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.