the ibis, a very mystical looking bird! Another of your great Florida birding spots Dina, wonderful to see!

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  12. love the grackle with the grasshopper, you must be quick. all these pictures are amazing!!

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